After earning a rugby league lifeline with Salford Red Devils in the Super League, David Nofoaluma has opened up on his messy exit from the Wests Tigers.
The winger had his contract terminated by the club at the backend of January after being told late last year that he wouldn't play first-grade again at the Tigers.
This caused him to complain to the RLPA over the alleged comments, suggesting unfair treatment from the club's coaching staff, with the winger also seeking legal advice over where he stood.
Finally, he would accept a $300,000 payout, bringing an end to the club's greatest try-scorer.
Opening up on his exit from the Wests Tigers, Nofoaluma insisted that there was no bad blood between him and the Tigers and believes they might reach the finals this season.
However, despite admitting there was no bad blood between the two, he felt that his reputation took a massive hit and was unnecessary.
“Obviously, it's disappointing. It hurts me personally,” Nofoaluma told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“A lot of times, people don't realise we're humans before athletes. Instead of dealing with it on a personal level … there's no need to go to the press [to leak negative stories]. I don't think it's a nice thing to do.
“It shows what type of club you are. I don't have to deal with that any more, which is a good thing.
“I was the longest-serving player in the team whilst I was there.
“As much as things didn't go well and they wanted me out of there, it doesn't take away from the time I've been there.
“The last year or two, there were times where I struggled a bit, trying to pull things together in terms of playing. A lot of the Tigers fans still appreciate me and love me because they still remember all the good things I've done for them.
“These days, rugby league is a business. If I was to give advice to any young athlete, don't take loyalty [as an expectation].”
The veteran winger played 192 games for the Tigers between 2013 and 2023, to go with another six for the Melbourne Storm in 2022 while on loan and on the scoresheet, he has 104 NRL tries to his name.
Having revealed that failing to make the finals took a toll on him, Nofoaluma outlined his relationship with new head coach Benji Marshall - a coach he once played alongside.
While the two seemed to but heads at the end of Nofoaluma's tenure, the 30-year-old ha stated that he has no ill regarding Marshall and doesn't hold a grudge against him for the decisions made.
“Me and Benji were really close,” he said.
“I still remember he reached out to me when he was at the Broncos' feeder club to see if he could come back to the Tigers, to speak to the hierarchy at the Tigers to help him come back.
"I kind of got him back, because we played in the earlier years and when he came over he set up a lot of my tries in 2020 when I got the Dally M winger of the year and player [of the year] for the Tigers.
“There's a lot of good things we've done together. I understand it's a business and, for me, I do have a lot of respect for him.
“Even though things happened the way they did, at the end of the day, he is a coach who needs to make decisions and I respect that a lot.”
After not being recruited by an NRL team for this season, Nofoaluma has decided to take his talents overseas to the Salford Red Devils in the Super League.
The Red Devils missed the 2023 finals in the Super League, finishing seventh on the table, but have brought Ethan Ryan, Nene Macdonald and Cade Cust to the club alongside Nofoaluma, who has signed a single-year deal for his move to the club.
Nofoaluma, Macdonald and Cust join other ex-NRL players Tim Lafai, King Vuniyayawa, Shane Wright and Englishman Kallum Watkins at the club under the coaching of Paul Rowley. Krisnan Inu is also on the club's coaching staff
