Dragons star’s message to Flanno; Souths lift lid on Wighton shake-up — Off-season Central
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NOFOALUMA’S TIGERS TRAINING DRAMA
Benji Marshall has found himself in a tough position in his first pre-season as an NRL coach with veteran winger David Nofoaluma reportedly refusing to come to training.
That is according to aSydney Morning Heraldreport which claims Nofoaluma hasn’t been to training since last Wednesday due to unfair treatment by the football department.
The 30-year-old has also lodged a complaint with the Rugby League Players’ Association and following a meeting between the RLPA, the Tigers and Nofoaluma he will return to training on Monday to try and resolve the issues.
The Herald reports Nofoaluma, who is one of the Tigers’ highest-paid players on $500,000 a season, struggled physically at training when he returned last month and recorded a disappointing time trial result.
The Tigers’ coaching staff are driving a new standard at training and haven’t shown Nofoaluma preferential treatment. He reportedly complained about lack of communication and training methods put in place to improve his fitness.
Nofoaluma has played 192 of his 198 NRL games with the Tigers over the last 11 seasons. He is the club's all-time leading tryscorer.
He has two years remaining on his contract but the club has been trying to offload him for the last two years. He played six games for the Storm in 2022 on a loan deal but returned to the Tigers for the 2023 season.
Nofoaluma was mainstay in the NRL side for majority of his career but has struggled to cement his spot on the wing over the last two seasons.