Wests Tigers winger David Nofoaluma admits getting dropped for the club’s NRL season-opener was one of the biggest shocks of his career.
Nofoaluma’s axing was one of the major selection surprises for round one, with coach Ivan Cleary opting for the unheralded duo of Corey Thompson and Malakai Watene-Zelezniak.
“It was one of the biggest shocks of my career so far. I respect Ivan’s decision and he thinks the side playing today is the best line up,” Nofoaluma said on Saturday.
Nofoaluma said Cleary had given him no indication on what led to his omission.
“Not anything specific. He didn’t tell me much, what the problem was or what I’ve done wrong. It was a pretty quick convo, it was a shock to me,” he said.
The Samoan international responded with a two-try performance in the Wests Magpies’ 32-10 win over Canterbury in the NSW Cup.
“It was a bit different. Obviously I’m used to playing first grade. It’s a bit slower and a totally different feel to first grade,” Nofoaluma said.
Nofoaluma has been a staple in the Tigers’ side since making his debut in 2013, and had missed just one game for the club in the past two years.
He was also one of the first players to re-sign under Cleary last year, knocking back an approach from Parramatta to extend his stay on a four-year deal.
He even waived the 10-day cooling off period to confirm his decision while the club battled to retain their ‘big four’ in Aaron Woods, James Tedesco, Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses.
After finishing 14th last year, the club signed almost 20 players but Nofoaluma was confident of holding his spot in the line-up.
“I feel like I was doing things right,” he said.
“But in saying that, for me coming out today, even the whole week leading up to this game, it makes you feel like you’ve got to perform at your best to be at the top with the best.
“Hopefully I did my job today and performed well and hopefully I get the call-up next week.
“A lot of boys trained really hard and I suppose some players stuck out better than others and that’s what got them here today in round one. Good on them and all the best to them today.”
