TIGERS SAY JOEY SET TO THRIVE AFTER ‘DOG ACT’
WESTS Tigers players expect a suspended Joey Leilua to return “twice the player” after a trademark Michael Maguire home truth prompted the emotional back to apologise to his teammates almost in tears.
Leilua will spend four weeks on the sideline after his late high tackle on Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards, which has been widely called a “dog shot”.
The woeful tackle bitterly disappointed coach Maguire, who delivered a frank conversation to his marquee signing.
Tigers winger David Nofoaluma revealed a remorseful Leilua fought back tears as he vowed to restore his teammates’ faith.
Nofoaluma hopes the suspension inspires his fellow outside back to remove the “mental breakdowns” from his game.
“Joey was very upset about it (the tackle),” Nofoaluma said. “He was almost in tears and you could see that he knew that he did the wrong thing.
“Madge had a serious conversation with Joey, and he apologised to us after the game.
“That is a personal thing for him, and he just needs to sort that out himself.
“We as players can only control what we can, and Joey can do the same for himself.
“He is a great player and built a combination through the pre-season and we just started moulding, so it is very disappointing for myself not to have him in the squad, but it gives Joey an opportunity to train and appreciate it when he gets back to not have those mental breakdowns.”
Nofoaluma knows what it is like to cop some classic Maguire honesty.
He experienced his frank approach last season when he spent the first part of the season in reserve grade.
Nofoaluma admitted the entire Tigers’ squad didn’t know how to take Maguire’s brutal approach when he first joined the club last season.
“Even myself, I was really taken aback,” he said.
“He is a real tough coach and if he says something you can’t take it to heart. But at the start when he first told me something I was like, ‘Oh, this bloke is hard.’
“I didn’t play at the start of last year, but in the end it made sense because he was just trying to get the best out of me.
“Now players understand where Madge is coming from.
“If he says something isn’t good enough then you just have to say fair enough, and I’ll just work my way back into the team.”
Tigers captain Moses Mbye was also disappointed with Leilua’s hit on Edwards but he is confident the former Raiders centre will bounce back.