Winger in sights of Bunnies
THE Wests Tigers face a fresh fight to retain Dally M winger of the year David Nofoaluma with the South Sydney Rabbitohs poised to make a play to sign the robust speedster for 2022.
Nofoaluma had a breakout 2020 season for the Tigers, scoring 17 tries in 20 NRL matches and collecting the Kelly-Barnes Award for the club’s best and fairest.
With Corey Allan switching from South Sydney to Canterbury effective immediately as of Monday, the Bunnies are now eyeing off making a play to lure the Wests Tigers winger for next season.
Queensland State of Origin debutant Allan trained with the Bulldogs on Monday after agreeing to a three-year deal to play under Trent Barrett at Canterbury.
Nofoaluma enjoyed his most consistent season in the NRL last year with Fox Sports Lab numbers confirming the Dally M winger of the year made 112 tackle busts, 19 line breaks and seven try-assists.
His 112 tackle busts ranked fourth in the NRL and the seven try-assists were equal first with NSW Origin flyer Josh Addo-Carr for most try assists from a winger.
Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis enjoys an extremely tight bond with Nofoaluma and is adamant the Tigers will do everything within reason to ensure the local junior remains at Concord.
“I had dinner with David last night where I reaffirmed the club’s commitment about how we want him to be at the Wests Tigers for life,” Hagipantelis said.
“We absolutely want David to be a one-club player and he’s told the club this is also his preference.”
The sticking point for Wests Tigers is the length of Nofoaluma’s new contract. The club wants to sign the 27-year-old to a threeyear deal until the end of 2024. But Nofoaluma’s agent Sam Ayoub is pushing for a four-year deal.
“I obviously love the Wests Tigers and the fans, you can tell by my passion.” Nofoaluma told The Daily Telegraph in November. “But in reality, I am heading into what could potentially be my last contract.
“I am going to explore all my options and weigh up what’s the best decision for myself and more importantly my future. I know with whatever decision I make, I can say I’ve given one hundred per cent every time I have stepped foot on the field for this club.”
The off-contract Tigers winger has been repeatedly linked with a move to the Parramatta Eels to replace Blake Ferguson at the end of this year but this has been strongly denied.
Both South Sydney and Wests Tigers have also been linked with Panthers grand final winger Josh Mansour. Mansour has been told by the Panthers he is free to leave to join a rival NRL club.