Team-mates talked trash ahead of Sunday’s club clash
Wests Tigers winger David Nofoaluma is wary of l the Warriors with Samoan team-mate Jazz Tevaga declaring the home side won’t be beaten.
Nofoaluma paid the New Zealand club an ultimate tribute ahead of their return to Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday after more than two years being based in Australia due to the Covid-19 pandemic and border restrictions.
Nofoaluma produced a career-best four-try haul playing for Samoa in Saturday night’s Pacific test and will now turn his attention to Auckland where his side will take on the Warriors.
He knows a sold-out Mt Smart Stadium isn’t the ideal place to try to spoil the Warriors’ return home and add to a seven-game losing streak for the opposition.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge, I’m really happy for the Warriors, everyone knows what they’ve sacrificed for us all,” Nofoaluma said.
“There’s a lot of circumstances and I’m happy it’s a sold-out crowd. They thoroughly deserve the support they’re going to receive on Sunday.”
Samoan team-mate Tevaga has let Nofoaluma know all week the Tigers are in for a tough afternoon.
“I was saying to the boys I was going to throw a few hospital passes to him to make sure he comes over to New Zealand a bit sore for us next,” Tevaga joked.
“Either way I reckon we’re going to thump them and put one on for our fans, we have to. We’re due for a win and what better occasion to do it against them at Mt Smart in our first game?
“I haven’t been home for a while, probably about a year and a half. We can’t wait to run out in front of a packed stadium, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, it’s going to be awesome.
“It’s been a bit depressing the past two months, we’ve been in a rut with a few distractions so it’s been refreshing to come into camp in the last week with familiar faces and high quality players.”
Nofoaluma offered a similar notion around escaping club footy for a week to be with his Samoan teammates in a different environment.
“I’d like to bring it back to the Tigers and lift the boys’ spirits,” he said.
“That’s the most important thing you can get out of a week like this, my head in a new environment.
“It’s not a good feeling where we are at the club. It’s an old saying but tough times don’t last, tough people do.
“We’ve got Ken Maumalo at the Kiwis and Joe Ofahengaue at Tonga who were in the same boat and hopefully we can bring some fresh energy, that’s why I like the NRL hosting these mid-year events.”
Both Nofoaluma and Tevaga are preparing to play at the World Cup at season’s end but, with the possibility of more players being eligible, their club football will determine their selection.
“We’re building to something great ahead of the World Cup,” Nofoaluma said.
“It’s good to see the young crop come through and I look forward to seeing Samoa moving forward.”