David Nofoaluma has been criticized by fans on social media for a bizarre Instagram post which appeared to show him mocking his former club Wests Tigers.
The 30-year-old winger had been released from the remaining two years of his Tigers contract in January, having spent 10 years at the football club, returning 100 tries in 192 appearances to become their leading try scorer. of all time for the club. .
It is understood that the New South Wales club and the winger had mutually terminated their contract, with Nofoaluma accepting a payment of $300,000 to prematurely end his stay at the club, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The outlet adds that he would have earned around $525,000 per season if his contract had not been terminated prematurely.
The report also added that tensions between both sides were “at breaking point” towards the end of their stay in Sydney. Nofoaluma had received three notices of non-compliance in recent years, two of them last December, after he did not show up for training.
David Nofoaluma has been criticized by fans on Reddit after he appeared to attack the Wests Tigers.
The winger, who is also the Tigers’ all-time leading try scorer, left the club in January under unpleasant circumstances.
Nofoaluma posted this image on his Instagram story, sporting three prime ministerial rings, and captioned the image: ‘Three wooden spoons.’
But it appears there has been no love lost between the winger and his former club, as the 30-year-old directs a sledge towards the Tigers on his Instagram Story this week, highlighting his undesirable wooden spoon history.
Over the past three seasons, the Tigers had finished at the bottom of the NRL ladder, with Nofoaluma playing in two of those wooden spoon campaigns.
In the image, the former Tigers star appears to hold up four fingers while smiling. On three of those fingers, Nofoaluma appears to be wearing three prime minister’s rings. It is unclear who the rings belonged to.
But it was the caption that appeared to outrage fans on Reddit, with the former NRL star writing: “Three wooden spoons”, appearing to reference his former club’s recent poor form.
And social media users did not limit themselves to criticizing the image. Someone wrote on Reddit: “This might be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“He couldn’t even make it in the Super League,” said one fan.
Reports from YorkshireLive claim the winger could leave Salford prematurely having spent just three months at the club, making just two appearances for Paul Rowley’s side.
“The only funny thing is I have no idea who he’s playing for these days. Go back to your unimportant hole please David,” one wrote.
“Haha I really aspire to hate as much as this guy here, it’s really impressive the level of disdain he has for the Tigers,” said another.
‘Insignificant. 10 years of your life, and at best, you’re looking back and still fucking around. Pretty pathetic. You contributed to two of the three.
Speaking about the winger’s departure from the Tigers, one wrote: “The worst part is that he had enough breach notices that the Tigers could have fired him without pay, however (according to Chammas) Benji was concerned for his welfare and lobbied for Nofa to get a payout (he ended up getting 300,000). Los Tigres also offered him support after he was fired.
Nofoaluma spent a season on loan in Melbourne before leaving the Tigers earlier this year.
He had stated that he was “hurt” by his departure without bitterness from the club for which he had played for almost 10 years.
“That’s why it’s disappointing that he acts this way and says a lot about him as a person.”
‘Can this guy be more of a scourge?’ another wrote, while one said: “But how embarrassing to ask another player to wear his rings.”
Speaking about his departure, Nofoaluma told New Corp that he felt it was “a good step to get out of Sydney and experience what Europe is like.”
He had also attacked his former club stating that he too had “overcome the defeat”.
‘Obviously, it’s disappointing. “It hurts me personally,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Many times, people don’t realize that we are humans before we are athletes. Instead of addressing it on a personal level… there is no need to go to the press (to leak negative stories). I don’t think it’s a nice thing to do.
“It shows what kind of club you are. I don’t have to deal with it anymore, which is good.”
Fans are criticizing the Instagram image, with one claiming it’s “the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
He also added that his former club had made it clear that they did not want the winger to return after his loan spell in Melbourne.
‘It really started when I stopped being included in the membership days. I could feel an aura that they didn’t want me to be there. I didn’t want to come back from Melbourne and that’s where it all started,” Nofoaluma told News Corp.
“I made it clear to the club that I didn’t want to come back. I know it was just a loan, but I think that played a role. When I went to Melbourne, I thought I had done it for good.
