According to sources familiar with the situation who are not authorised to speak publicly about the issue,the Tigers’ all-time leading try-scorer was sanctioned for not being on time to Tuesday’s session.
Interim Wests Tigers boss Shane Richardson is giving an update after the club's board was dismissed and chief executive Justin Pascoe resigned on Tuesday.
Nofoaluma only returned to training on Monday after sitting out pre-season training for almost a fortnight because of a perception of unfair treatment from the club’s football staff.
The 30-year-old consulted the Rugby League Players’ Association over the issue,a move that put Nofoaluma at odds with new Tigers coach Benji Marshall.
Nofoaluma is a former teammate of Marshall’s and currently tops the joint-venture’s all-time try-scoring list with 100 (Marshall is in second spot).
The Nofoaluma news comes as another twist in the most tumultuous week in the club’s history,with the Tigers’ and chief executive Justin Pascoe resigning after an external review into the club.
Winger David Nofoaluma (left) tops Wests Tigers’ all-time try-scoring list with 100.Getty
Veteran has taken over as interim chief executive and former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell as chairman after the review,which was commissioned by the club’s majority shareholder,the Wests Ashfield-aligned Holman Barnes Group.
Former Western Suburbs player and Test star John Dorahy,who was only appointed to Wests Tigers’ board in April,became the first director outside of outgoing chairman Lee Hagipantelis to publicly comment on the changes,saying he was caught off-guard by the mass cleanout.
“I underestimated the extent of the cull that occurred,absolutely,” said Dorahy,also a Wollongong City councillor. “Disappointed? Yes. But not totally surprised. I certainly wish all the best to the incoming chair and[new director] Dave Gilbert.
“Shane Richardson is a really good step given his background and I think the new chair being Barry O’Farrell,him being there previously,he understands the organisation and also has fantastic corporate connections I’m sure will exist.
“We were already going in the right direction,but this is probably a step up. If there’s an opportunity to get back on,I believe what I brought to the table was sound and good corporate strategy,but the decision was made by the Holman Barnes Group.”
Hagipantelis savaged the changes as “” as the review recommended four of the seven seats on the board be filled by independent directors.
Hagipantelis’ business,Brydens Lawyers,is the club’s. There is still a year to go on that agreement.
The radical changes to the club’s leadership have extended beyond the board and chief executive,with this masthead able to reveal the man who helps piece together the club’s salary cap,chief financial officer Mark Sawicki,has also quit to join the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Lee Hagipantelis was the Wests Tigers chairman for four years.Getty
Sawicki’s resignation came before former NRL chief operating officer Tony Crawford and businessman Gary Barnier handed down their findings from the Holman Barnes Group review.
Sawicki had spent almost a decade with the Tigers.
Billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff,who founded industry giant Meriton,has been one of the Tigers’ biggest financial backers,but also admitted he was alarmed with the scale of the club’s changes.
“I knew some of the people on the board were not happy,but I didn’t know anything about what was to happen,” Triguboff said. “It was a surprise. Whatever happens,it can’t be worse. It can be better,but it can’t be worse.
“I invited Benji and Justin Pascoe to lunch[recently]. I talked to them and now I hear this happened. It’s very unusual. I told Benji I will help them if they need it. I said,‘I can talk to the players individually and then I can make up mind whether I can help them’.”
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