Opinion: Who is to blame for Wests Tigers missing on marque signings?

It was announced Sunday that Dale Finucane had signed with the Sharks. The Tigers miss another player, but I’m not too fussed as, in my personal opinion, he’s not a game breaker. To me, he’s just a solid player.

Most Melbourne forwards go downhill once they leave the Storm, as we have seen over the years. Names that come to mind are Adam Blair, Jordan McLean, Kevin Proctor & even Big Tino isn’t as destructive as he once was.

As I’ve long said on the WestsLife Podcast, CEO Justin Pascoe & Lee Hagipantelis need to go and I’ll explain why with their four botched attempts in the last eighteen months.

As a club, when chasing a player, we seem to chop and change our mind on that player and/or make a massive error and somehow the public tend to hear about it.

Firstly, Latrell Mitchell. We publicly paraded our offer like naive children thinking it was a done deal and over the line. After our 900k per year offer wasn’t met by the deadline, Hagipantelis withdrew our offer and then later on said publicly if Latrell decided he’s keen to join, we would be happy to talk again. So, withdraw the offer but we still want him?. Sorry, that’s not bright negotiating at all.

Listen to WestsLife Podcast interview with Wests Tigers fan favourite Adam Doueihi on the WestsLife podcast now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Podbean.

Secondly, Josh Addo-Carr. Josh declared from the time he left that he always wanted to come back and play for the Wests Tigers. He even signed a heads of agreement document to join us. But for an early release, the Melbourne Storm asked for a player in return. They asked for Nofalauma, but we said ‘no’. Then they asked for Talau and we again said ‘no’. Upon hearing that the club wouldn’t release an unestablished first grader in Talau, Josh was so offended that he told his manager, Mario Tartak, “I don’t want to go there anymore”. I know this as Mario told me this verbatim at the Manly trial at Leichhardt pre-season.

Thirdly, Tevita Pangai Jnr. Another debacle. We declared massive interest in this player only to get cold feet with Hagipantelis declaring on SEN radio with Andrew Voss that our club was no longer interested. Move forward a few days later, and we (just like we did previously) declared that we were back in the race and wanted him. What sort of amateurs are our hierarchy? No wonder he signed elsewhere despite us giving TPJ the largest offer by far!

Lastly, Dale Finucane. As I said earlier, I’m not too bothered losing him but there were definitely pros & cons for signing him. What I find damning of Hagipantelis and Pascoe in this particular situation, is most would say Finucane was the type of player that would be good for the culture of our club on and off the field. I can’t deny that part. So it was reported that six clubs offered Finucane a contract and the Wests Tigers only decided last week to make a play because we had missed out on TPJ. Finucane and TPJ are completely different types of players. Finucane is an established premiership player with a diligent work ethic. TPJ is an explosive forward with unlimited potential yet has a clear history of ill-discipline and limited success in his career. So are we looking for a specific type of forward? Obviously not! We haven’t got a clue and it appears that we have chased Finucane in a FACE SAVING ATTEMPT BY INEPT MANAGEMENT.

Though the results don’t show it, our potential success will have to come from within and the kids coming through. Hopefully Sheens & Kimmorley get our junior pathways going, particularly in the MacArthur area where South Sydney have already infiltrated due to our lack of action & foresight!

Madge is the man to lead us out of this as coach I’m convinced. Even if I don’t agree with some of his selections or tactical decisions occasionally.

Hagipantelis isn’t capable of being chairman, though I guess I’m happy for him to support the club as a major sponsor.

In my opinion, Pascoe is the biggest reason for our continuous failure and his inability to recognise what it takes to takes to put a squad together. He’s been at the helm since late 2015 and overseen a club that hasn’t seen finals under his tenure. So let’s look at some of his howlers:

He was too busy prioritising the signing of Moses Suli instead of locking in James Tedesco, then international Aaron Woods, Mitch Moses etc. The loss of Tedesco who is a once in a generation player is unforgivable. He slipped through our fingers because our CEO wasn’t ahead of the curve and didn’t seize the initiative to sign him well before his contract was up and took it for granted he’d stay at the Tigers because “he loves the club” as he told me in his office late the year prior to his departure.

He was part of board that paid 700k of 900k to have the then Origin Hooker Robbie Farah to play for Souths Sydney. The heart and soul of our club. The local junior that won a premiership, captained his club with distinction, represented his beloved NSW, Australia & Lebanon. This set the worst precedent for our club and one we have struggled with since. Furthermore, it was simply bad business to pay South Sydney 700k per year for the then current State of Origin hooker to play elsewhere. Farah eventually returned to the Tigers and if not for a knee injury against Canterbury, I know we would’ve played finals in 2019.

We lost the now Australian winger Josh Addo-Carr over approximately 80k more that we wouldn’t pay. Instead preferring to keep the likes of Jordan Rankin instead.

He allowed Matt Ballin to be signed when both his knees were shot. He played two games in total. Ironically, Farah was let go because he was too old, but Ballin was older and as proven in his tenure, washed up as a player.

He let Taniella Paseka go to Manly when he was the only forward In U’20s worth keeping after a two try barnstorming game at Leichhardt the day our top grade played Melbourne.

He signed Josh Reynolds (when we had an interim coach) for just over $3m for four years when his body was past it for NRL level. Josh barely started a game in the first two years of his contract and we are still paying part of his salary whilst he’s playing in the English Super League.

He signed Mbye (as a fullback) even though Mbye had only played half a season as a fullback at Canterbury and he signed for approximately 800k per year for 3.5 years. Now, we are still trying to offload him and the Dragons are keen to have him on their books as soon as possible. However we will most likely be footing some of that bill for the next eighteen months no doubt.

Pascoe signed Chris McQueen for 3 years for 1.4m and barely started a first grade game. The NRL world knew his back was gone, but not our CEO?

He bought Ben Matulino from Warriors reserve grade on approximately 500k per year. Why so much for a player dumped to reserve grade?

He bought Russell Packer for 600k per year for 3 years. He’s barely been sighted for 2 years.

Between Reynolds, McQueen, Matulino & Packer, we’ve had at times $2.3million playing NSW Cup, not to mention the times Mbye was out injured in 2019. So over $3 million at times missing from top grade, yet somehow we had near misses on finals. Imagine how much talent we could’ve had with that extra money!

Hagipantelis hasn’t been chairman all that long, but so far he’s shown that as a negotiator, he doesn’t cut it.

Pascoe has been the CEO since late 2015, after our season ended on the field. He’s overseen unsuccessful finals campaigns from 2016-2020 and we must win five of our last six games or we will be facing a sixth straight season of not playing finals under his tenure and our tenth straight as a club.

How many failures does it take as a club for the CEO to be held accountable? Yes, we may be turning a small profit as a club, but if this man and his chairman can’t sell a vision of our club that makes players want to join us, then I’m afraid that they aren’t the men for the job. No matter how great their intentions may be, it’s time to go Pascoe and it’s time to stand down Hagipantelis.

Our fans deserve better.

Doueihi: The Brisbane bubble is our second chance at finals run

After their win against the Broncos, the Wests Tigers are just two points behind eighth place and very much still in finals contention.

However there’s no denying that it will take winning almost all of their seven remaining games of the season.

Fresh off his five try assists in said win against Brisbane, five eighth Adam Doueihi said in his interview on the WestsLife Podcast the emergency move out of Sydney is being seen by the team as an opportunity, rather than a crisis.

“We’re sort of seeing this bubble up here in Brisbane as a second chance for us” Doueihi said.

“And the boys should take a lot of confidence from the win last week against the Broncos and take into this week against Manly.”

And what the team needs to improve to get the desired results, is pretty obvious according to Doueihi:

“It’s easily our defence.

“We are talking about our defence internally and how to improve it. The past few weeks we’ve put in a few different systems and standards that we’re aiming to get to.

“I think we took a big step last weekend against the Broncos and there are a few new combos out wide and through the middle.

“We’re still trying to get used to playing with each other and knowing what each player does inside and outside of us.

“But as long as we can keep improving our defence, our attack is not going to be our issue.”

Listen to the full interview with Adam Doueihi on the WestsLife podcast now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Podbean.

With players in the Wests Tigers lineup having been changed positions throughout the year, including Doueihi’s move from the halves to centre and then back to the halves again, he says the talk and belief in each other are big factors.

“Communication is a big one obviously,” Doueihi says.

“With new combos and also new players with different sorts of habits, it’s about players finding out what habits they are and how to have that trust to know that the inside player is going to come and help us and work out to the sideline.”

Despite the confidence of a strong run home, Doueihi says he understands the frustration of the fanbase. Especially growing up being a Wests Tigers fan and junior of the club himself.

“We’re a pretty big club and cover a lot of regions in the Sydney area,” he said.

“But we have the biggest finals drought in the competition. So when the club is losing, I guess fans aren’t happy and obviously the media are going to be into us every now and then when we are not getting the results we are after.

“We know that comes along with our job. We’ve got passionate fans and they should jump up and down when we aren’t getting the results.

“I guess until that happens, it’s going to keep happening.”

The Wests Tigers face the redhot Manly Sea Eagles at 5:30pm on Saturday at Suncorp Stadium.

Opinion: Wests Tigers need their next Robbie Farah

Our beloved team – amongst other adjectives – can be described as ‘baffling’ right now. The media says we need a new coach. Fans say we need a new board or better players (or both). Players are pointing fingers at each other literally on the field. Almost everyone says they need to burn it down and start again. Again.

My late grandfather was born and raised in Balmain. He had many opinions on things, but none like that of anything regarding our beloved Tigers. One of my most memorable opinions of his was back in 2016 when then coach Jason Taylor dropped club veteran and hooker Robbie Farah to reserve grade.

Pa, like many Wests Tigers fans, was disgusted by the treatment of Farah. A lot of it was because of Farah’s longtime loyalty to the club, but “how can you possibly drop a hooker who’s good enough to play for NSW?”, Pa said. At the time, I’ll admit, I thought perhaps it was time for us to look towards a fresh future seeing as it’d been a whole FIVE YEARS since the team had made the finals and a change was needed.

There are many things I would today love to be able to tell Pa what he was right about when it came to the Tigers, but I never got the chance after his sudden death on ANZAC Day this year. Truth be told, he definitely knew he was right and I was wrong anyway.

In fact it didn’t take long for the club to realise their mistake as well. Jason Taylor was sacked merely weeks into the following season. Robbie Farah eventually brought back into team. But the damage had been done. The foundations of the club had been shattered.

Listen to the WestsLife Podcast Q&A with Shawn Blore on Spotify here or on Apple Podcasts here.

Despite the finals drought already being five years into the now decade-long length it is now, you can easily pinpoint that as the moment that made the franchise spiral into the basketcase that it is right now.

Now my Pa was pissed off over Farah’s dumping mainly because of the former Kangaroo’s playing ability alone. But what went down the Concord Oval toilets was something that the always underdog Wests Tigers had engrained during the Robbie era; loyalty.

In 2005, Wests Tigers won the premiership and it was fuelled mostly by camaraderie. They had no Origin players. They had no established superstars. They didn’t even have the entire salary cap spent. But what Tim Sheens had put together was a bunch of promising young kids like Farah, Benji Marshall and Anthony Laffranchi, mixed with some old pre-merger club stalwarts like John Skandalis and Mark O’Neil and some players thrown on the scrapheap by other clubs like Brett Hodgson and Scott Prince. It became the perfect mix purely because of one thing, the players played for each other. To this day that squad still refer to one another as brothers and you only need to watch a few minutes of highlights from that season to recognise that. The 2010, 2011 teams were much the same. Again, a well oiled machine built around Farah and Marshall.

Unlike the Sydney Roosters or South Sydney Rabbitohs today or in previous era’s the juggernaut teams Manly Sea Eagles and Brisbane Broncos, the Wests Tigers don’t have the luxury of making marquee player signings. Much like the Penrith Panthers have now done successfully, the only road to success for them has to be through nurturing young talent. They’re still one of the best at it, you only have to see the ‘former Wests Tigers’ teamlists media outlets put out every two weeks when it’s a slow news day to see how many of the game’s best players they’ve produced. But the issue is retaining them.

That list of lost talent is long but the top of the pile is James Tedesco. It’s hard to argue with the excuse for him leaving being Nick Politis throwing paperbags of cash, rent free beachside mansions and luxury cars and other outside the salary cap perks at the Camden Rams junior. But Tedesco backflipped on a big money offer deal with the Canberra Raiders back in 2014 to stay at Wests Tigers. That change of decision by Teddy was down to one man pretty much, Robbie Farah. When Farah was sent packing by Taylor, Tedesco (and Mitchell Moses and Aaron Woods) said see you later as well. Why show loyalty to a club that would not be loyal to its most loyal servant?

It has to be more than a coincidence. Despite the Alan Border-like captain grumpy persona he was painted out to be, the fact was players wanted to play with Robbie and Robbie had no desire to play for anyone other than the Tigers. It was the perfect combination. It’s something we’ve been missing for years.

Bringing Robbie Farah back into the club, this time in the training staff, was a good move my coach Michael Maguire. But as good as it is having him in a blue shirt, what the team needs is their next Robbie Farah out there in the trenches. Unfortunately it’s a little late for the 37 year-old to make comeback again. But I’m sure it’s crossed his mind in the last few weeks.

So looking at our current playing group, is there a player in this squad that you could ever picture getting ‘Wests Tigers’ tattooed on their bicep? Is there a player in this squad that would look at home sitting on the Leichhardt Oval scoreboard drinking a beer and drawn to tears thinking how much they’ll miss playing there? Is there a player in this squad that would live, breathe, bleed, sweat, fight, yell, scream for the Wests Tigers just like Robbie Farah did 277 times? The jury is out.

You could make a case for fellow Lebanese-Australian and also good friend of Farah, Adam Doueihi. When the Wests Tigers beat the Penrith Panthers at Leichhardt Oval four games ago, he was fist pumping to the crowd and you could see his love, desire and passion for the jersey he was wearing. If you squinted a little, it was like looking at a fresh faced Robbie Farah (and they do kinda look alike to be fair). In this writer’s opinion, it should be AD’s team and built around him from the ground up going forward.

If any the current squad read this (hey, you never know), please know that this passion that Adam showed that evening is what us fans notice the most. It’s not the stats or the Supercoach points. It’s even a little more important than winning or losing. We want to see guys out there and playing with desire. You can tell the media, write on Twitter or shout it from the rooftop that you’re trying your damn hardest. But you’re not going to convince a single one of us that it’s the case right now.

Is it too much to ask you as professional athletes to just try harder? Losing on the scoreboard ruins our Mondays, but we get over it. If we had exited through the gates of Leichhardt Oval, or Campbelltown Stadium, or Bankwest Stadium or Tamworth (or any goddamn football ground on the planet we follow you blokes to week in, week out) having witnessed the 17 men wearing the same colours as us out there put their heart and soul into the game, you can bank on us coming back next Friday, Saturday or Sunday. And the week after that. And the season after that.

But the current attitude being showed by the playing group is turning away even the most loyal of Wests Tigers fans right now. If you purely don’t care that it’s happening on your watch, then go ahead and try and make one of those ‘former Wests Tigers’ listicles then and leave.

Or you can turn up and perform not only for your next contract or for a highlight feature on Instagram, but for those of us who shape their entire life around the club you’re representing.

You can become more than just a former player. You can become a club legend.

Become our next Robbie Farah. Please.

 

Why a positive Wests Tigers future is seen in a Magpies jersey

As the halfway point of the 2021 NRL season approaches, the Wests Tigers NRL team has just three wins on the board. Meanwhile, their Knock On Effect NSW Cup team, currently known under the Wests Magpies side of the joint venture, is second behind the Penrith Panthers.

The Maggies have won eight straight and now sit four points clear of the Parramatta Eels and five clear of the fourth placed North Sydney Bears, whom are the Sydney Roosters reserve grade side. Now if you had’ve noticed, the three teams around them on the table are part of three of the current four best NRL sides in Sydney.

Often a good NRL side has a flow on effect into having a strong seconds side. Good teams are deep with talent, competing for first grade nods is harder and sometimes just good vibes can flow through a club as well creating success. So why are these Magpies an anomaly right now?

Arguably, the most correct answer to that question is that the Magpies are a parliament of the best young talent on the verge of NRL stardom in the competition. In the round 11 win over the Canberra Raiders, here is a list of players whom have made their NRL debuts and their age:

  • Zac Cini (21)
  • Reece Hoffman (20)
  • Jock Madden (21)
  • Jake Simpkin (19)
  • Stefano Utoikamanu (21)
  • Shawn Blore (20)

Then there’s other young talent yet to play first grade but very likely will by the end of the 2021 or 2022 season:

  • Allan Fitzgibbon (age not listed)
  • Kiah Cooper (23)
  • Tom Amone (24)
  • Kelma Tuilagi (22)
  • Tukimihia Simpkins (19)

Listen to the WestsLife Podcast Q&A with Shawn Blore on Spotify here or on Apple Podcasts here.

The WestsLife Podcast crew spoke to Wests Tigers Michael Maguire after the game at Lidcombe Oval on Saturday and you could hear not only how frustrated he was with the first grade team’s close loss to the New Zealand Warriors, but also the excitement about the amount of young talent he’s amassing at the club.

The WestsLife team (Rob Bechara, Shayne Calder and Josh Barnett) chewing Madge’s ear off at Lidcombe Oval. He was so open and honest with his answers and left us having zero doubt that he’s the man to lead our beloved Wests Tigers to success.

It’s hard for fans to be positive about the direction of Wests Tigers right now. It’s also somewhat understandable that fans without a close ear to the ground would buy into some media clickbait articles and social media posts about Madge being under pressure to keep his job. But the fact is firing yet another coach who’s only just laying the foundations for a successful future is downright dumb.

If you look beyond the scoreboard in Wests Tigers games in 2021, you can see our best performers consistently are some of Madge’s recruits namely Daine Laurie, Adam Doueihi and Luciano Leilua. They themselves are just 20, 23 and 24 years old themselves respectively.

Of course you can’t expect too much success packing an NRL squad full of inexperienced kids (though the Penrith Panthers are showing it’s not such a bad idea), but additions to the roster for established talent is incoming as the team’s salary cap giving us plenty of room to spend. You just have to see the ingredients chef Maguire is preparing.

It’s hard to be patient when you hold the longest finals drought in the league, but I highly recommend the Wests Tigers faithful get down to Lidcombe Oval in the coming weeks and see these fresh organically growing juniors in person (it’s also super easy to get up close and meet them too).

Beyond that, it’s a sensational cheap day out (free entry if you’re a Wests Tigers member) to enjoy some local rugby league with the Ron Massey and Jersey Flegg sides playing on the same day. It’s also nice to be cheering on a team who’s likely to win.

Pack a picnic rug, some camping chairs and some snacks when you head to the historic oval. But also pack a notebook and pen, as you should note down the names of the kids who impress you on the day. It’ll be proof in the not-too-distant future that you saw the stars of the finals-bound Wests Tigers squad before 99% of the other fans of our beloved club did.

Or just take our word for it.

Listen to the Westslife Podcast on Apple and Spotify with weekly reviews and previews of every game of the Wests Tigers season as well as interviews with players both past and current.

Blore itching to get back and ‘just drill someone’

After suffering a broken wrist in a pre-season incident, ruling him out for the start of the Wests Tigers season, Shawn Blore tells WestsLife he’s excited to get back on the field and put a big hit on.

Blore was originally told he could miss up to the first 10 rounds of the season, but rehab has gone so well he’s looking at returning much earlier and he’s not going to just ease back into the game either.

“I’m pushing for round seven possibly,” said on the WestsLife podcast.

“I told everyone my first involvement back will be just drilling someone. 

“It’s just been so long and it gets to the point where it’s frustrating You just want to do something. I’m just hoping the first involvement is a good one. If we’re on attack, get in early and tuck the ball under my arm and just run.”

Download the latest episode of the WestsLife Podcast featuring the Q&A with Shawn Blore on Spotify here or on Apple Podcasts here.

Other than putting on big hits on opposition players, Blore is also keen to start forming combinations with teammates including fellow Panthers junior, Daine Laurie.

“We had such a great preseason and I was building such good combos with a few boys on the edge,” Blore said.

“I’m just so excited to get back into training and do some of that stuff on the field. It’s gonna take a while.

“The focus is just to get back foremost and just start drilling some people.”

Nofoaluma responds to critics of Wests Tigers teammate Luke Brooks

Wests Tigers winger David Nofoaluma is standing strong for his much criticised teammate, Luke Brooks.

Brooks had 17 runs for 87 metres, a line break assist, a try assist, four tackle breaks, nine kicks for 231 metres and kicked two from two conversions in the Tigers’ 30-12 loss to the Canberra Raiders on Sunday. But the 26-year-old has had a barrage of criticism by analysts and fans for his errors including a kick out on the full and then a kickoff also crossing the sideline.

Speaking to media on Wednesday, Brooks confirmed he had seen a lot of negativity written about him. His longtime teammate Nofoaluma saying there is a lot of aspects to his game that people overlook.

“There’s a lot of things that Brooksy does on and off the field that people don’t see,” Nofoaluma told the media. “That’s what makes him as a player why us as teammates have so much respect for him. That’s why he’s a part of our team.

Nofoaluma confirmed that comments online and in the media can result in struggles mentally .

Download the latest episode of the WestsLife Podcast on Spotify here or on Apple Podcasts here.

“People say a lot of things that effect you as a person,” Nofoaluma said. “I think for Brooksy, he knows…Madge has spoken to him about all he needs to be is himself.

“He doesn’t have to be the player that everyone speaks about, just focus on his own role. When he does that, it takes a lot of pressure off himself. I think he understands that.”

The Wests Tigers leading try scorer in 2020 also said the return of suspended fullback-turned-five eighth Adam Doueihi will help Brooks and the team.

“It’s awesome to have Adam back,” Nofoaluma said. “Adam is very demanding and Brooksy is very controlling.

“So both of them together is going to be something to watch.”

Wests Tigers matchup against James Tedesco, who played six seasons at the Wests Tigers, and the Sydney Roosters on Sunday at Campbelltown Stadium.

James Tamou: Wests Tigers talent at same level as Penrith Panthers

James Tamou has already been so extremely impressed with his new squad, he’s comparing them to the young team he led to the NRL Grand Final just a few months ago.

The young playing group at the foot of the mountains is as good as any in the league, but Tamou has seen enough that Wests Tigers can match it with them in the future.

“It’s a young group,” Tamou told media on Tuesday. “The similarities between here and Penrith are of the same talent pool. I’ve said that many times.

“Penrith have had that talent pool for a while, it’s just about putting it all there on one page and doing good things with it.

“I am pretty confident in this special group that we’ve got. But like I said it’s not really known until we get tested on Sunday.”

Tamou also gave the highest of praises and a significant comparison to young hooker, Jacob Liddle.

“I felt (in the Manly trial) he was very quick out of dummy half,” Tamou said.
“If we’re able to get a roll on, he’s able to get out. He can create opportunities there. He’s a bit like Api Koroisau.

“Obviously the hooker comes into the game now it’s quicker around the ruck.”

“I definitely think he’s more than capable and can take a hit. That’s probably one of the most pleasing things to see, you want someone to line up beside you and they do their job.”

The Wests Tigers open their season against the Canberra Raiders at 4:05pm, Sunday.

Listen to our latest podcast where we preview the match as well as make predictions. Download on Spotify here. Download on Apple Podcasts here.

Opinion: Sleep on Luch at your own peril

Michael Maguire has made a lot of great roster changes since taking over from the big over spender, Ivan Cleary. But one that doesn’t get talked about enough is the signing of Luciano Leilua from the St George Illawarra Dragons in late November of 2019.

Luciano Leilula. Image: WestsTigers.com.au

Luch was one of our best in 2020 and we here at WestsLife are predicting him to not only be club player of the year, but up there in the conversation for the best back rowers in the NRL.

With the likes of Vilame Kikau, Felise Kafusi, Wade Graham, David Fifita, it’s a pretty stacked position and a big call. But a warning to other clubs, don’t sleep on the 24 year old Toa Samoa rep.

In terms of ranks within the Wests Tigers, the younger Leilua was second to Harry Grant in tackles made, yet only average one missed per game. He was third in offloads (four behind his brother Joey, two less than David Nofoaluma). But if the trial against Manly is any indication, Madge has given him a green light for offloads and second phase play is a massive weapon in attack, especially with the likes of his brother, Daine Laurie and Luke Brooks backing up.

He’s also a try scoring machine himself, scoring seven meat pies himself in 2020 which is tied first for second rowers.

Both of the Leilua brothers at the Wests Tigers apparently trained the house down over the summer, dropping several kilos each. A teammate of Joey posted a picture on social media of him shirtless and it was instantly visible that his bodyfat percentage has shrunk significantly. Unfortunately he was a late withdrawal from the trial game against Manly, so we’ve yet to see what it will do for his game this year.

As for Luciano Leilua, he tore Manly’s defensive line apart. He looked more agile, stronger and also craftier with the ball. His long curly hair waving side-to-side as he was in stride was a sight to behold.

Expect to see ‘Rick Flair’ among many NRL highlights videos this year. That son (brother?) of a gun is in for a HUGE season.

We guarantee it.

Listen to the 2021 season preview episode of WestsLife Podcast now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Podbean.

Wests Tigers fan’s tattoo of David Nofoaluma

Friend of the WestsLife podcast, Patty Sills, is a massive Wests Tigers fan and what kids today describe as a “stan” of David Nofoaluma.

Before the winger put pen to paper, Patty made a promise that he would get his face tattooed onto his body. Of course Nofa re-signed on January 14.

Fast forward a fortnight, Patty was a man of his word. David Nofoaluma will live on his wrist for life. Impressing the legend himself in doing so.

The tattoo was done by @roycelaketattoo King St Tattoo in Newtown and took two hours to complete.

“I’ve always loved Nofa,” Patty told WestsLife.

“I played wing growing up so that drew me to him initially and fell in love with how he plays and his passion for the club.

“I had a few images to pick from that weren’t great quality or wouldn’t fit well on my forearm, so that was the best of the bunch.

“Royce did a great job”.

Have you got a Wests Tigers-themed tatt? Show us on Twitter or Instagram.