Hapless NRL cellar dwellers West Tigers were taken to the cleaners 36-18 by the Manly Sea Eagles in Campbelltown, Sydney over the weekend but not before the best thing ever happened West Tigers rookie David Nofoaluma reached for the sky and scored what we can say without hyperbole is one of the most spectacular and acrobatic tries ever scored in rugby league history.
The 19 year old Newcastle native completed a certain Play of the Day (R.I.P. Sports Tonight) thanks to one of the most impressive displays of finishing ever seen on a football field.
The high-flying circus act started when highlight-prone West Tigers pivot Benji Marshall put through a chip kick to the right corner at the ten minute mark of the first half. Note Nofoaluma’s position.
Seconds later: Nofoaluma makes up the distance and out-jumps opposite Manly winger Jorge Taufua.
The reverse angle of the take…
Then Nofoaluma (in the space of time required to spell his name) fields the ball without fumbling, rotates more than 90 degrees in midair, contorts and keeps his body in the field of play all while contending with an 100kg opponent who pushes him with the urgency of George Costanza at an emergency fire evacuation.
To finish, he miraculously grounds the ball nanoseconds before his body goes out of bounds.
And it’s even better in live speed.
SPEC-TAC-U-LAR.
