Images of Jarome Luai wearing a black bucket hat and grey shirt, smiling and waving to rugby league fans in Papua New Guinea over the weekend, have the potential to derail much of the good work being done at the Wests Tigers right now.
The Tigers have quickly become the feelgood story of the NRL this year. After a hat-trick of wooden spoons from 2022, the rebuild under coach Benji Marshall is gathering steam and the Tigers now sit third on the ladder after a strong start to the season. Marshall has his team playing with just the right blend of passion, flair, resilience and mongrel. It has been great to watch.
So it was galling for Tigers fans to see Luai being mobbed by fans in Port Moresby during a not-so-subtle meet-and-greet with PNG Chiefs officials.
The Chiefs need a big scalp ahead of their 2028 entry to the competition, and Luai fits the bill. The deal is a big chance of being confirmed in the next 48 hours.
It would have been one thing for Chiefs officials to have met the playmaker for a quiet coffee in Concord. It was another thing entirely for the expansion franchise to parade him around PNG, with Prime Minister James Marape at the head of the welcoming committee. Imagine the reaction if Nick Politis had wheeled out Luai at a Sydney Roosters game?
The only thing more impressive than the Chiefs’ charm offensive was the military-style operation to sneak him out of Sydney airport on Monday night. Luai’s parked car was moved on to the tarmac before he hopped into the back seat behind blackened windows and exited the ExecuJet Aviation compound.
It has been widely reported that Luai can activate a three-year extension that would nail him down at Tiger Town until the end of 2029. But Tigers officials have clarified that the clauses allow Luai to renew his contract on a year-to-year basis, meaning he can re-sign with the Tigers for 2027 then roll up in PNG to play in their debut season in 2028, and beyond. Luai has until Thursday to decide whether to take up the option for 2027.
The money on offer at the Chiefs will blow any NRL club out of the water. As it stands, Luai earns $1.2 million a season at the Tigers, which is roughly $700,000 after tax. If he were to earn the same salary at the Chiefs, he would pocket an extra $500,000 a year.
That’s hardly chump change for any NRL player, let alone one who grew up on the streets of Mt Druitt, in Sydney’s western suburbs.
But here are the real reasons Luai’s weekend hit-and-run trip should seriously concern the Tigers and their long-suffering fans:
Luai is a four-time premiership winner and big-game player whose real value has been in the standards he has driven off the field, and the players he has helped attract to the club.
The May brothers, Terrell and Taylan, as well as the Fainu boys, Latu, Sione and Samuela, all love Luai. So does co-captain Api Koroisau, and another former Panthers teammate, Sunia Turuva. A big reason players want to join the Tigers is to learn from Luai and play under Marshall.
Star fullback Jahream Bula is weighing up his own future, and will no doubt find the decision to recommit much easier if he knows Luai will remain a key part of the team’s spine for the long haul.
If Luai chases the money in PNG, fans should brace themselves for further disruption to the playing group. The trusted and respected 29-year-old co-captain could have just one more full season at the club before moving on.
The irony, of course, is that Luai blasted former teammate Lachie Galvin for doing just that 12 months ago when the young half sought a move to Canterbury. Luai’s infamous “Team First” Instagram post left no one in doubt about his thoughts on Galvin’s actions.
Tigers officials were not talking on Monday. There were so many questions. How did they feel about Luai’s PNG visit? Was it a publicity stunt designed to drive up his price? How badly do they want to keep him? If Luai leaves, will it become harder to attract players to the club?
When asked about his future a few weeks ago, Luai told this masthead: “I’m happy with where I am, happy with the team, and we’re building towards better things.”
Luai’s move caught even his good mates by surprise. Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton, who won three premierships alongside Luai at Penrith, said: “I was pretty shocked about it. He’s a big name in the NRL, it’s a new franchise coming in, regardless of what decision he makes, I’ll back him because he’s one of my closest mates’ [I will support] whatever is good for him and his family. I’m sure players will gravitate to him.”
PNG are well within their rights to dream big, and it will be difficult to keep secrets when big-name players are given the grand tour – especially if they are paraded at domestic rugby league games, as Luai was.
The NRL is powerless to stop the Chiefs publicly wooing players, no matter how much angst it causes supporters.
The Tigers need Luai. After more than a decade in the wilderness, the future finally looks bright with him at the club. The NRL needs the Chiefs to be a success. But at what cost to the Tigers?
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