Jarome Luai's comments about Nathan Cleary re-surface amid $6m Wests Tigers decision
The Panthers five-eighth will be tasked with being the main playmaker if he follows through with his decision to leave.
Jarome Luai made some telling comments about Nathan Cleary earlier this year, and what it would be like playing without his Panthers halves partner. Luai has reportedly accepted a five-year, $6 million deal to join the Wests Tigers in 2025, but the move is yet to be sealed because of a new 'cooling off' period introduced by the NRL.
Under the new rule, players must give their club 10 days' notice to respond or counter after they accept a deal with a rival team. The Panthers gave Luai the week off from training after he informed his teammates that he'll be leaving.
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But with the new cooling off period in effect, there are some thoughts that Luai might be reconsidering his decision to leave. As leading NRL writer Andrew Webster revealed this week, Luai told him earlier this year: "It would be scary not playing with Nathan (Cleary)".
Luai has won three-straight premierships with Cleary as his halves partner, and has always taken somewhat of a back seat to the Kangaroos halfback. But Luai would be the main man at the Tigers, and Panthers coach Ivan Cleary pointed out earlier this year that he's relatively untested in that regard.
As Adam Lucius wrote for Yahoo Sport Australia this week: "Luai will walk in the year after next and be expected to produce from word go. He oozes ability and class but won’t have the likes of Nathan Cleary, Brian To'o, Liam Martin, James Fisher-Harris or Dylan Edwards to bail him out when the going gets tough. Not to mention the experienced, calming influence of Ivan Cleary."
Brad Fittler says Jarome Luai can be gun halfback at Tigers
But former NSW coach Brad Fittler reckons Tigers coach Benji Marshall can turn Luai into a superstar halfback. "I think (Luai) thrives on people suggesting he can’t do something. I'd suggest he’ll find a way to do it. He puts up with a lot, Jarome, and he seems to have that ability to use it to push himself," Fittler told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"You do have to tick certain game management boxes but as long as your playmaking spine, between the three of you, has them covered, there’s no reason why (Luai) couldn’t be a halfback. If you look at Api (Koroisau) in particular, so much of their game is played off him, and he can do what it might take other teams two players to do, that freeing-the-ruck-up side of things."
But Tigers legend Steve Roach made staggering claims that Luai won't be leaving the Panthers after all. Penrith's contract offer to Luai pales in comparison to that of the Tigers, but Roach reckons Luai can still get paid later in his career if he stays at Penrith.
“The thing is, if you’re any good, a decent player, you generally don’t move around clubs unless there’s family stuff going on," Roach told Fox Sports. “Blokes like Luai, if he’s a one-club player at Penrith he’ll make money for the next 30 years, don’t worry about the next three or four years.
“And those guys deserve to be looked after by the club… three premierships in a row, not bad. I’d like him to come [to the Tigers], he’s a good player, but I have my doubts.”
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