Stephen Crichton's message to Jarome Luai and family amid NRL contract call
The Panthers five-eight has been handed some advice.
Jarome Luai's former teammate Stephen Crichton has backed his best mate to make the right move on whether or not he decides to leave Penrith as rival clubs close in on the representative player's signature. The Wests Tigers have been favourites to land Luai after the five-eighth went on the open market with the Panthers offering considerably less to re-sign him.
The Panthers have offered Luai a boosted contract between $800,000 to $850,000 per year to keep him at the club. But the Tigers have blown this out of the water with a reported $4.5 million deal on the table for him to make the switch.
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Luai has previously indicated he is weighing up a decision between "success or family". And one of Luai's best friends, and former teammate's, Crichton has given his advice having just made his own switch.
Crichton made a huge decision to leave the Panthers after winning three-straight premierships to try his hand at the struggling Bulldogs. And the centre has backed Luai to make the right move for his family.
“I haven’t really spoken to him ever since I left (Penrith), which was a few weeks ago the last time I saw him,” Crichton told reporters at Bulldogs training. “The last time I did speak to him, I told him to do whatever makes him and his family happy, and I’ll be happy.
“He’s kind of my best mate as well, so wherever he goes or stays, I’m happy with wherever he goes. I’d probably sit down with my parents and see what the best solution is to put him and his family in the right position. I’d tell him to not listen to the outside noise because I had that as well last year when I was moving. As long as he knows that his family is happy wherever he goes, that’s the best thing for him.”
Wests Tigers favourites to sign Jarome Luai
The Wests Tigers were favourite to sign Luai on a mega-deal, but the club descended into turmoil when a board upheaval meant a major shake-up. But on Wednesday, new Tigers interim CEO Shane Richardson said the board upheaval is not set to stop his club's pursuit of Luai.
The former South Sydney CEO has long been an admirer of the five-eighth, having previously tried to sign the 26-year-old at the Rabbitohs. “I’ve made my feelings on Luai well known for a long while. In my opinion, he was the best young half coming through,” Richardson said.
Richardson was full of praise for Luai and his endorsement leaves the Tigers as huge frontrunners for the five-eighth's signature. “He’s proven at the highest level he was the best young half coming through," Richardson said about Luai.
"Not only that, he’s a great team leader, that Penrith side revolves around Luai. He is a great person off the field despite what many media people try to make out. You couldn’t meet a better person than him and you couldn’t ask for a better person at your club.”
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