Ivan is no fool.
OFFICIAL Jarome Luai - #295
- Thread starter Frecal
- Start date
Give him a kick up the arse on the way out.
mtd#2
Well-known member
Maybe technically he hasnt broken any rules, but whilst contracted with the wests tigers, promoting png chiefs wearing 001 is as shit as it gets.
hank37w
Well-known member
GNR4LIFE
Well-known member
Let’s no re-write history. He also let Crichton go. He didn’t let these players go because he didn’t rate them. He just couldn’t keep all of them. Luai won 4 comps in a row. Of course his price tag was going to be through the roof. Easy to be a Monday morning QB now, but 99% of people were fine with what he was being paid in January 2024.
Who's re-writing history? Ivan was right in what he said. He knew who the general was in the side, and it wasn't Luai. Desperate teams (i.e. Tigers, Chiefs albeit they are desperate to build a new roster it's not so much driven out of a decade and a half of failure,) are required to pay overs to lure players away from successful clubs. Canterbury had to do the same with Crichton. He was probably a $600-700k a year player at Penrith, at Canterbury at the time they signed him, he is a marquee signing.
Even now, Luai to Penrith would only be a $700-800k a year player.
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Who is in shock? This club has no self-respect, of course they'll give him a reach-around on the way out.
Can't argue with the outcome can you? 5 straight GF's and 4 straight wins.
"Oh you dogged the Tigers!"
Sorry mate, can't hear you. The reception is shitty at the top of the ladder...
GNR4LIFE
Well-known member
The history is being re-written in regards to everyone’s feelings at the time when we signed him. You weren’t around so you probably wouldn’t know. Everyone was excited. No one questioned the price tag. It was a necessity given where our club was at to attract top tier players. Now people claim in it was a bad contract and he was always over rated.
I would think most were OK with the price tag based on his form at Penrith but still understood we were paying overs to get him. He was being brought here to be a leader. As it played out he was anything but. Ivan knew this, obviously knew he would struggle outside their system and that's why he felt he wasn't worth what we were offering at Penrith.
They way things have played out, it certainly was a bad contract in hindsight. No one has to remain set in their view based on whenever it was he agreed to sign. He has grossly underperformed, has rarely led from the front, made claims that he was here for the long haul only to book it when yet again more money came knocking. What everyone may have been saying at the time he signed is completely irrelevant now. His time here, like with all big money recruits that come here, has been an abject failure. And people are entitled to change their view on that.
You can feel optimistic in 2024 at the prospect of him coming here, and sit here now in 2026 and say "he didn't live up to the expectation by a long margin, there was definitely something in what Cleary said." That's not re-writing history, that's reflecting.
tig_prmz
Well-known member
I think we are all overanalysing this whole situation.
We have much bigger fish to fry.
Times are changing, situations are changing every week. Something like PNG is unlikely to ever happen again.
Yeh we probably do lack self- respect as a club but we haven't achieved anything to deserve respect in the first place. Putting a line in the sand with Luai doesn't achieve anything. After all the bitter break- ups, we need to make sure players feel happy here, players go to other clubs and say yeh WT wasn't a bad place to be.
We lose nothing with Luai in PNG honestly.
We have much bigger fish to fry.
Times are changing, situations are changing every week. Something like PNG is unlikely to ever happen again.
Yeh we probably do lack self- respect as a club but we haven't achieved anything to deserve respect in the first place. Putting a line in the sand with Luai doesn't achieve anything. After all the bitter break- ups, we need to make sure players feel happy here, players go to other clubs and say yeh WT wasn't a bad place to be.
We lose nothing with Luai in PNG honestly.
orange&black
Well-known member
There is no doubt that in the cases of AD’s antics and Luai’s decisions, most of us would have loved to see the club react differently. Many of the reactions on here, however satisfying, were more about retaliation and spite than what was/is best for the team.
Benji said it himself in that presser he did after the AD saga - that sometimes you need to put aside your personal ego and make decisions for what you believe to be the best choices for the group to win games.
He not only tried to put the club ahead of what people were going to say about him being weak, but also sent a message about what was the most important thing, to everyone, including AD.
In the case of Luai, the club have been quick to cut ties with him once he made his choice. They have done it in a professional manner that showed they were focused on what is best for the Tigers. This week they will see that situation come to a clean and tidy conclusion. Give him a farewell, thank him for his contribution respectfully and move on.
On whether the Luai “experiment” has been a success or not- who knows if he has helped us move closer to success as a club or not. Time will tell, and it’s easy to look back and say it’s all been a waste because of the way he performed. Looking at it positively, one could say a door has been opened now and the future for our young halves is theirs for the making.
Benji said it himself in that presser he did after the AD saga - that sometimes you need to put aside your personal ego and make decisions for what you believe to be the best choices for the group to win games.
He not only tried to put the club ahead of what people were going to say about him being weak, but also sent a message about what was the most important thing, to everyone, including AD.
In the case of Luai, the club have been quick to cut ties with him once he made his choice. They have done it in a professional manner that showed they were focused on what is best for the Tigers. This week they will see that situation come to a clean and tidy conclusion. Give him a farewell, thank him for his contribution respectfully and move on.
On whether the Luai “experiment” has been a success or not- who knows if he has helped us move closer to success as a club or not. Time will tell, and it’s easy to look back and say it’s all been a waste because of the way he performed. Looking at it positively, one could say a door has been opened now and the future for our young halves is theirs for the making.
Dennisspicer1
Well-known member
He would not make FG with penrith,
And if Ivan was that desperate, the max they would pay him would be between
$400.000 to $500.000.
But they would never want him back.
Wouldn't give him a pack of fire starters.
Rock Hopper Steve
Well-known member
Can never understand when a player is signed at the Tigers that people don't keep an open mind, there's nothing wrong with being excited and hope they do well, especially Luai he was at the top of his game at the time.
There are definitely some players you just shake your head take Tupou for instance but given a chance he's slotted in well, won't call him flippers anymore.
We are all guilty of sticking the boot in at some time, but players should be given a chance, not just say he's shit and I told you so.
With Luai and Doueihi doing what they've done it does not pose that the club is a good place to be. Or, conversely, it shows it's a place where you can come and do whatever the hell you like even while the building is on fire.
Luai and Doueihi's carry on are only symptoms of the problem, yes, but it's something that needs be fixed in a bloody hurry.
Tiger-ferret
Well-known member
There were definitely multiple people questioning the price tag. I certainly did but was ok with it as we needed a marquee.
We are currently signing 2nd graders
Tiger-ferret
Well-known member
Players have goals. If they aren’t aligning with a clubs position (true for any organsiation) then they leave if they can.
Warriors let players go all the time without fuss and look where they are.
mtd#2
Well-known member
Warriors have the whole of NZ to pick from. Watch things change when the 2nd team is introduced.
Warriors also havent won shit.
tig_prmz
Well-known member
you can't fix it in a hurry.
