TieDye
Well-known member
Amen.
OFFICIAL Jarome Luai - #295
- Thread starter Frecal
- Start date
TieDye
Well-known member
And the above post, agree. Brooksy would gel with Luai
mtd#2
Well-known member
Well he took control tonight and we came back from 32-6 down... Having played 20 minutes with 12 men .. 3 on the bench for 65..
THe tigers are building
Alex Seyfarth's #1 Fan
Well-known member
He played well except for his sin binning, which was just utterly stupid. That lost us the game.
The good news is that our players are starting to get used to his playstyle. Whenever he runs, guys are getting in positions to receive the ball after his jinking.
mtd#2
Well-known member
To be fair
If he did that at Penrith in their prime, no referee gives that as a sin bin.
They call him out, warn him, and the cows take the 2 and the actions by Luai are praised
That was just Sutton being a Sutton,the whole refereeing family are all the same.The word *&fg& springs to mind.
Calling a spade a spade, he's just not a 7.
His strength is running the ball. Our structure and direction in attack is poor. Individually brilliant players like Koroisau, Bula and To'a paper over many of our glaring issues in attack. We're so wasteful on the opposition's line because there's no plan behind how we attack. It feels like over half the time we get to 5th tackle we're scrambling just to get a kick away.
We'll never be a top 8 team with him as our 7. We're running into the exact same issue we had with Brooks for almost a decade, albeit Luai is a better player.
His strength is running the ball. Our structure and direction in attack is poor. Individually brilliant players like Koroisau, Bula and To'a paper over many of our glaring issues in attack. We're so wasteful on the opposition's line because there's no plan behind how we attack. It feels like over half the time we get to 5th tackle we're scrambling just to get a kick away.
We'll never be a top 8 team with him as our 7. We're running into the exact same issue we had with Brooks for almost a decade, albeit Luai is a better player.
He did ok playing 7 for a decent stint at Penrith while Cleary was out. The apparent lack of a plan and structure could be due to the options he has - players not being where he wants them (he blew up at a few of them last night), so happy to let things develop and wait and see.
Jedi_Tiger
Well-known member
he is a very good running 6
we need to get Reynolds for a year or throw heaps at DCE
Jedi_Tiger
Well-known member
when he filled in at 7 for penrith he had Isaiah Yeoh at 13 dong the first receiving
rugbygoated
Well-known member
This false optimism is absolutely nuts. Benji always has some 'positive' vibes about every loss. The lack of standards is why the club has sucked for so long. I like what Benji said after the dragons game despite the win. The issue is that training the week after must have been terrible preparing for storm. We are plateauing like last year at the same stage of the season and will struggle to get at least 2 wins for the rest of the year. It's a much harder draw and upsets are much less likely in the last 10 rounds than at the start of the season
AmericanHistoryX
Well-known member
The sin binning played a big role in us going back to the Centre of Excellence with our tails between our legs. I mean. Which other elite player does this? Let's stop jinking to the sideline but rather the try line
AmericanHistoryX
Well-known member
He has too. It's on him. It's his job. To get the best out of the players. To be positive. To any Broncos supporters - you guys are sadder than us - you have the cattle. What's your excuse?
clontarfkid
Well-known member
That's exactly the issue..hes not a 7..never really was
That's why our attack is underperformed
Good footy player tho
mtd#2
Well-known member
False optimism?
I just watched the last 20 mins of the cowboys game and the difference was Luai playing as a 6 and not a 7.
He was playing the same sort of style Benji used to play...
Move him back to 6 and we are on like donkey Kong
Halbrowne61
Well-known member
Correct, he’s a 6
mtd#2
Well-known member
We just need Latu to play the Robert Lui role and I'm somewhat optimistic..
AmericanHistoryX
Well-known member
And Seyfarth to play the Ellis role. That would help also. Whilst we at it - Mason to play the Munster role.
‘The finished article’: Five ways Jarome Luai has already improved the Tigers
Wests Tigers may still be outside the top eight, but the signing of Jarome Luai has already been hailed a success.
Tigers CEO Shane Richardson praised Sunday’s rivals, premiers Penrith, for presenting the Tigers with the “finished article”.
“Penrith provided him with the polish that’s made him what he is, on and off the field,” Richardson said.
“At our club’s he’s the alpha leader, he’s taken on that role, and I’ve been surprised at how good he has done at that role. I’m just glad we’ve got him.”
Luai inked a $6 million, five-year deal with the Tigers, and while his sole focus is winning premierships, there are five simple way he has already improved his new club.
Natural-born leader
Coach Benji Marshall quickly elevated Luai to the co-captaincy alongside Api Koroisau. The dummy-half, who played with Luai at the Panthers, noticed how far the halfback had come in terms of leadership.
Jasrome Luai’s time at the Wests Tigers has already been hailed a success.© Getty Images
“When he talks, it’s right on point, there’s no fluffing about,” Koroisau said. “As a leader, there are a lot of times when you want to say things, but you’re unsure if it’s the right time. But he picks his times, knows exactly what to say and when to say it.”
Improved Koroisau’s game
Koroisau has always been a dominant dummy-half, especially last year when Lachlan Galvin was still learning his craft, and there was no one dominant playmaker.But with Luai’s arrival, Koroisau has noticed teams devoting much of their attention to him, which in turn has started to open up more space through the ruck.
The Dolphins only had eyes for Luai and Galvin in a recent match, and Koroisau was able to pinch easy metres before scoring a try.
“Everyone watches him when he’s on the field,” Koroisau said. “They’re waiting for him to get the ball, [looking] at the shape on his outside, which frees up the middle of the ruck a bit more, and that helps my game.
“People are always watching him. He’s a big talker out there, which has helped me as well.”
Long kicking game
There were plenty of questions about how Luai would handle running a team now he was without former halves partner and Penrith chief controller, Nathan Cleary.Panthers coach Ivan Cleary noted Luai had started to take on more responsibility last year while Nathan was out injured, and part of that transition included doing a lot of more work on his long kicking game.
“He’s always had a good short game, but his long game is definitely getting better,” Cleary said this week. “He’s touching the ball more, being around both sides of the footy, and dangerous.”
A marketer’s dream
The Tigers brand has been boosted by Luai and his natural charisma and charm in front of the camera and with sponsors. Richardson cannot recall the last time the recruit knocked back a chance to promote one of the club’s community or Polynesian programs in Sydney’s west.Before Christmas, at his first signing session with fans at Concord, Luai stayed back for nearly an hour and a half after training to sign every autograph and pose for every photo.
Anthony Field, blue Wiggle and longtime Tigers fan, has spent his entire life in the entertainment industry. After welcoming Luai and a few of the players into the recording studio at the start of the year, he was so blown away by Luai’s vocals he said he was prepared to produce an album for him.
Jarome Luai leads the way at Tigers training back in March.© Sam Mooy
Overdue professionalism
The best thing about signing premiership-winners is they know the lofty standards required to achieve success.Luai has had a direct influence on the squad’s youngsters, with Richardson saying: “He sets a good example for the younger players, and has shown them what you need to do to be a professional – he’s the ultimate professional.”
Marshall said on Saturday: “Jarome’s impact on the club, you can’t measure it. In terms of what he’s brought to us in terms of standards, professionalism, competing on every play, leadership, all the things he’s really good at, he’s been outstanding for us.
“We won six games last year, four games the year before, and four games [in 2023]. We’ve won five so far [in 2025] – we’re not happy with that, we think we’ve got more in us, but he’s added a lot to us. We love having him here.”
