OFFICIAL Jarome Luai - #295

[Tom Shines]

Put shit on Pascoe if it makes you feel better but as I said I didn’t mention him and I don’t think he deserves it.

So still no response on the two sides ? You trying to walk that back?

 

[twentyforty]

So still no response on the two sides ? You trying to walk that back?

Dont tell me I need to spell it out for you. Everyone knows there were those in the HBG who were hiring behind the backs of those in the West tigers. And Benji plus Richo were interviewing Luai at his home in private.

 

[Tom Shines]

Dont tell me I need to spell it out for you. Everyone knows there were those in the HBG who were hiring behind the backs of those in the West tigers. And Benji plus Richo were interviewing Luai at his home in private.

I think you have got your timing a bit wrong ..

I don’t understand your argument what the troubles around Richo/ the board has to do with signing Luai 2 years earlier ,,,,I’ll go as far as to say it wasnt a consideration in fact… as you well know they were pursuing him already before Richo arrived, so that indicates the powers that be had already given it the green light and were already on board with him coming here …although the club probably wouldn’t have picked him up without Richo’s subsequent influence

But going after and signing Luai was something everyone at the club was on board with and supported at the time

 

[twentyforty]

I think you have got your timing a bit wrong ..

I don’t understand your argument what the troubles around Richo/ the board has to do with signing Luai 2 years earlier ,,,,I’ll go as far as to say it wasnt a consideration in fact… as you well know they were pursuing him already before Richo arrived, so that indicates the powers that be had already given it the green light and were already on board with him coming here …although the club probably wouldn’t have picked him up without Richo’s subsequent influence

But going after and signing Luai was something everyone at the club was on board with and supported at the time

I may have my timing wrong, not by much though, and I don’t know that it matters, because my point was that if we had been running like a well oiled machine with “everyone staying in their own lane” as Richo often quipped, then things wouldn’t have been so messy.
Luai was signed November 2023, Richo had possibly a MoU but technically was still negotiating his own contract while he was working with Benji on closing the Luai deal.
The sticking point being the get out clauses at the end of each season. It was Richo who closed on that.
Meanwhile, at the same time, HBG were signing 4 other halves and not necessarily halves Benji wanted.
When Richo finally started work he had to clear the decks. You may recall his trip to UK? None of that was accomplished overnight.

 

[Tom Shines]

Luai was signed by the Tigers Jan 3 24… Richardson was announced as coming to the club on 10 Dec 23

 

[crazycat]

The Cold Hard Truth About Luai: Why the $6M Man is a Victim of a Broken Machine

I am going to be unpopular here for my position on Luai. Not because I personally think he has been performing to his contract value – but because we are getting out of Luai what our system has enabled.

I have been banging on for a long time about eyes up players needing systems to be effective and we (Wests Tigers) are simply proving the point.

I’m also not going to let emotion and contract signing news get in the way of fact. We need to get over the "Jarome Luai isn’t playing to his contracted worth" rubbish and take the emotion out of the discussion. The contract value is irrelevant – it is what we paid to get a plyer of his style into our system. We chose to get him so we could build a system that works for Wests Tigers. The statement about his contract worth is subjective and completely misses the reality of how this bloke, and others like him (Munster and co), play football. It is focussed on him as an individual not the system that he is working with on the field right now.

Luai isn't a Nathan Cleary. He’s never going to be a robotic, structural half that dictates field position with long kicking. He is an instinctive, "eyes-up" player. He makes his living by shifting his tempo, throwing a dummy, and causing defensive lines to second-guess themselves for a split second. But for that style to work, you must have weapons around you; the ability to exploit the hesitation. At Penrith, he had elite hole-runners. At the Tigers, he’s creating space for ghosts.

Let’s look at the stats and tactical data from this (2026) season to understand what's really going on.

The Pass-Receiver Breakdown: Where Is the Ball Going?

If you watch where Luai’s passes are actually landing, it paints a grim picture. He isn't hitting hard-running edge forwards.

• The Crash Runners: Because our combinations are constantly changing, Luai is forced to dump the ball off to static props or flat-footed outside backs who are met by a sliding, waiting defence.
• The Sideways Drift: Without a dangerous second-rower running lines that effectively engage defenders, opposition defences don't have to respect all of the options. They can simply drift out, crowd Luai, and make it look like he’s "running sideways". He is doing that because our line running, particularly “the unders line” is poor and does not keep the defence honest.
• The System: He is linking up, at times, with someone on a good line and was working well with AD and Bula before the injuries started to take their toll. The key issue is that for eyes up players to function in a system, the system has to be functioning. When we play well, we establish the conditions to enable success; however, due to a combination of injuries and suspensions the fundamental platform isn't being laid down.

The Injury Crisis Has Neutered Our Attack

You cannot judge a half when the engine room is decimated. Our forward pack rotation is a revolving door of injuries and forced changes right now:

• Samuela Fainu’s Massive Absence: Missing Samuela Fainu to a long-term (12-week) foot injury has completely stripped Luai of his most lethal, explosive edge weapon.
• Zero Edge Continuity: Luai has had a new centre and second-rower on his edge just about every single week. You cannot build any fluid attacking timing when your hole-runners are changing every Tuesday.
• The Beaten Pack: With injuries and suspensions affecting the 9 and plaguing our middle rotation, we are losing the battle for running metres in the middle and quick play-the-balls have all but disappeared. Luai is often receiving the ball on the back foot, behind an ineffective attack. No playmaker alive wins under those conditions.

The Individual Stats Don't Lie (source: https://www.legz.com.au/nrl/players/74/jarome-luai)

Despite all that is happening around him and the party dress tearing from the fanbase the stats don’t support the narrative. If Luai was genuinely playing poorly, his creative output would be non-existent. But the 2026 NRL data shows he is working overtime to spark our side:

• Linebreak Assists: 11th in the NRL (10 assists). He is finding the gaps and isolating defenders.
• Try Assists: 16th in the NRL (9 assists). He is still manufacturing points in a side that struggles heavily for red-zone field position.
• Kicking Workload: 7th in the NRL for Grubbers (12). He’s stepped up to take on tactical short-kicking duties that he rarely had to touch when playing next to Cleary.

The PNG Chiefs Distraction

Let's be honest: a lot of the vitriol on this forum right now is emotional. Because news broke that he signed a massive deal with the Chiefs. People are looking for reasons to claim he has checked out. It's confirmation bias at its worst.

The problem isn't Luai's effort or his contract value (less potentially last weekend – but that was a team effort). The problem is that an instinctive playmaker is playing in a team that does not have healthy, established hole-runners. He is playing in a team that is unable to provide the system it has been built around. This is a depth issue!

I’m not saying that he is playing out of his skin; but I have said all along that you can’t have an effective instinctive player without a system around him. What we have proved is that when we have our top players on the paddock we have the skills to execute the system and provide the platform required for a player like Luai to function. Let’s face it, and we knew the issue before a ball was kicked, our depth is atrocious. That is not Luai’s issue that is simply a reflection of where we are in our rebuild process.

We need to stop blaming the brickie for not being able to build the wall when he hasn't been given enough bricks to build it with.

If we’re going to pay out on any player – how about we link it to fact instead of emotion?

This seems very ChatGPT... but meh.

Yes, we haven't had as much Crash running as we want too.

But Luai hasn't been the focus of the "eyes up" system. That was AD + Madden + Api

Now we need another boom 2RF. Between KPP and Samuela we have that kinda sorted in the first grade. Yes one of them is injured and I would like for a Sam McIntyre or heck I am dreaming Nanai or Nikora to sign on with us.


Other then the Penrith/Storm wipeouts we can put points on. Yes Luai isn't the top but he is in the top 11 for try assists, grubbers etc.

Our attacking weapons are there this year. Our defense is still costing us games.
While it's random backline each week our defense will continue to be crap.

 

[twentyforty]

Zero Edge Continuity: Luai has had a new centre and second-rower on his edge just about every single week. You cannot build any fluid attacking timing when your hole-runners are changing every Tuesday.

Jolls very good post .
The above is the only part I partially disagree with.
The game has evolved, so much so that we can no longer continue to look for a single particular skill when signing a new player. More so an ability to play a variety of positions.
IMO, we need to have every player skilled up to the point where they fully understand other teammates intentions.
As an example of some training I’ve done which produced good results, in a different field mind you, but results can if you want a brf to perfectly time his run off a Luai type player, then you swap those 2 players at training so that they fully appreciate the circumstances. I’ve swapped people like that and the outcome has always been improved teamwork.
Those teams that are doing well can swap roles a fb to 9, a centre to wing, a brf to 6.

 

[Alex Seyfarth's #1 Fan]

This seems very ChatGPT... but meh.

Yes, we haven't had as much Crash running as we want too.

But Luai hasn't been the focus of the "eyes up" system. That was AD + Madden + Api

Now we need another boom 2RF. Between KPP and Samuela we have that kinda sorted in the first grade. Yes one of them is injured and I would like for a Sam McIntyre or heck I am dreaming Nanai or Nikora to sign on with us.


Other then the Penrith/Storm wipeouts we can put points on. Yes Luai isn't the top but he is in the top 11 for try assists, grubbers etc.

Our attacking weapons are there this year. Our defense is still costing us games.
While it's random backline each week our defense will continue to be crap.

Yeah gross get this crap off our forum. If you don't have time or are unable to use some original thought, just don't post.

 

[Jolls]

Yeah gross get this crap off our forum. If you don't have time or are unable to use some original thought, just don't post.

So where do you get off accusing me of lacking origianl thought? Go back and read the context - I wrote it specifically as a counter point to the narrative that was being pushed here at the time. Instead of slandering posters who have differing opinions, which is pretty common here, I supported my argument with fact, as opposed to opinion and bullshit.

You may also note that this is a drum I have banging for a couple of years in realtion to structure and eyes up footy.

Read some more of the analysis I have done and you will see that I try take the time to present a balanced opinion. If you don't like my writing style I can live with that. Just move on and read whatever floats your boat. If, however, you want to accuse me of passing off "AI developed crap" as my own opinion - back it up.

To help you out I plugged the article into Google AI and asked it to determine if it was written by AI. I recommend that you do it for yourself and check before you gob off next time. Here is the result:

This text was almost certainly written by a human, not an AI.

Why it is Human-Written

• Real Fan Passion and Lingo: The text uses authentic rugby league slang and fan forum terms. Phrases like "banging on for a long time," "this bloke," "on the paddock," and "brickie" are highly specific to Australian sports culture. AI rarely writes with this exact type of local flavour unless forced.
• Emotional Tone and Opinion: The author is arguing with other fans on a forum. They use phrases like "I am going to be unpopular here" and "the party dress tearing from the fanbase." This shows a personal, human connection to a real-life community debate.
• Natural Human Metaphors: The text features unique, slightly messy metaphors that humans use when typing out their thoughts. For example, comparing a football team's depth to a bricklayer running out of bricks, or mentioning a "party dress tearing," feels very organic.
• Small Human Errors: The author makes minor typos, such as writing "plyer" instead of "player." AI text is usually grammatically perfect.

What the Text is About
The text is a passionate defence of Wests Tigers rugby league player Jarome Luai. The writer argues that fans should stop blaming Luai for the team's losses. They use real 2026 NRL stats to show that Luai is still creating opportunities, but the rest of the team is too plagued by injuries to help him succeed.

Would you like me to analyse a different piece of text to see if it was written by AI, or would you like to look closer at the NRL stats mentioned in this post?

 

[Tom Shines]

So where do you get off accusing me of lacking origianl thought? Go back and read the context - I wrote it specifically as a counter point to the narrative that was being pushed here at the time. Instead of slandering posters who have differing opinions, which is pretty common here, I supported my argument with fact, as opposed to opinion and bullshit.

You may also note that this is a drum I have banging for a couple of years in realtion to structure and eyes up footy.

Read some more of the analysis I have done and you will see that I try take the time to present a balanced opinion. If you don't like my writing style I can live with that. Just move on and read whatever floats your boat. If, however, you want to accuse me of passing off "AI developed crap" as my own opinion - back it up.

To help you out I plugged the article into Google AI and asked it to determine if it was written by AI. I recommend that you do it for yourself and check before you gob off next time. Here is the result:

This text was almost certainly written by a human, not an AI.

Why it is Human-Written

• Real Fan Passion and Lingo: The text uses authentic rugby league slang and fan forum terms. Phrases like "banging on for a long time," "this bloke," "on the paddock," and "brickie" are highly specific to Australian sports culture. AI rarely writes with this exact type of local flavour unless forced.
• Emotional Tone and Opinion: The author is arguing with other fans on a forum. They use phrases like "I am going to be unpopular here" and "the party dress tearing from the fanbase." This shows a personal, human connection to a real-life community debate.
• Natural Human Metaphors: The text features unique, slightly messy metaphors that humans use when typing out their thoughts. For example, comparing a football team's depth to a bricklayer running out of bricks, or mentioning a "party dress tearing," feels very organic.
• Small Human Errors: The author makes minor typos, such as writing "plyer" instead of "player." AI text is usually grammatically perfect.

What the Text is About
The text is a passionate defence of Wests Tigers rugby league player Jarome Luai. The writer argues that fans should stop blaming Luai for the team's losses. They use real 2026 NRL stats to show that Luai is still creating opportunities, but the rest of the team is too plagued by injuries to help him succeed.

Would you like me to analyse a different piece of text to see if it was written by AI, or would you like to look closer at the NRL stats mentioned in this post?

I know it’s a bit tough at times ,.. but ignore the critics ..

You are entitled to your opinion and should feel free to express it how you see fit …

People have the choice to either read it or scroll past it as per any other comments…

 

[Jolls]

I know it’s a bit tough at times ,.. but ignore the critics ..

You are entitled to your opinion and should feel free to express it how you see fit …

People have the choice to either read it or scroll past it as per any other comments…

Tom,

Thanks, but I don't care about being criticised for my opinion. In fact I welcome it as it is a way to learn and understand other opinions.

What I can't stand is being accused of posting AI generated stuff as original thought.

 

[Rock Hopper Steve]

Tom,

Thanks, but I don't care about being criticised for my opinion. In fact I welcome it as it is a way to learn and understand other opinions.

What I can't stand is being accused of posting AI generated stuff as original thought.

What Jolls, you are AI generated, who came up with that load of balls they need a kick in the nuggets.

 

[king_sirro]

The Cold Hard Truth About Luai: Why the $6M Man is a Victim of a Broken Machine

I am going to be unpopular here for my position on Luai. Not because I personally think he has been performing to his contract value – but because we are getting out of Luai what our system has enabled.

I have been banging on for a long time about eyes up players needing systems to be effective and we (Wests Tigers) are simply proving the point.

I’m also not going to let emotion and contract signing news get in the way of fact. We need to get over the "Jarome Luai isn’t playing to his contracted worth" rubbish and take the emotion out of the discussion. The contract value is irrelevant – it is what we paid to get a plyer of his style into our system. We chose to get him so we could build a system that works for Wests Tigers. The statement about his contract worth is subjective and completely misses the reality of how this bloke, and others like him (Munster and co), play football. It is focussed on him as an individual not the system that he is working with on the field right now.

Luai isn't a Nathan Cleary. He’s never going to be a robotic, structural half that dictates field position with long kicking. He is an instinctive, "eyes-up" player. He makes his living by shifting his tempo, throwing a dummy, and causing defensive lines to second-guess themselves for a split second. But for that style to work, you must have weapons around you; the ability to exploit the hesitation. At Penrith, he had elite hole-runners. At the Tigers, he’s creating space for ghosts.

Let’s look at the stats and tactical data from this (2026) season to understand what's really going on.

The Pass-Receiver Breakdown: Where Is the Ball Going?

If you watch where Luai’s passes are actually landing, it paints a grim picture. He isn't hitting hard-running edge forwards.

• The Crash Runners: Because our combinations are constantly changing, Luai is forced to dump the ball off to static props or flat-footed outside backs who are met by a sliding, waiting defence.
• The Sideways Drift: Without a dangerous second-rower running lines that effectively engage defenders, opposition defences don't have to respect all of the options. They can simply drift out, crowd Luai, and make it look like he’s "running sideways". He is doing that because our line running, particularly “the unders line” is poor and does not keep the defence honest.
• The System: He is linking up, at times, with someone on a good line and was working well with AD and Bula before the injuries started to take their toll. The key issue is that for eyes up players to function in a system, the system has to be functioning. When we play well, we establish the conditions to enable success; however, due to a combination of injuries and suspensions the fundamental platform isn't being laid down.

The Injury Crisis Has Neutered Our Attack

You cannot judge a half when the engine room is decimated. Our forward pack rotation is a revolving door of injuries and forced changes right now:

• Samuela Fainu’s Massive Absence: Missing Samuela Fainu to a long-term (12-week) foot injury has completely stripped Luai of his most lethal, explosive edge weapon.
• Zero Edge Continuity: Luai has had a new centre and second-rower on his edge just about every single week. You cannot build any fluid attacking timing when your hole-runners are changing every Tuesday.
• The Beaten Pack: With injuries and suspensions affecting the 9 and plaguing our middle rotation, we are losing the battle for running metres in the middle and quick play-the-balls have all but disappeared. Luai is often receiving the ball on the back foot, behind an ineffective attack. No playmaker alive wins under those conditions.

The Individual Stats Don't Lie (source: https://www.legz.com.au/nrl/players/74/jarome-luai)

Despite all that is happening around him and the party dress tearing from the fanbase the stats don’t support the narrative. If Luai was genuinely playing poorly, his creative output would be non-existent. But the 2026 NRL data shows he is working overtime to spark our side:

• Linebreak Assists: 11th in the NRL (10 assists). He is finding the gaps and isolating defenders.
• Try Assists: 16th in the NRL (9 assists). He is still manufacturing points in a side that struggles heavily for red-zone field position.
• Kicking Workload: 7th in the NRL for Grubbers (12). He’s stepped up to take on tactical short-kicking duties that he rarely had to touch when playing next to Cleary.

The PNG Chiefs Distraction

Let's be honest: a lot of the vitriol on this forum right now is emotional. Because news broke that he signed a massive deal with the Chiefs. People are looking for reasons to claim he has checked out. It's confirmation bias at its worst.

The problem isn't Luai's effort or his contract value (less potentially last weekend – but that was a team effort). The problem is that an instinctive playmaker is playing in a team that does not have healthy, established hole-runners. He is playing in a team that is unable to provide the system it has been built around. This is a depth issue!

I’m not saying that he is playing out of his skin; but I have said all along that you can’t have an effective instinctive player without a system around him. What we have proved is that when we have our top players on the paddock we have the skills to execute the system and provide the platform required for a player like Luai to function. Let’s face it, and we knew the issue before a ball was kicked, our depth is atrocious. That is not Luai’s issue that is simply a reflection of where we are in our rebuild process.

We need to stop blaming the brickie for not being able to build the wall when he hasn't been given enough bricks to build it with.

If we’re going to pay out on any player – how about we link it to fact instead of emotion?

Jolls i respect your opinion and the effort in writing that. Im of the belief you are missing one key point though, it isnt necessarily Luai's performances re creativity, its more about his decision making for an experienced marquee half. Very simple stuff like not getting to the kick to start the 2nd half on Saturday. Passing the blind side to May on the last in our own half against Manly when Madden was ready to kick long which started Manly's momentum. Its kicking centre field to Kini and Fuller opening up space for them to use their speed putting the opposition immediately on the front foot instead of kicking to the corner. The list if this stuff is endless and very costly to a teams momentum. These are fundamental mistakes good 16 years wont make. They are poor decisions and they have nothing to do with the Tigers system or being an eyes up instinctive footballer.

 

[Jolls]

Jolls i respect your opinion and the effort in writing that. Im of the belief you are missing one key point though, it isnt necessarily Luai's performances re creativity, its more about his decision making for an experienced marquee half. Very simple stuff like not getting to the kick to start the 2nd half on Saturday. Passing the blind side to May on the last in our own half against Manly when Madden was ready to kick long which started Manly's momentum. Its kicking centre field to Kini and Fuller opening up space for them to use their speed putting the opposition immediately on the front foot instead of kicking to the corner. The list if this stuff is endless and very costly to a teams momentum. These are fundamental mistakes good 16 years wont make. They are poor decisions and they have nothing to do with the Tigers system or being an eyes up instinctive footballer.

I agree that there are certainly errors in his game and our system - our kicking has certainly regressed. However, the issue I was adressing at the time I pulled this togethr were the claims that Luai was underperforming across the board - pretty much since the announcement of his defection dropped.

The focus of the analysis was to highlight that the statistics didn't support the narrative on here at the time. There are plenty of errors in his game (and the team as a whole) but effort and application, for the most part, aren't part of that. His performance this year built on a partnerships that were formed last year and you can see the combinations building over time. Much of that combination building is based on hsi support being in the right place at the right time.

We need to be smarter across the board - Luai is only part of the that issue.

 

[Tim Sheens]

Jolls very good post .
The above is the only part I partially disagree with.
The game has evolved, so much so that we can no longer continue to look for a single particular skill when signing a new player. More so an ability to play a variety of positions.
IMO, we need to have every player skilled up to the point where they fully understand other teammates intentions.
As an example of some training I’ve done which produced good results, in a different field mind you, but results can if you want a brf to perfectly time his run off a Luai type player, then you swap those 2 players at training so that they fully appreciate the circumstances. I’ve swapped people like that and the outcome has always been improved teamwork.
Those teams that are doing well can swap roles a fb to 9, a centre to wing, a brf to 6.

Conversely, I see that @Jolls point as not only a Luai problem, worse still, the constant shuffling across both positions and sides of the field being a huge problem for the backline as a whole.

To finally see Turuva in the same preferred spot for consecutive matches has made me a little happier this week.

 

[twentyforty]

Conversely, I see that @Jolls point as not only a Luai problem, worse still, the constant shuffling across both positions and sides of the field being a huge problem for the backline as a whole.

To finally see Turuva in the same preferred spot for consecutive matches has made me a little happier this week.

I remember watching Brooks doing the same thing at Tigers with the whole backline including br running forwards standing flat footed. Brooks just kept running and looking for someone,anyone on the balls of their feet. He got to the sideline and passed to a winger then through his arms in the air. Now looking at the reaction from Brooks, my guess is that it was something they had trained for? Which begs the question was coaching back then more focussed on the “how” rather than it is today on the “must do”?
I agree with all the on field changes not being beneficial. The time for those changes which introduce stronger teamwork is on the training paddock.

 

[Tiger Woods]

Last year galvin derailed our season
This year luais png decision plus some injuries derailed our season
I'm looking forward to whats going to derail our season next year
Any suggestions ?


🍿🤣

 

[mtd#2]

I'm one of Luai's biggest supporters here...

But this cryptic post has me questioning whether he is a mature leader... What did he tell them? Who did he tell? Did he tell Benji to play Latu? Did he tell the boys to make sure they didn't take the dragons easy?

For a supporter base already struggling, this isnt the sort of post you expect from a leader.

When I see this sort of post I feel like an idiot for buying into his lip service.

 

[rugbygoated]

I'm one of Luai's biggest supporters here...

But this cryptic post has me questioning whether he is a mature leader... What did he tell them? Who did he tell? Did he tell Benji to play Latu? Did he tell the boys to make sure they didn't take the dragons easy?

For a supporter base already struggling, this isnt the sort of post you expect from a leader.

When I see this sort of post I feel like an idiot for buying into his lip service.

View attachment 40083

He did similar with Galvin with the 'team first' post last year. Subtle digs...

 

[Tom Shines]

Would be a brave decision to move him on at the end of this season …I could easily be convinced it would be the best one for the club though ,,.