Jarome Luai

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‘It would be scary not playing with Nathan’: Even Luai admits leaving Penrith a risk

Earlier this year, just before the State of Origin series opener, I asked Jarome Luai if he’d contemplated life without Nathan Cleary.

As far back as May, talk had started about what the NSW five-eighth was going to do in 2025.

“It’s scary to think about not playing with Nathan,” Luai told me.

Luai shares a near-telepathic relationship with Cleary, the pair having played against and alongside each other as teenagers before winning premierships for Penrith and Origin series for NSW.

So why would you want to break up such a successful partnership?

The obvious answer is the $6 million over five years that’s presently on the table from the Wests Tigers and probably about as much from the Bulldogs if Luai wants it. It’s an offer Penrith can’t and won’t match.

Luai has told the Tigers he’s coming, and told his Penrith teammates the same thing, but no contract has been signed and, until then, the imposing figure of Bulldogs boss Phil Gould casts a shadow over negotiations.

This could only happen in the NRL. A deal is never a done deal until the player’s name is on the locker and he’s trotting out onto the training paddock in his new team’s colours.

The Tigers’ main selling point to Luai isn’t just money but a promise to make him the heartbeat of the club: he’ll be the on-field general, which allows him to step out of Cleary’s shadow, while helping forge better links with the Pasifika community in Western Sydney.

This was the pitch from the Tigers’ new interim chief executive Shane Richardson, when he spoke to Luai on the phone last week.

Luai was so excited about the move he told the Panthers the next day he was leaving, even though the contract hasn’t been signed.

Penrith has waived the 10-day cooling-off period under NRL rules but, until the contract is signed and cleared by head office, Gould will be lurking in the background, trying to snatch Luai at the last minute.

Gould would relish getting one over Richardson as much as Richardson would relish an early kill in his new role as Tigers’ head kicker.

Richardson has a six-month contract but could stay beyond that if he likes the direction of the club.

Let’s see if he can land Luai, who’s on the hook but not yet in the boat.

What is off the table is the idea of Luai coming a year early. The Tigers don’t have the cap space and the Panthers have made it clear they won’t let him go.

Which makes for an interesting ride given the clear animosity between Luai and Penrith.

The three-time premiers have managed the departure of players in the past three seasons with aplomb, but Luai is the team’s “chief energy officer”, a much-loved player and close friend of Nathan Cleary.

Managing Luai — who has brushed training all week — is going to be their toughest test so far in defending their title.

www.smh.com.au

‘It would be scary not playing with Nathan’: Even Luai admits leaving Penrith a risk

With $6 million on the table, it’s hard for Luai to stay at the Panthers. But is it really the best move?
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au
 
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