Luai came here to take it easy. I honestly believe that he chose the tigers so the pressure of losing would be attributed more to the team he played in (3 time spooners) than him being the problem. He's been one of our biggest problems and lost us a lot of games. He can activate the get out clause. Don't care about 'culture and hard training' if it doesn't translate on the field. A new Anthony Milford 2.0. To go through our season.
Jarome Luai's season:
- R1 vs Knights: Luai debut game. Winning 8-0 at half-time and Luai and Galvin look clueless with game management with luai giving a 7 tackle set leading to a try and momentum shift in the game
- R4 vs Warriors: Again in front vs warriors at home and not able to ice the game like Metcalf
- R7 vs Eels: Galvin-gate week where luai's team first post backfires and team loses without galvin
- R8 vs Sharks: Luai has plenty of time to kick an easy in front field goal and passes it 15 metres back to Doueihi who misses after kick pressure. Doueihi ices the game with a penalty goal.
- R9 vs Dragons: Team is well in front at half-time and almost loses. 34-28. Luai attempts field goal from 2nd receiver and misses an easy one while off balance and without much strength. Doueihi last scorer and decisive try. Goal-kicking good.
- R10: Storm 64-0. Worst loss of the season by any team. Luai's dad issues a get out clause social media post.
- R11 vs Souths: Another winnable game against a bad souths team and Luai fails again to ice the game in a close one. Galvin drops ball over try line in dying minutes.
- R13 vs Cowboys: Luai and AD both sin binned. 14 points scored while luai is off the field. Final score is 32-28. Too little too late.
- R14 vs Penrith: Luai has a great first half. 2nd half very poor last tackle options and silly offloads. Eventually gives away 2 penalties that lead to a penalty goal and a try on the following set in the second half that prove to be the difference. 18-14 final score. Bula held up metres from try line.
- R16 vs Raiders: Luai held up over the try line by Tapine. Good effort from tapine but embarrassing to not have the strength to get it down from that close or change hands. Luai plays better in 2nd half involved in only 2 tries. Again, another 16-12 close loss where he doesn't win it.
- State of Origin period: Luai joins a Blues team up 1-0 and loses both games... In game 2 he has multiple try assists, but messes up the Blues composure from the get go with frantic play and kicking the ball out on the full in the first minute. In game 3, he is even worse. Missing tackles leading to tries and a very costly momentum shifting 7 tackle set that halts the blues charge. He makes tom dearden look like an immortal and robert toia a rookie like a 10 year veteran. Latrell gets some good ball from luai but ultimately his discipline is influenced by jarome. The impact on Nathan Cleary is huge too. Cleary won the 2023 grand final with luai off the field and has lost his last 3 origin series with luai. The only won they have won together is where turbo and latrell were unstoppable.
- R18 vs Roosters: AD and Latu combine the best of any halves combo for the whole year and defeat chooks. Again, AD's goalkicking proves the difference 30-28.
- R19 vs Warriors: Sets up a try but is completely outclassed by tanah boyd all game. Luai gives away a costly penalty in the first half that changes momentum.
- R20 vs Titans: Most of the game is outplayed by J Campbell. Tigers come back late with luai forcing a dropout and involved in skelton try late. Luai nearly scores the match winner with a great run but ultimately is easily stopped metres from the try line. Game management here is awful when they go left on last tackle with a bad setup for field goal (think back to sharks game in r8). Luckily Latu fainu receives the ball and passes back for AD who is in space and kicks a clutch field goal that in the end was the game that ended our wooden spoon reign.
- R21 vs Panthers: The team doesn't score a single try. Luai pathetic again and puts one out on the full.
- R22 vs Bulldogs: Luai plays good in a great team performance. He has been waiting all year to play Galvin. MOTM AD again.
- R24 vs Manly: Probably luai's best game of the year but still not best on field.
- R25 vs Cowboys: Luai has a very good game until the last 10 minutes. Very dangerous as 5/8 like his penrith days and scores his first try. Team is up 28-16 and ends up losing in 5 minute period of carnage with latu going off. Game management not to blame, however options to win the game down by 6 are poor. Particularly a pass off the scrum to taylan may that goes down where they had time to prepare.
- R26 vs Raiders: Luai has a good first half involved in 2 tries but for the majority of the game his last tackle options are diabolical.
- R27 vs Titans: Sets up the first two tries of the game and does nothing for the rest. 28-12 half time. Team as a whole are very passive and tired. Pole with 2 massive errors puts us in our own end. Luai struggles with the long kicks to get us out of trouble. Once latu goes off team capitulates. Luai kicks the ball into legs a few times, but one on 3rd tackle that leads to a line break and try on the same set changes momentum. Down by 8 and there is no urgency at all to get back in the game after doing nothing in the 2nd half. Extremely disappointing.
After looking at all this. Luke Brooks would have been better value. Luke has won games for the tigers over the years as much as he has lost them. Luai has not won us a single game all year. But he has lost us more than a few. In contrast: AD has won us at least 5+ games and been the difference. I can't see a game this year where I thought AD lost us the game. R7 vs Parra he was quite poor perhaps. Luai can't kick a field goal, 40-20, goal kick when all other options are out, kick for touch, organise his own edge even when he is 5/8, nor can he get out of the way when the team is winning. He also has terrible stats with 1 try all year and 12 try assists, with most of those in the last 2 months. His leadership is not there either. The cowboys sin bin in townsville, the late tackles without wrapping which he keeps doing, the dumb AF escorts. Also doesn't turn up in the press conferences when the team loses. If you look at who is in the pressers this year for wins, 90% are luai. When it's losses, it's koroisau. Neither are good leaders. One of them should step up and be captain perhaps. Because at the moment they are bros with each other and the team, not father figures
