The Wests Tigers were back to their best on Sunday afternoon as Jarome Luai produced a sensational second-half hat-trick to stun the Gold Coast Titans and guide his side to a much-needed victory.
After coming under scrutiny over the past month since confirming he will join the PNG Chiefs in 2028, Luai silenced his critics with arguably the finest performance since arriving at the Tigers from the Penrith Panthers.
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Taking control when his side needed him the most, not only did the talented five-eighth inspire the comeback on Sunday, but he has reignited the club’s push for a long-awaited return to the finals.
Last competing in the NRL finals in 2011, when they lost to the New Zealand Warriors in the semi-finals, the joint venture remains desperate to end the competition’s longest active finals drought.
If they are to finally end the horrific streak, they will need to rely heavily on Luai, who has “undelivered” in his short stint with the club to date.
“He knows he needs to deliver and he knows he probably under-delivered,” former Wests Tigers utility Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
“He would have been upset and probably disappointed with the way he was playing for the Tigers and a little embarrassed.
“The intent shows that he’s still fighting for the club, and he intends on doing that for the next year and a half.”
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CODE Sports reporter Brent Read continued to acknowledge Luai’s match-winning display, but stressed that his time at the Tigers will ultimately be judged on whether he can guide them to the finals in September and end their lengthy drought.
He also backed the Samoan international to achieve that goal, believing that the Tigers will be in the top eight at the end of the season
“They are at a point where they needed someone to step up and lead them after a few hefty defeats and being in danger of losing touch with the top eight,” Read added.
“To consider his time at the Tigers as a success, they need to reach the promised land.
“They need to play finals footy and they needed to win yesterday to keep that alive and I think they’ll play finals football this year.
“I think yesterday showed that you can’t write them off.”
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While Anasta and Read backed Luai to ultimately lead the Tigers back to the promised land, Dean Ritchie took a more critical stance on Luai and the side’s struggles.
“They haven’t played finals for 15 years. That is embarrassing, to be honest,” The Daily Telegraph reporter added.
“Jarome was brought there to do a job and that was to play finals footy.
“The bottom line is what happens on the field matters and his legacy at Concord will be judged if he can get to the finals this year or next year.”