Billy Slater and Brent Read are questioning the effect that Jarome Luai’s apparent move to PNG will have on the Wests Tigers’ playing group. And Read believes the star five-eighth’s departure could lead Tigers teammates to follow him.
Luai met with PNG officials in Port Moresby on Sunday and is being tipped to be the new NRL team’s first signing. Luai has ‘player options’ in his contract with the Tigers for 2027, 2028 and 2029, meaning he’s free to leave whenever he wants.
Benji Marshall and the Wests Tigers could be facing the prospect of multiple players leaving. Image: Getty
The Chiefs will enter the NRL competition in 2028, meaning Luai could play 2027 with the Tigers before departing. The NRL premiership winner could earn the equivalent of $2 million per season due to tax incentives afforded to anyone who signs with the Chiefs.
Discussing the situation on Monday, Slater questioned whether it will be detrimental to the Tigers when they’re going so well. Benji Marshall has his side absolutely flying with five wins and two losses after eight rounds to sit third.
“One thing that you’ve got to be careful of is it could unsettle what is happening at the Tigers right now, and Jarome Luai is the captain of the Tigers,” Slater said on his podcast. “That’s the one thing that has the potential to unsettle, is just that harmony and that togetherness of that footy club and footy team at the moment, because they’re onto something special.”
Jarome Luai’s potential exit could tempt Tigers teammates to follow him.
(Getty Images)Could Tigers teammates follow Jarome Luai?
On NRL 360, leading journalist Read pointed out Luai’s leadership and how players tend to follow him. And he named some star teammates who could be tempted to follow him to PNG.
“I think the bigger concern for the Tigers is that Jarome is a bit of a pied piper. Blokes follow him,” Read said. “So if Jarome goes, who wants to go there with him. Does Sunia Turuva want to go there with him? Does the May boys (Terrell and Taylan) want to go?
“I think for me, if I’m a Tigers fan, that’s the biggest concern. The issue is what it does for the other guys in that playing group who are potentially off contract at the end of the year to see Jarome go and say ‘that doesn’t look so bad’.”
Slater had earlier said: “It is a business and I do understand players looking after their own affairs and looking after their own future and their families and exploring the options. But this is going to be a public circus for a period of time until he makes a decision now.”