The “incredible” numbers behind the Tigers’ decline since Jarome Luai signed with the Chiefs have been laid bare, with the “jury still out” on the NRL’s early season surprise packet.

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The Tigers were one of the better success stories to start but The Daily Telegraph’s Dean Ritchie was not convinced, declaring last month that he was worried the “bubble” was “bursting”.

That came after the Tigers lost two-straight games by a combined margin of 70 points to fall down the ladder.

It was easy at that point to simply point to the club’s lengthy casualty ward, with Adam Doueihi and Samuela Fainu among the biggest names to be missing.

That was still the case on Sunday afternoon and few people expected the Tigers to challenge the Panthers.

But this Tigers team under Benji Marshall has higher standards than the performance they dished up in the 68-0 defeat and it begs the question: was it all hype or is there still substance to their rise this season?

As is often the case with questions like that, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle with the injuries being a legitimate excuse but not for Sunday’s historic loss to Penrith.

“The Tigers’ opening 20 was one of the worst opening 20s I have seen from a side all year, they couldn’t complete a set,” Brent Read said on ‘NRL 360’.

“They just made mistake after mistake.”

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Panthers DEMOLISH Tigers 68-0 | 05:08

Read said that while a top-four finish “might be a stretch now”, he still believes the Tigers are “well in the mix” for the finals and considering they haven’t played deep into September since 2011, that would be a big step in the right direction for the joint-venture.

But the sudden slump still poses significant questions for coach Marshall moving forward after he seemed to have instilled a certain work ethic and defence-first mindset that paved the way for consistent success at the club.

Braith Anasta said the “jury is still out” on the Tigers, adding they have “fallen off a cliff” and that while they have become a more attractive destination for rival players under Marshall the extent to which that is true “will be determined by the next few months”.

“If you lose 68-0 you become more unattractive,” he added.

Which brings everything back to Luai, because he was one of the Tigers’ marquee signings and one of the biggest reasons they became an attractive club to play for in the first place.

Now, he is leaving at the end of next year.

Marshall was adamant at the time that it would not derail their season because Luai had been so transparent through the whole process, and so as a result all his teammates were across why he was making the move.

Plus, he still had over a year left with the group to make sure he left his mark at the club.

But according to former two-time premiership winner Luke Keary, Luai hasn’t done that yet.

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Jarome Luai has struggled recently. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“Jarome has to stand up. He hasn’t brought them success… they haven’t done anything while he’s been there,” Keary said during Fox League’s coverage on Sunday.

Read called Luai a “circuit-breaker” for the Tigers in luring other big-name players to the club, pointing out that the recent form slump “coincided with significant injuries”.

He also argued that even if the Tigers haven’t secured a top-eight finish under Luai’s leadership yet, he has changed the “identity” of the club.

But for the time being as long as poor results continue it will be hard for him to escape the outside noise according to Ritchie.

“The Luai effect is important to touch on because the numbers don’t lie. Since Jarome signed with PNG, they have scored 66 points and conceded 226. That is an incredible amount,” he said.

“It has probably had a bit of an effect on them,” Tallis added.

“… Since he has made the call, they just are not playing the same. There was a lot of energy about them a month ago.”