{"id":639756,"date":"2026-04-30T03:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T03:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/639756\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T03:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T03:52:10","slug":"png-chiefs-official-press-conference-after-signing-jarome-luai-luai-couldve-taken-more-money-michael-chammas-wests-tigers-what-did-they-say-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/639756\/","title":{"rendered":"PNG Chiefs official press conference after signing Jarome Luai, Luai could\u2019ve taken more money, Michael Chammas, Wests Tigers, what did they say, reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

PNG Chiefs general manager Michael Chammas says he and the club are \u201cstill in shock\u201d they were able to land Jarome Luai <\/a>while admitting the star playmaker could\u2019ve taken more money from the club despite signing for a reported $1.2 million per season tax-free. <\/p>\n

Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

Chammas, CEO Lorna McPherson, chairwoman Catherine Harris and PNG Sport Minister Kinoka Hotune faced the media contingent at NRL HQ in Sydney with Chammas opening up the press conference with a statement.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cA player whose profile transcends the game itself and signing a player of his calibre sends a message to the competition that the PNG Chiefs are here,\u201d Chammas said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis signing will attract other players and this announcement will open doors that would otherwise take several years to unlock.<\/p>\n

\u201cOff the field, the significance is even greater. Jarome Luai in a PNG Chiefs jersey is a cultural moment for our nation. It will inspire a generation.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo Jarome, having the courage to be first. The strength to walk away from a club for an opportunity that transcends rugby league. We admire what you\u2019ve done and you\u2019ll be a hero in Papua New Guinea long after your days on a football field end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chammas also thanked Luai\u2019s current club and their coach Benji Marshall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout their blessing, this deal would not have been possible. It\u2019s a credit to him as a coach and the Tigers as a club that they would behave in such a way that is so considerate to their player.\u201d<\/p>\n

PNG signing ‘puts pressure on Perth!’ | 02:21<\/p>\n

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Why jab won\u2019t come back to haunt Luai; club most \u2018at risk\u2019 of PNG poaching: Talking Pts<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Broke no rules\u2019: Luai explains PNG call, reveals \u2018vision\u2019 that sold him <\/a><\/p>\n

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Chammas recounted the \u201cwhirlwind\u201d last few days, which started when Luai and his family visited Port Moresby on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Just a day after landing back in Sydney, it was reported that Luai would be the club\u2019s first signing for its 2028 NRL entry.<\/p>\n

Chammas revealed that the deal was two years plus an option, rather than a straight three-season deal as initially reported. He also declared that the club was intent on building a roster around Luai that could play finals in season one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all sitting there thinking how did this just happen,\u201d Chammas said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a whirlwind 72 hours. Getting into the country, everyone seeing Jarome and the nervous wait if we were going to sign him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in shock still. Three months ago if you told us that Jarome would be our first signing, I wouldn\u2019t believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since, much has been made about the Chiefs\u2019 ability to offer tax-free contracts<\/a> to lure players to PNG.<\/p>\n

Chammas, a former journalist, even noted that the \u201cnarrative\u201d had shifted as the initial concerns about a PNG team would that they\u2019d struggle to attract players<\/p>\n

The PNG Chiefs’ brass face the media in Sydney.
L-R: Chair Catherine Harris, CEO Lorna McPherson, GM Michael Chammas, PNG Minister of Sport Kinoka Hotune.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been inundated with interest from people \u2026 We\u2019ve been pretty confident as a club that we would put a competitive roster together and this confirms that,\u201d Chammas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sends a message if it\u2019s good enough for Jarome, it\u2019s good enough for everyone and he has three young kids as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the narrative has sort of shifted a bit. Even when I was a journo, people were saying \u2018who will go there, it\u2019ll be a rabble, it\u2019ll fold\u2019 and now we\u2019ve signed Jarome, the narrative has shifted to it being unfair<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could have got more money from us. His managers could\u2019ve asked for more but the reality is, he wants to win and the more money he takes up, the less we have to put around him and that\u2019s the kind of person he is. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s unselfish and he wanted to come to PNG. It\u2019s a legacy thing but he wants to win and I appreciate the way they handled it because now we\u2019re in a position to build a team around him and compete for finals in year one.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the storm of Luai\u2019s signing, a subplot developed involving tryscoring record holder and international Papua New Guinea representative Alex Johnston.<\/p>\n

Johnston shared news of an announcement that he had signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs for 2028, but reports refuted that almost immediately and the club was said to be unhappy at the news leak; which trumpeted AJ as the team\u2019s first signing, right when Luai was set to be announced as such.<\/p>\n

Chammas was asked about the somewhat awkward situation, confirming that Johnston hadn\u2019t been offered a deal yet.<\/p>\n

Alex Johnston has played 12 games for the PNG national team. Picture: NRL PhotosSource: Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been in conversations with Alex for a little while now. Those conversations are ongoing, but we haven\u2019t issued or signed a contract,\u201d Chammas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have made it clear from the outset that we see him playing a pivotal role at the club so we hope we can do something with him in the coming days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in the process now of putting together the final pieces of that, so I\u2019m confident that in the next few days things will be put in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlex knows how important he is to us, and how important he is to the country, so we hope we will get that done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PNG Chiefs general manager Michael Chammas says he and the club are \u201cstill in shock\u201d they were able…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,689,9421,231878,11096,309822,4582,309820,80720,309821,234496,4871,27296,25291,673,677,27284,668,208646,159,85,149691,670,4515,108450],"class_list":["post-639756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-benji-marshall","tag-catherine-harris","tag-daniel-nuttall","tag-football-field-end","tag-jarome-luai","tag-kinoka-hotune","tag-landing-back","tag-legacy-thing","tag-lorna-mcpherson","tag-media-contingent","tag-melanesia","tag-michael-chammas","tag-new-south-wales","tag-oceania","tag-papua-new-guinea","tag-press-conference","tag-record-breaking-deal","tag-rugby-league","tag-sports","tag-star-playmaker","tag-sydney","tag-wests-tigers","tag-young-kids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}