{"id":788909,"date":"2026-07-09T09:42:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T09:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/788909\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T09:42:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T09:42:24","slug":"nrl-2026-which-team-could-jarome-luai-sign-with-next-wests-tigers-early-release-png-chiefs-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/788909\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Which team could Jarome Luai sign with next, Wests Tigers early release, PNG Chiefs contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wests Tigers have sensationally allowed star five-eighth and captain Jarome Luai to leave the club<\/a> at the end of the season if he wishes.<\/p>\n

Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season 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

According to Code Sports<\/a>, the Tigers met with Luai a week ago to tell him he was free to look elsewhere despite having a year left on his $1.2 million a season contract.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Tigers already have Adam Doueihi signed until the end of 2029, while Jock Madden is contracted for next season and new recruit Jake Averillo will be joining the club on a long-term contract, possibly to play five-eighth.<\/p>\n

It means the Tigers are covered for halves depth, and after signing Averillo to a sizeable contract and re-signing some of their younger players, the club is keen to free up some salary cap space for next season.<\/p>\n

Foxsports.com.au take a look at clubs who would possibly want to take Luai for a season before he joins the PNG Chiefs in 2028.<\/p>\n

Perth Bears<\/p>\n

The poor Bears are desperate for a kill and some publicity on the signings front.<\/p>\n

Their halves for next season look to be Toby Sexton and Tyran Wishart \u2013 hardly a pairing that will frighten opposition defences.<\/p>\n

They could use Luai, not just on the field but for the much-needed publicity they\u2019ve been craving.<\/p>\n

It would also take the attention away from Luai\u2019s future club, the Chiefs.<\/p>\n

As a four-time premiership winner, Luai is the type of player who would be a great help to an inexperienced team.<\/p>\n

While he hasn\u2019t quite lived up to his huge price tag at the Tigers, his off-field influence, in terms of standards and professionalism, has helped turn the club around and that\u2019s the type of player the Bears need to help get them going in the NRL.<\/p>\n

Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n

Luai would be a marquee addition. (Photo by Brendon Thorne\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Parramatta Eels<\/p>\n

Parramatta coach Jason Ryles needs to have a much improved 2027 or he\u2019ll start to face pressure to see out his four-year deal.<\/p>\n

With five-eighth Jonah Pezet leaving at the end of the season, and Ronald Volkman off contract as Super League clubs circle, Ryles might target Luai to come in and help Mitchell Moses.<\/p>\n

Parramatta have proved with the signing of Pezet that they\u2019re happy to take a player for one season before they move on to another club.<\/p>\n

The Eels have re-signed young half Joash Papalii for the 2027 season with a view to him stepping up to be a first-grade regular, but Luai is a State of Origin player.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t forget, Luai did tell the Eels that he was their \u201cdaddy\u201d after the 2022 grand final.<\/p>\n

South Sydney<\/p>\n

Wayne Bennett doesn\u2019t have much time left to claim an eighth premiership and he desperately wants to deliver one for Souths.<\/p>\n

He wants his slice of the club\u2019s rich history.<\/p>\n

Cody Walker is still not signed for 2027 and while he\u2019s still in pretty good form and Bennett is a fan, his antics, like kicking Jack Cogger last week, are no doubt testing the master coach.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s the halves where Souths are weak.<\/p>\n

They have a number of star players like Latrell Mitchell, Cameron Murray, Jack Wighton and Campbell Graham and are getting Payne Haas next year.<\/p>\n

But that all means little if there\u2019s no quality half in the side to steer them around.<\/p>\n

Luai to leave Tigers 12-months early | 04:22<\/p>\n

Canterbury Bulldogs<\/p>\n

Why not tinker further with the spine?<\/p>\n

Canterbury haven\u2019t been able to settle on their best halves combination for a couple of seasons now.<\/p>\n

At least Luai is a safe bet and nothing is off the table for Phil Gould.<\/p>\n

The club is the second-worst attacking side in the NRL and Luai\u2019s spark is what they\u2019re looking for. They need a game-breaker.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs have high hopes for Mitchell Woods, but he\u2019s only young and his development has been stalled in recent years due to injury.<\/p>\n

Even if he overcomes his hamstring issues and gets game-time under his belt, he will still need dozens of matches before he\u2019s ready to lead the side around the park.<\/p>\n

Getting Luai in for a season wouldn\u2019t hurt and would take the pressure off Lachlan Galvin while freeing up Matt Burton to do what he does best and run the ball.<\/p>\n

Burton\u2019s long-term future at the club has also been speculated on some time now.<\/p>\n

St George Illawarra<\/p>\n

The Dragons have been cleaning out their roster and have made some big signings including Scott Drinkwater, Keaon Koloamatangi, Luke Metcalf and Connor Watson.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve tried hard in recent seasons but have lost many games by small margins because they don\u2019t have game managers in the halves to steer them home.<\/p>\n

Imagine Luai and Metcalf combining with Drinkwater chiming in out the back?<\/p>\n

The Dragons would look like a totally different, and much more threatening footy side.<\/p>\n

Daniel Atkinson came to the club this season after showing promise as a reserve half behind Nicho Hynes at the Sharks, but he hasn\u2019t quite delivered on that potential. <\/p>\n

Luai could help the Dragons. (Photo by Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Canberra Raiders<\/p>\n

The Raiders have plummeted down the ladder after winning the minor premiership last season.<\/p>\n

Part of that no doubt has to do with letting go experienced halfback Jamal Fogarty which was a mistake.<\/p>\n

Ethan Strange is the club\u2019s long-term five-eighth but he\u2019s still fairly inexperienced despite emerging as a State of Origin standard half.<\/p>\n

Having Luai play inside him would take plenty of pressure off his shoulders and probably help him play even better.<\/p>\n

His current halves partner Ethan Sanders is playing like a typical 22-year-old halfback \u2013 inconsistent.<\/p>\n

He could learn a lot by working with Luai for a season.<\/p>\n

The Raiders always complain they can\u2019t make a marquee signing.<\/p>\n

Well, here\u2019s their chance.<\/p>\n

Dolphins<\/p>\n

This will all depend on Kodi Nikorima\u2019s future at the club.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s yet to sign a new contract despite being in top form this season.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins\u2019 signing of UK half George Williams for 2027 has come into question amid the club\u2019s scorching form.<\/p>\n

NRL360 host Braith Anasta recently said it would be \u201ccrazy\u201d if the Dolphins replaced Nikorima with Williams in the halves.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge Williams is not the best player in the Super League and no disrespect to the Super League but it doesn\u2019t compare to the NRL, especially in the halves. We\u2019ve seen that. I find that crazy they would go with Williams over Nikorima,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

If Nikorima does leave, the Dolphins could snag Luai for a season before he moves further north to PNG.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Wests Tigers have sensationally allowed star five-eighth and captain Jarome Luai to leave the club at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-788909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788909","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=788909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}