{"id":522913,"date":"2026-07-12T22:50:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T22:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/522913\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T22:50:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T22:50:06","slug":"nrl-2026-jarome-luais-dad-likes-post-suggestion-split-with-benji-marshall-wests-tigers-contract-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/522913\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Jarome Luai\u2019s dad likes post suggestion split with Benji Marshall, Wests Tigers contract, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It is not just Jarome Luai creating headlines with his social media activity.<\/p>\n<p>Father Martin has now caused a stir with one single emoji, commenting on a post which hinted at potential fractures in the relationship between Jarome and Tigers coach Benji Marshall.<\/p>\n<p>Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/en-AU\/welcome\/nrl?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkleague-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-nrl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>WHAT&#8217;S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n<p>Martin commented an \u2018OK\u2019 emoji on a post from Triple M that included a quote from Channel Nine reporter Danny Weidler which suggested Jarome and Marshall are \u201cnot as close as they were since he said I\u2019m off to PNG\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels weird to me that the guy who was brought in to change the culture of your club is out the door in a couple of years,\u201d Weidler said on the radio program. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy feeling on it is that Benji and Jarome aren\u2019t necessarily as close as they were. I\u2019m not saying there was a blow-up or anything. I just don\u2019t think they are as close as they were ever since he made that big call to say I\u2019m off to PNG. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuite often in those situations when a player makes a decision like that, it takes a very strong club and very strong people to make it continue to work in the background. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has worked. Penrith players have gone. Someone like Stephen Crichton had a great season but Penrith and the Wests Tigers are different clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/newsletter-sign-up?utm_source=NRLArticle&amp;utm_medium=TextLink&amp;utm_campaign=signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Instagram post in question.Source: FOX SPORTSMartin Luai responds with an OK emoji.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>It is not the first time Martin Luai has created headlines on social media, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2025-jarome-luais-fathers-instagram-post-wests-tigers-loss-to-melbourne-storm-martin-luai-contract-option-get-out-clause-news-videos-highlights\/news-story\/2cbd06d1a54cc2cc77517ef750ec9ff2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">having previously posted \u2018Get out clause activated\u2019 on his story<\/a> after the Tigers\u2019 64-0 loss to the Storm last year.<\/p>\n<p>That, of course, was in reference to the option to Luai\u2019s contract which allowed him to hit the open market and leave the Tigers despite having signed with the club until the end of 2029.<\/p>\n<p>Martin joked in the aftermath of that incident that he had been banned from social media by his wife.<\/p>\n<p>The latest social media post comes in the wake of confirmation the five-eighth will leave the Tigers at the end of the year, with the club looking to free up salary cap space to spend on extending some of its young talent. <\/p>\n<p>Both Luke Keary and former Tigers front rower Aaron Woods <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-nrl-talking-points-and-analysis-round-19-recap-review-scores-stats-jarome-luai-tigers-benji-marshall-manlys-troubles-rugby-league-news\/news-story\/a8b29f4c73e3fcc6ab8bcc76fe05c6c1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">questioned whether the Luai decision could split the dressing room<\/a>, while there are now suggestions it could challenge his relationship with Marshall. <\/p>\n<p>The Tigers coach is yet to front media to address how the club came to the decision and what it means for the rest of the season, having <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-wests-tigers-coach-benji-marshall-breaks-silence-on-jarome-luai-departure-rumours-fiery-exchange-with-reporters-loss-to-new-zealand-warriors\/news-story\/ecfc4f7b236f8ff28669978fde246b06\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">shut down any questions on Luai in Friday night\u2019s press conference<\/a> after the loss to the Warriors.<\/p>\n<p>Code Sports reporter Brent Read said on Triple M that he would suggest Luai and Marshall\u2019s relationship is \u201cprobably strained to an extent\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was tight. I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s as tight as it was because of what has happened and the way things have unfolded,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is not just Jarome Luai creating headlines with his social media activity. Father Martin has now caused&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-522913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}