Jarome Luai’s contract clauses at Wests Tigers are a win for both parties, Marles the man when it comes to PNG expansion

The Wests Tigers have handed Jarome Luai a massive contract with almost no strings attached, but how else could the perennial cellar dwellers attract the most sought after star in the game, asks BRENT READ.

The Wests Tigers’ signing of Jarome Luai is back under the microscope amid revelations that their $6 million man has a series of options in his favour after the 2026 season.

Why are we surprised? Luai, after all, held the whip hand in negotiations with the Tigers. The Samoan superstar was coming from a club that had won four successive premiership and moving to a club that had won three successive wooden spoons.

He was a State of Origin player and an international. He had clubs, most notably the Bulldogs, desperate for a piece of him.

He was a legitimate magnet for other players. In return, the Tigers offered him the chance to join a club that was looking to climb off the bottom of the ladder.

Sure, they also offered him plenty of cash and the chance to be the man. Yet Luai had all the leverage and he wisely used it to his advantage.

(L-R) Wests Tigers star recruit Jarome Luai and coach Benji Marshall.

The Tigers could have turned around and refused to give Luai the options his camp wanted but chances are he would have walked and signed with the Bulldogs.

Or somewhere else. The Tigers would have been back where they started. So they did the deal and backed Luai to make a significant impact, that would in turn convince him to stay.

Luai hasn’t started training yet but he has already changed the face of the Tigers. He played a role in Terrell May joining the Tigers in the face of rival offers from St George Illawarra.

He could walk away in two years but if he does, chances are the move hasn’t been a success and the Tigers will probably be happy to see the back of him and his mega-contract.

For too long the Tigers have been the NRL’s whipping boys. The only way to change that is to climb the ladder and Luai gives them some hope that could happen.

If he can help them turn it around over the next two years, his deal will be worth every cent. Options or not.

DEPUTY PM DESERVES CREDIT FOR PNG PROGRESS

The forgotten man in Papua New Guinea’s quest to land an NRL team also happens to be arguably the second most powerful man in the country.

Richard Marles was the parliamentary secretary for the Pacific more than a decade ago when the concept of planting a team in PNG began to gain traction.

It was Marles who later championed it as Labor policy. It was Marles who held talks six years ago with former ARL Commission chair Peter Beattie over the concept, which was greeted with cynicism by many and is now only days away from coming to fruition.

It was Marles who largely planted the seed for where we are today, on the verge of a historic announcement that will expand the NRL to at least 18 teams.

Marles has taken a back seat in recent times. No doubt, he has more important matters on his mind as deputy Prime Minister and minister of defence.

Australia’s deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles.

Yet success has many fathers and Marles is one of them when it comes to PNG and the bid to expand to the only country on the planet where rugby league is more passionately followed than in Australia.

Even now, as we count down the days to the big announcement, it seems hard to fathom. When this masthead began documenting the pursuit of a team in PNG in earnest almost two years ago, even we found it hard to believe.

The suggestion that rugby league could be used to keep China at bay in the Pacific seemed far-fetched. To be fair, it bordered on ridiculous.

Yet here we are and while some are still sceptical, there are powerful figures within the game who believe expansion into PNG will be a seminal moment for the NRL, unlocking the Pacific, expanding the game’s footprint and creating a new pathway for players.

Financially, it is a golden ticket. The government has locked in $600 million, part of which will be used to appease the existing clubs but the vast majority dedicated to making sure the concept is a success.

There is much work to do but plenty of money to get it done. Convincing NRL players to uproot themselves and piecing together a squad may be the most difficult part of all, although there is a firm belief at Rugby League Central that the team can eventually be largely self-sufficient.

The production line in PNG is already reaping dividends if their performance against the Australian schoolboys a few weeks ago is any guide. The game’s head honchos believe it can be a game changer for the code.

Then there’s the political implications of having a rugby league team in PNG and the goodwill that comes with it. You can’t put a price on that.

Marles made that clear this week as he spoke about the prospect of a team in PNG in an appearance on ABC radio.

“If we’re talking about the arrangement for an NRL team based in Papua New Guinea, this is a long held dream of both Papua New Guinea and so many of us who have worked with PNG over many, many years,” Marles said on ABC radio this week.

“When I was the parliamentary secretary for the Pacific back in 2010, this was on the agenda then and very much an aspiration of the country and it’s something that we have wanted to try and facilitate ….

“It’s fundamentally about support and it’s about the cultural affinity that our two countries have. Rugby league is a ….. massive passion, I should say, in Papua New Guinea and across the relationship, be it security, be it cultural engagement and sporting engagement such as this, we want to have the very best relationship that we can possibly have with Papua New Guinea.

“And building upon our affinity …. with PNG is the way in which we should be engaging in our bilateral relationship with PNG, and that’s what we’re doing here.”

Rugby league as a builder of bilateral political relationships. Now we’ve heard it all.

Originally published as Jarome Luai’s contract clauses at Wests Tigers are a win for both parties, Marles the man when it comes to PNG expansion