Benji Marshall says Jarome Luai contract clauses likely won’t be removed as club pushes to re-sign Jahream Bula
Benji Marshall has re-signed with the Wests Tigers, but he admits there are still no guarantees Jarome Luai will see out his deal. See the five biggest takeaways from the coach’s press conference.
Benji Marshall might have gotten himself a contract extension, but the Wests Tigers coach doesn’t believe it’ll be enough for Jarome Luai to remove the clauses from his own deal.
As revealed by this masthead, the Tigers on Friday confirmed a new deal for Marshall to coach the club until the end of the 2030 season.
And while he admits the development won’t prompt Luai to get rid of get-out clauses in his contract, Marshall is confident the superstar playmaker won’t jump ship, either.
“I’m confident he’ll be here,” he said.
Marshall has been in the thick of “player management” the past two weeks following the turmoil at board level that culminated in the exit of CEO Shane Richardson.
The second-year NRL coach opened up on how the length of discussions with his team to reassure them the same vision he sold them before arriving at Concord.
“I sat down with Jarome at length about where we’re going and he’s fully committed to the club. Like fully committed,” Marshall said.
“He caught a lot of flak for the clauses he had in his contract.
“And I’ll be honest, those clauses are not going anywhere, but he’s given his full commitment to our side. If there’s anyone I trust in our team the most, it’s that guy.”
Marshall had hoped his new deal would be a sign of stability to his side, including off-contract fullback Jahream Bula.
The Fijian international will enter the final year of his deal next season.
“We’re working really hard on making that happen,” Marshall said.
“I don’t need to talk about recruitment, but I’ll be honest.
“You don’t know with these decisions, but I am confident that he will stay and we’re doing everything possible to keep him.”
Marshall was also candid in his admission that he had yet to earn his extension – which makes him the second longest contracted coach in the NRL behind Cameron Ciraldo.
But he remains determined to prove he is worth the risk.
“I’ll be honest, probably haven’t done or in terms of performance deserved to have the extension,” he said.
“But if you look at the plan and the vision and the people we brought in and where we’re going and the improvements, yeah, you could probably beg to differ there.
“At the end of the day, I’m here till 2030. I back myself, I back the players we’ve got, the squad we’ve built, and like I said, the plan’s going to stay the same.”
The club only two weeks ago were on the up before descending into chaos once more, with the Holman Barnes group sacking four independent directors.
Richardson resigned from his post shortly after.
But as far as Marshall is concerned, it’s business as usual from a footballing perspective.
“We made a plan two years ago and gotta give credit to Richo for that too, because he is a big part of what we’ve done, the squad we’ve built,” he said.
“And I’m sure everyone could see the progress we’ve made on field, which is all I care about really, to be honest. That plan will stay in place.”
The club also appointed the club’s head of football Shaun Mielekamp as its interim CEO.
“I’ve got to thank Richo for what he’s done because if you look at what he’s actually given us, he’s given us a real stable base to get where we need to go,” Marshall said.
”And it’s been a big part of the turnaround of this club.
“Obviously Richo’s gone, but with Sean in place, we’ve got the same people doing the same jobs, pushing in the same direction.”
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Originally published as Benji Marshall says Jarome Luai contract clauses likely won’t be removed as club pushes to re-sign Jahream Bula
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