NRL 2024: Why Panthers star Jarome Luai hasn’t had a haircut in almost three years

It’s Jarome Luai’s ‘Last Ride’ at Penrith but will it lead to the championship five-eighth having his first hair cut in almost three years?

Jarome Luai is hoping his ‘Last Ride’ at Penrith won’t turn into his first hair cut in almost three years.

After winning his first title back in 2021, Luai pledged to keep his flowing locks until Penrith lost their tag as reigning premiers.

So if Luai reports to Concord for his first day as a Wests Tigers with a ‘shaved head to the skin’, Penrith’s historic fourth-straight title did not go to plan.

But Luai is doing everything in his power to ensure he, along with Panthers spiritual leader James Fisher-Harris, end their time at the foot of the mountains as four-time champions – starting with a win against the Sydney Roosters on Friday night.

Jarome Luai reveals he hasn’t had a haircut in almost three-years, after vowing to keep his flowing locks until Penrith lost their tag as reigning premiers. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Luai is channelling a similar theme to the Chicago Bulls’ NBA reign just over 25-years ago that coincided with Michael Jordan’s final season with the franchise.

The record breaking documentary ‘The Last Dance’ chronicled the rise of Jordan and the self-destruction of the Bulls after his last season in 1997-98.

But Luai is hoping his own version, the ‘Last Ride’, will leave a lasting legacy at Penrith.

“It’s a theme that I have come up with. We don’t have a theme yet like we did with Top Gun but I reckon it’s something we will lean into this year,” Luai said.

“You go through a lot and you experience a lot over time. I’ve gotten to be part of this great team and created something special for years to come, even after we leave.”

Luai is channelling the Chicago Bulls’ ‘Last Dance’ from 1998 that coincided with Michael Jordan’s (L) and coach Phil Jackson’s (R) final season with the franchise in 1998.

The St Marys Saints junior revealed the reality of having to walk away from the only club he has known hit him hard.

Luai has played alongside halves partner Nathan Cleary since the two were 15-years old and his junior representative football alongside the likes of Liam Martin, Moses Leota, Dylan Edwards and Fisher-Harris.

“It was a bit of a challenge after Origin because it was coming pretty fast for me,” Luai said.

“I think being able to talk about it and address how I was feeling helped me understand that I still have a job to do so I have to put the emotion aside and put the worker’s hat on to make sure I’m doing my job first and foremost.

“I’ve also had little conversations with the boys that are leaving and conversations with my partner about it all. I’m making sure that I’m present, and that’s the most important thing.”

Farewelling players is nothing new to coach Ivan Cleary.

Salary cap constraints have seen the likes of Viliame Kikau, Matt Burton, Api Koroisau, Spencer Leniu and Stephen Crichton move on after each premiership win.

But Cleary conceded losing Luai and Fisher-Harris, who will join the Warriors in 2025, would be the hardest goodbye so far.

“None (goodbyes) of them are easy, but yeah probably,” Cleary said.

“That’ll come, it’s now about making some good memories for those guys, and that’s what we’ve been able to do in the past.

“This year is another story.”

James Fisher-Harris will also depart the club he celebrated 200 first grade games with in Round 27. Picture: Getty Images

Luai is making sure every page in that story will be remembered.

The 27-year old has taken to journaling as a way to document every step of his ‘Last Ride’ at Penrith in a small brown journal he keeps on his bedside table at home.

“I’ve been doing a bit of journaling. It’ll be pretty cool to look back down the road or even when I’m not here,” Luai said.

“A lot of my best mates are here, so the thought of not seeing them every day is an unknown feeling.

“A lot of us are moving on so a lot of attention has been on us. I didn’t want it to be about us. It’s about the whole team and all of our journeys.

“ Life happens and people move on.”

Luai and Fish-Harris moving on is no greater for skipper Isaah Yeo in Penrith’s push for another title in 2024.

“Fish and Romy, It’s the ride for those two boys and we want to honour them by sending them out on a high because they deserve it. We’ll be channelling that,” Yeo said.

Yeo believes Fisher-Harris, like Luai, will leave a legacy in Penrith through the forward pack for years to come.

Panthers co-captain Isaah Yeo admits it will be hard to replace the likes of Luai and Fisher-Harris, but says their looming departure is good motivation for another title. Picture: Getty Images

“It’s hard to replace Fish, not too many front rowers have a resume like his with 200 NRL games and three titles,” Yeo said.

“The standard he sets at training, and dedication, that’s a void that’s hard to fill.

“But he’s taken a lot of the forwards under his wing and now it’s up them to step into that void and carry the torch.

“He’s taught them the standards and how to be leaders, like Moses Leota, Lindsay Smith and Liam Henry. Now it’s up them to take the next generation of forwards into the future.”

It’s been six years since Luai played his first ever game as a starting halve at Bluebet Stadium, where produced a stunning two-try performance against the Warriors in 2018.

“Without the Origin guys that night there was no real pressure because no one gave us a chance to win,” Luai recalls.

“It was all about letting it flow and having a good time, and probably to this day that was one of my best games.

“It’s a night I’ll never forget.”

He’s hoping Friday’s clash against the Roosters – which will be the last NRL game played at Bluebet Stadium before a major redevelopment – has the same lasting memories.

Luai is planning to take a “patch of grass” from the field that turned him into a household name, as keepsake.

“I might not wear those boots again that I wear on Friday too,” Luai said.

“But I’m really zoned on what I have to do this week. It’s great to be a part of a winning culture and a winning team so it makes it hard to think about anything else.”

Originally published as NRL 2024: Why Panthers star Jarome Luai hasn’t had a haircut in almost three years