Weekend Read: Time for Jarome Luai to put on the cape and be Batman
Jarome Luai will always be the Robin to Nathan Cleary’s Batman at Penrith. It’s time for the three-time premiership-winner to become the main man, writes Brent Read.
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Time to step out of the shadows. Time to be the main man. Time to show everyone what you can do and how well you can do it. Time to stop being Robin and start thinking about being Batman.
Jarome Luai has a decision to make and it’s about more than money. He’ll be a wealthy young man wherever he ends up in 2025. Luai could stay at Penrith and continue to play the perfect partner to Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary.
He would earn a healthy living. He would win games and plaudits. Possibly premierships as well. There’s a lot to be said for playing at a football club that is a habitual winner.
There’s also a lot to be said for being the star of the show and Luai will never be that man at Penrith. The Panthers are Cleary’s team and that isn’t changing any time soon.
Nor should it mind you. Nathan is arguably the best player in the game, his status reinforced by his performance in the final 20 minutes of this year’s grand final when Luai was watching from the sidelines with a bung shoulder.
No one could blame Luai for watching the dying embers of that game with slightly mixed emotions. He would have savoured the way the Panthers came home to complete the three-peat and create their own slice of history.
Yet deep inside, there was probably some disappointment that he wasn’t playing his part. Injury prevented him doing that with the game on the line and in his absence, Cleary took charge and took over.
Luai celebrated with shoulder surgery and as he recuperates, he has a big decision to make as clubs queue to sign the Panthers playmaker on seven-figure deals.
The sweetener is that he would become the main man and you get the feeling Luai doesn’t mind being the centre of attention. He carries himself with a certain swagger that alienates some.
Loud music and incendiary social media posts are part of his schtick, the latest pouring fuel on the fire about a potential departure from the Panthers at the end of next season.
It started with Ivan Cleary raising public concerns over whether a club should pay Luai seven figures and make him their main man. They were curious comments but we’re reliably told they were nothing the coach hadn’t already told Luai behind closed doors.
The Panthers have stressed to Luai that the grass isn’t always greener. They have offered him $850,000 a season and insisted that life isn’t so bad even as a second banana. They have told him how much he is loved and appreciated within their ranks.
Yet Luai has an appreciation of what he is worth – something he made clear on social media this week. Apparently, there was some symbolism in the image as well.
The character he apparently portrayed in the post was from the anime Naruto and the clothing was representative of a member of the Akatsuki, the ninjas who have forsaken their village and gone rogue.
It was another hint at an imminent departure. Chances are, the Panthers can’t compete with their rivals. They have a salary cap that is buckling under the weight of successive premierships and a handful of their best young players to retain.
Part of Penrith’s success lies in the fact they have been able to lose players but regenerate on the run thanks to their endless production line.
They would love to keep Luai but they won’t sell the farm to do it. Which leaves Luai with a decision to make.
Does he stay at Penrith, accept less money and submit himself to a lesser role. Or does he take the big bucks, challenge himself and leave his comfort zone.
We’re about to find out how much he really wants the main role.
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Marc Leishman has called on golf authorities to review the rules around Olympic Games qualification to ensure the likes of Cameron Smith are able to represent their country in Paris.
Smith is still in pole position to grab one of the places on the Olympic team as the highest-ranked Australian but that could dramatically change in coming months given the decision by the ranking authority to snub LIV Golf.
Smith needs to perform at Australian events and the majors to ensure he maintains his ranking and secures an automatic spot on the team, leaving him with only a handful of tournaments to make his mark.
Leishman says it would be an injustice if Smith isn’t in Paris given he is clearly the country’s best golfer.
“I haven’t earned points for quite a while but I think for Cam, I think maybe they need to rethink it a little bit,” Leishman said.
“I think he really deserves to be on that team. I know it won’t be me but I am happy for whoever it is that gets to represent Australia.
“It is one of the highlights of my career to represent Australia and spend the week with Cam and Ian Baker-Finch as our captain in Tokyo.
“It is an unbelievable week. I am happy for whoever does get to represent Australia. I do think Cam deserves it.
“I think it is pretty clear-cut that he is Australia’s best golfer at the moment, but it may not reflect it in the world rankings unfortunately.
“I think they could rethink it.”
While the decision by Smith to join LIV Golf threatens to damage Australia’s Olympic chances, the emergence of the rebel tour has helped local golf secure an unexpected coup with the addition of Joaquin Niemann and Mito Pereira to the field for the Australian PGA.
Niemann is a multiple winner on the PGA Tour while Pereira finished third at last year’s PGA Championship after taking a three-shot lead into the final round.
The pair will strengthen a field that already includes Smith, Leishman, Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee.
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Originally published as Weekend Read: Time for Jarome Luai to put on the cape and be Batman
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