NRL 2023: Can Jarome Luai handle the pressure of being Wests Tigers’ main man? | Paul Crawley

As the Jarome Luai contract saga continues, Wests Tigers fans may be entitled to question whether the Panthers star can handle the pressure of being the main man, writes PAUL CRAWLEY.

Jarome Luai. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Jarome Luai has painted himself as a walking contradiction throughout this entire contract circus.

But after the events of the past few days, Wests Tigers fans are now entitled to question if they are getting their first real insight into how the polarising Panther will handle the pressure of being the main man moving forward.

One minute Luai looked to be lapping up the attention when he was snapped leaving training, flashing the peace sign to the waiting media after informing his Penrith teammates that he would be leaving the club at the end of next year.

Luai then went and shot down reports that he had signed a whopping $6 million five-year deal at the Tigers, posting on Instagram: “No pen to paper here. I’ll let yous know when a deal is done. Big love.”

But the next thing we find out is that Luai had missed training after a request from his management for some time off as he deals with the fallout of what has been a soap opera of his own making.

Will Jarome Luai be able to handle the pressure of being the main man at the Wests Tigers? Picture: Getty Images

There is even talk Luai may still be stewing on comments from coach Ivan Cleary back at the start of November, when Cleary questioned publicly if it would be a “risk” for a rival club to sign Luai to be the chief playmaker on massive coin given he was unproven in that role.

The concern is that may now lead to a request for an early release so Luai can join the Tigers a season early, despite Panthers Group CEO Brian Fletcher declaring the star five-eighth would definitely play out the remainder of his current deal.

If that turns out to be the case it is just another slap in the face for the fans in respect to this farcical player transfer system.

What is the use of having a contract in the first place if it is not enforced by both parties for the term of the deal?

But going back to Cleary’s comments, what he said about Luai was only the truth, and it is hard to imagine the coach would have ever intended it to be the insult that some have made it out to be.

The reality is Luai has never had to be the main man when playing outside Nathan Cleary, and in a system when Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards also play such pivotal roles, leaving Luai to just do his job and not overplay his hand.

Is Luai still stewing over Ivan Cleary’s ‘risk’ comments from November? Picture: NRL Photos

There is no denying Luai has been a valuable member of this champion Panthers team, and when Cleary has been missing Luai has always stepped up.

Yet Luai’s response to Cleary’s comments indicated he did take what Ivan said as an insult when he posted on social media “know your worth”.

So he went out and did just that, playing off the Tigers and the Bulldogs in a bidding war, with the Tigers reportedly set to secure him on the monster deal.

But the fact Luai has had to miss training just days out from the Christmas break suggests he is not dealing with things as comfortably as he has tried to make out.

If that is the case, he thoroughly deserves some time to deal with his emotions as he comes to grips with what is a huge decision for him and his family.

But where Luai has left himself open is that he has built this public persona as a player who always prided himself on his swagger and a confidence that borders on arrogance, and for that he has made a rod for his own back, especially on the back of some of his recent social media posts.

The reality is Luai has never had to be the main man when playing outside Nathan Cleary, writes Paul Crawley. Picture: NRL Images

And the issue moving forward for both Luai and potentially the Tigers will be how he handles the pressure when he doesn’t have all the safety barriers that have been in place for him at the Panthers.

Where he has been able to play his part but still stay in his comfort zone as part of a winning culture that has also protected him in the times when he was most vulnerable.

The difference at the Tigers is that he will be walking smack bang into a club fighting to lift itself off the canvas, and the scrutiny on Luai as the big money recruit will be like nothing he has encountered previously.

We’ve already seen that the Panthers can survive without Luai given how Nathan Cleary went to another level in the final 20 minutes of the grand final when Luai was injured.

But can Luai do it without Cleary is the question he will have to answer?

It could be the making of him, or the breaking.

Either way, he has talked the talk. Now he is left to walk the walk.