NRL 2023: Panthers confident Jarome Luai might play again this season

The Panthers feared the worst on Thursday night when Jarome Luai left the field with a dislocated shoulder – but it might not be season over just yet. Here’s the latest.

Jarome Luai has suffered a dislocated shoulder injury just weeks away from the 2023 NRL finals series. Picture: NRL Imagery.

Jarome Luai is holding out hope that his season is not over.

The Panthers star underwent scans on Friday after coming from the field with a dislocated shoulder during Penrith’s surprise 32-18 loss to Parramatta on Thursday.

Despite fearing the worst, the Panthers are confident they may be able to nurse Luai back to the field in time for the preliminary final should Penrith make it.

The second to last match of the year is a month away before the October 1 grand final. That gives Luai about four weeks to fast-track his return.

Jarome Luai is holding out hope is season isn’t over. Picture: NRL Imagery.

Teammate Nathan Cleary delayed surgery on a similar shoulder problem in 2021 that he sustained during the Origin period. He missed six weeks and featured in Penrith’s grand final win.

Luai is on a tighter time-frame given how late in the season he has suffered the injury. He dislocated his shoulder while scoring a try against the Eels in the first half.

Jack Cogger is expected to partner Cleary in the halves.

While Cleary dominates headlines for the Panthers, Luai has proven to be one of their most important players in recent season. The NSW five-eighth has a career win tally of 81.90 and has been largely injury free since completing his first full season in the top grade in 2020.

Panthers suffer devastating blow in costly loss

- Martin Gabor

Penrith’s hopes of a third-straight title have copped a massive blow with superstar five-eighth Jarome Luai suffering a dislocated shoulder in Thursday’s costly 32-18 loss to the Eels that has put a huge dent in their quest for the minor premiership.

The club doctor was able to pop it back into place almost immediately but Luai will need scans to determine the extent of the injury.

Luai left the field in the 27th minute after his left arm was caught awkwardly in a Bryce Cartwright tackle as he attempted to burrow over from close range with his side down 18-4.

The two-time premiership winner stayed down in pain and left the field cradling his arm before the club’s medical staff were able to pop it back into place in the sheds.

“We got found out tonight.”

Jarome Luai has suffered a devastating dislocated shoulder injury just weeks away from the 2023 NRL finals series. Picture: NRL Imagery.

The NRL Physio tweeted that the Samoan star would miss 3-6 weeks if there’s minimal structural damage, while significant damage would require immediate reconstruction surgery and see Luai miss at least three months.

“We’re going to have to wait until he gets scans tomorrow,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said.

“It’s obviously a decent injury, but they were fairly positive about the potential of it. We’re not really going to know the extent of it until he gets scans.”

The Panthers have found ways to win without their best players, but doing it in the finals without a guy like Luai who provides all the spark down the left edge would make it extremely difficult to win a third title in as many years.

Jack Cogger is the most likely replacement in the halves, with Mitch Kenny set to return from injury in the coming weeks.

Confirmed shoulder dislocation for Jarome Luai, classic landing on outstretched arm mechanism. General recovery guide:
- minimal structural damage & joint stable: rehab for 3-6 weeks
- significant damage/joint unstable & immediate reconstruction surgery required: 3+ months pic.twitter.com/9PW5zcpkt5

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) August 24, 2023

“It sucks,” halves partner Nathan Cleary said.

“You don’t want to see someone get injured, let alone one of your mates who’s such an important cog in our team.”

The Panthers were already struggling with Luai on the field, with Thursday’s loss opening the door for Brisbane to leapfrog them into top spot if they can beat the Raiders on Saturday.

Penrith had won eight games in a row but lacked any cohesion on the edges with key outside backs Dylan Edwards, Sunia Turuva and Izack Tago all missing, with the Panthers a chance of resting their players next week if they can’t finish first.

“I just felt like this was sort of coming,” the coach said, confident Edwards will be back next week.

“We’ve been drifting a bit. We’ve been playing okay but there have been parts of our game that haven’t been up to scratch.

The loss may have dented the Panthers minor premiership hopes. Picture: NRL Imagery.

FINALS FANTASY

Where on Earth has this been?

Eels fans are still holding out hope that their team can somehow sneak into the top eight on the back of a series of events so bizarre that it would have conspiracy theorists hurrying to the shops to buy all the tin foil they can find.

Parramatta will finish on 30 competition points thanks to next week’s bye, but the harsh reality is that they’ve played their last game of the year due to a combination of injuries, suspensions and inconsistent form.

It was a case of too little too late for Parramatta, whose season is realistically over. Picture: NRL Imagery.

Last year’s grand finalists have fallen off a cliff in recent weeks but salvaged some pride on Thursday with Clint Gutherson producing one of the great captain’s knocks despite hurting his leg early and battling on before he eventually came off.

The fullback scored two tries, set up another and produced three perfect line dropouts which saw the Eels win the ball back every time as the Eels got a tiny bit of revenge on their western rivals with their second win over Penrith this year.

“He’s been on one leg for the last six weeks,” Brad Arthur said.

“He’s got some knee issues so he’ll need a bit of a clean-out.

“He probably shouldn’t have been playing for the last six weeks, but that’s the sort of bloke he is and he wants to play for his teammates.”

Eels skipper Clint Gutherson battled through a knee injury to produce a matchwinning performance, but was eventually forced from the field. Picture: NRL Imagery.

ROOKIE’S ROUGH RIDE

Jesse McLean came up with a special effort early on to somehow stop Ryan Matterson from scoring his first try of the season, but the Panthers rookie quickly found out how tough life can be in the NRL.

There are huge raps on the 18-year-old but this was a brutal initiation to the big stage with hulking Eels winger Maika Sivo tormenting him with three first-half tries.

Sivo hadn’t scored since Round 15 but had a field day with four tries, including a potential eight-point try when he was clobbered high by McLean which gifted Gutherson two points from his second kick in front of 21,525 stunned fans.