NRL 2024: Why the Wests Tigers’ Jarome Luai gamble is risky business for Benji Marshall

The mammoth deal that could get Jarome Luai to Wests Tigers is fraught with danger, including the unknown of what his impact will be without Nathan Cleary, writes PAUL CRAWLEY.

Will Luai be able to have the same impact at the Tigers without his halves partner Nathan Cleary? Picture: Jonathan Ng

Wests Tigers will be going the right way about sabotaging Benji Marshall’s head coaching career before it even gets started if they pay anywhere close to the $1.4 million-a-season that is being mentioned to sign Jarome Luai.

The polarising Panther has indicated he wants to make his final decision about where he will play in 2025 before he returns to pre-season training on December 8.

Make no mistake, any club that pays over $1 million-a-season for Luai at this point in his career is taking a huge risk.

As good a player as Luai is playing outside Nathan Cleary, as Ivan Cleary so rightly pointed out recently, the Panthers five-eighth is yet to prove himself as a chief playmaker.

But it was Penrith chief executive Brian Fletcher who threw up the “ridiculous” offer being bandied about in respect to Luai last week.

He may be a three-time premiership winner, but how much is too much for Jarome Luai? Picture: Jonathan Ng

“I’ve heard Jarome has had offers up to $1.4 million,” Fletcher said.

“Whether that’s right or wrong, I can’t tell you, but it’s a lot of money and if he chooses to take that sort of money, you can’t be crook on the bloke.”

Maybe this was a case of Fletcher being mischievous to try and create more controversy/pressure about Luai’s ongoing negotiations.

But while Fletcher didn’t name which club had supposedly made the offer, it’s no secret the Tigers are in the box seat with the battling Bulldogs their biggest rivals.

WHY BIG MONEY PLAY IS A GAMBLE FOR BENJI

Regardless of who it is, if the $1.4 million figure turns out to be even close to the mark at either club it is just outrageous.

But the bigger problem for Marshall is that the Tigers are a club with a bad habit of throwing the coach under the bus when things turn pear-shaped.

Not that the Bulldogs have been much better on that front in recent years.

But the way Phil Gould has publicly backed Cameron Ciraldo after punting Trent Barrett, it doesn’t leave him much wriggle room to make another coaching change anytime soon.

Yet at the Tigers there could be far less security for Marshall depending on how the boardroom dramas play out in the coming weeks.

The Tigers are a club with a bad habit of axing the coach when things go bad … and their pursuit of Jarome Luai could backfire on Benji Marshall. Picture: NRL Imagery

This is where the chase for Luai could be so crucial to Marshall’s longevity – because signing the Panthers star on way over market value has the potential to end up the biggest financial time bomb ever seen in our game when it comes to overpaying a player without demonstrated success in a particular position.

ELITE COMPANY

To put it in perspective, $1.4 million would immediately put Luai alongside Kalyn Ponga as the NRL’s top-paid player.

Cleary came in next on our Rich 100 list this year at $1.3 million, ahead of Cameron Munster $1.25, Daly Cherry-Evans $1.2 and Luke Brooks and Tom Trbojevic on $1.15, while Mitchell Moses was on $1.05m.

Throw Adam Reynolds into this conversation because the veteran halfback is a great example of what a shrewd signing on $800,000 has done for the Broncos.

Does anyone on this planet really believe Luai is worth $600,000 more a season than Reynolds?

A far more realistic reflection of Luai’s real worth is what the Panthers are willing to pay, which is a reported $850,000.

Rumours of a $1.4m deal for Luai would immediately have him tied for the NRL’s top-paid player. Picture: NRL Photos

Of course, everyone understands if the Tigers or the Bulldogs are to have any chance of prizing Luai away from the Panthers, they are going to have to pay considerably more than what he would accept to stay.

But even if $1.2m ends up being closer to the real figure, it is still way too much for an unproven chief playmaker.

If it was Cleary on the market you would certainly pay $1.4 million in a heartbeat.

But taking this type of punt on Luai is like walking into a casino with your life savings and throwing it all on black on the roulette table.

How often do you see a player go from a strong system to a weaker club and struggle, yet it goes in the opposite direction as well.

HISTORY LESSON FOR THE TIGERS

Just over a decade ago the Tigers went all out to sign Adam Blair from Melbourne on huge money but Blair could never meet the hype and ended up being labelled the most overpaid player in the game.

The Wests Tigers went all out to poach Adam Blair in 2012 … only for him to become one of the games most overpaid players. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Then he went to the Broncos and turned out to be something of a saviour.

Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye have also encountered it along the way.

And Luke Brooks of course has been the biggest punching bag throughout his entire career, simply because the Tigers paid him well above his worth.

HOW WILL LUAI GO WITHOUT CLEARY?

Last year when the Dolphins were trying to poach Cameron Munster from Melbourne $1.4m was the figure they threw at the champion Queenslander.

But Munster is a proven match winner at Origin level, while Luai has never had near the same impact playing for the Blues.

You could even argue the only reason Luai stayed in the NSW team as long as he did was because of his partnership with Cleary.

Will Luai be able to have the same impact at the Tigers without his halves partner Nathan Cleary? Picture: Jonathan Ng

That’s not saying Luai is a dud player, but it’s the reality.

Then you look at how the Panthers performed in the final 20 minutes of the grand final after Luai had left the field injured and was replaced by young Jack Cogger.

What it showed is that Cleary can do it with or without Luai.

But Luai is unproven without Cleary.

ADVICE FROM A LEGEND

Peter Sterling made a great point over the weekend when he warned Luai about making money his priority.

“I know back in my time at Parramatta, there were opportunities to go elsewhere but you have to weigh up a lot of things, especially the fact that you’re at a club that’s successful,” Sterling told Nine.

“It’s never all about the money. If you go for the money, you’re going for the wrong reason.”

That advice goes both ways.