Jarome Luai’s hilariously honest sledge nails Bulldogs to the wall

Panthers star Jarome Luai has delivered a hilariously honest sledge for the Bulldogs featuring a number of his former teammates.

Jarome Luai has ignited the fuse. Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

Panthers superstar Jarome Luai cheekily branded Canterbury “the Penrith Bulldogs” as a number of his former teammates will become his rivals when the two sides face off on Friday night.

There’s a distinct Penrith flavour at the Bulldogs given Matt Burton, Jaeman Salmon, Viliame Kikau, Stephen Crichton and coach Cameron Ciraldo have all defected to Belmore since 2022.

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Although the Bulldogs finished 15th in Ciraldo’s first season at the helm, the former Penrith assistant has overseen a change in fortunes as the club already has four wins, just three less than the entirety of their 2023 campaign.

But Luai is hoping that tally of four wins won’t turn to five when the Bulldogs travel to Bluebet Stadium.

“The Penrith Bulldogs? Looking forward to it,” Luai said, per AAP.

“That’s footy. That’s what it’s about, going up against your mates. There are no mates on the field, and you go out there to get two points.”

Luai also praised Ciraldo for the work he had done since joining the Bulldogs and pointed out how well-drilled the players have become without the ball.

“You see the way they defend, Ciro’s really good on defence,” Luai said.

“At the end of the day, if you know you’re footy, defence wins games.

“It’s a really important part of our game, it’s a really important part of winning games. I can definitely see the way they’re defending that Ciro’s got his hands all over that, so they’re doing well.”

Luai has lit the fuse ahead of Penrith’s clash against the Bulldogs. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

On the other side, Friday’s clash represents the first time Crichton and Kikau will come up against their old team since leaving.

Crichton joined prior to the 2024 season while Kikau linked up the Bulldogs in 2023 but was ruled out of the Panthers’ 44-18 win over Canterbury last season with injury.

Kikau expects a “weird” experience returning to the ground where he enjoyed so much success, but believes he has to put all of that to one side in pursuit of a crucial victory for the Bulldogs.

“I’ve got to make sure I prepare the way I’ve been preparing and nothing changes,” Kikau told NRL.com.

“Obviously it’s exciting and there’s definitely going to be a bit of hype.

“I’ve been playing at that stadium for seven years. Me and [Stephen Crichton] are just going to go through the process we normally do with any other game.

“I’m really looking forward to it, it’s always good to play the best in the comp and we’ve got a big test.”

Originally published as Jarome Luai’s hilariously honest sledge nails Bulldogs to the wall