The Penrith outfit that won the NRL grand final will never play together again and the emotion is real

Celebrations among premiership-winning Penrith players are tinged with sadness, knowing the reality of their future is apart and not together.

An emotional Jarome Luai has joined the long list of Panthers stars to leave with a premiership ring, with his impending move to the Wests Tigers particularly difficult for Ivan Cleary who has seen him develop as a player and a person alongside his son.

Cleary has seen guys like Stephen Crichton and Viliame Kikau forced out of the club because of salary cap pressures, with Luai, James Fisher-Harris and Sunia Turuva all set to leave following the club’s fourth grand final win in a row.

This one hurts a little bit more for Cleary given he desperately wanted to keep Luai, who has formed one of the all-time great halves pairings with Cleary’s son, Nathan.

“I think of all those boys a bit like my sons,” the coach said.

“He’s such an infectious personality, so it was a difficult negotiation at the start of the year. It was hard for him, but he put his head down and has stood up this year.

“When ‘Nat’ was out he stood up when we really needed him. I’m so proud of not just the player he is but the man that he’s become.

Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary won’t get the chance to do this together next year. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“I love these boys, so I don’t like it when they leave. I’m stoked we get to have a bit of fun over the next couple of days.”

Luai will leave Penrith on a lucrative deal to join the Tigers in 2025. He wants to go from being a Robin at the Panthers to Batman at the club that has finished last three years in a row.

There were question marks at the start of the year over whether he’d be able to handle that responsibility, but he’s shown for Samoa, NSW and when Cleary was out injured that he has all the tools to be the top dog.

“I’ve gotten a lot of confidence out of this year, especially with Nath being out,” he said.

“It was an opportunity for me to grow in that role. I’ve never had to play it since I’ve been here. I know I’m on the way out but I’m ready for it.”

Luai savours the moment. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The enormity of the situation is starting to hit home for the local junior who has been a key cog in the Penrith machine over the years.

“I wouldn’t say upset, but I spoke to my dad before and it’s sinking in that I won’t be here anymore,” he admitted.

“This is how I wanted it to be, this is how I wanted it to end and that’s more what I’m focused on. I guess I’ll deal with all the emotion later on but I’m over the moon.

“I’m just trying to soak it all in and embrace the boys, embrace our families, embrace our fans. I don’t think we all quite know what we’ve done tonight. It’s crazy.

“I got a bit emotional there. I’m just really thankful, grateful to do what I’ve done and learnt what I’ve learnt from these guys and coaches.

“It’s pretty much everyone before me, everyone that’s left the club, everyone who’s here today. It’s been special.”

And leads the celebrations in the change room. Picture: NRL Photos

Luai has a message to his Penrith mates who will become rivals next year, warning Clive Churchill Medal winner Liam Martin that he’s coming for him.

“I’ll take all their heads off, especially Marto,” he joked in the Accor Stadium sheds.

Luai has always loved proving people wrong, and he’s now got to do something that no one has been able to do for four years – stop the Panthers dynasty.

They are already the best team of the modern era and have done something Luai says will never happen again in the salary cap age.

“Best to ever do it,” he declared.

“I don’t think anyone will do what we’ve done ever again, what we’ve done here. We’ve got a few sons in this team, so maybe they’ll be the ones to break this record.”

Originally published as The Penrith outfit that won the NRL grand final will never play together again and the emotion is real