NRL 2023: Jarome Luai learning to tune out the outside noise

Granted a platform to influence the next generation Jarome Luai opens up to BRENT READ about slaying the shibboleth that football players should be seen and not heard.

Jarome Luai ahead of the Penrith Panthers grand final against the Broncos. Picture: Jonathan Ng

It seems everyone has an opinion of Jarome Luai. Good, bad and rarely indifferent. When they talk about Penrith being a polarising side, Luai is the embodiment of it.

He is much loved at Penrith and loathed elsewhere, not least Queensland where he has become enemy No.1 given his spiky performances for NSW.

Luai is unapologetic. He has become a magnet for criticism but he knows who he is and what is important to him. So what exactly does the Penrith superstar see when he looks in the mirror?

“That’s a good question,” Luai said.

“I see a father, I see a son, I see a partner who loves to be what he is. I never take this for granted. To do what I have always dreamt to be is something that I will always be grateful for.

“I am just a kid from the area man, who is very lucky and blessed to do what he does and have what he has.

“He has another opportunity to do something great this Sunday.”

Jarome Luai is an enigma wrapped in an influencer. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Luai has learned the hard way to ignore the outside noise. This year has been as challenging as any in his career, having been dropped from the NSW side and pilloried for his social media reaction to defeat in game two of the series.

Brisbane and Queensland sensation Reece Walsh finished that game in the sin bin, having received a standing ovation as he made his way off the field. He was hailed a hero.

Luai was demonised in defeat. He now realises that walks a fine line. He has more than 230,000 followers on Instagram, all of whom hang on his every word. It gives him the ability to influence a generation of young rugby league fans, in particular Penrith supporters.

It is a power he is still getting his head around as both the Pied Piper of Penrith and the father to three young children. “I don’t really mind being misunderstood,” Luai said.

“That is outside noise and I have been accustomed to just making sure that the people who matter to me know who I am and know how I feel about them - that is my teammates, my family.

“They love playing with me. So that is all that matters to me. I am sort of proud the way I have handled the last year or two.

“Everyone makes mistakes but we are who we are. Our mistakes are definitely enhanced by being in the spotlight.

Jarome Luai and Reece Walsh get close and personal in State of Origin

“I have had to learn really quickly and even grow up quickly being a young father. I definitely know I am a role model to a lot of the kids in the area who support Penrith.

“Most importantly to my kids as well. Life is a journey, man, and life is about learning. That is what is most important to me - to keep learning.

“I know I have a pretty big voice and presence within the media and social media. I think that is just the learning thing for me - to understand I am not just speaking for myself in a way, I am speaking to the thousands of kids that look up to us.

“I have to carry that with me but also continue to be myself, that personality and who I am. There is a fine line with that.

“I have never broken any laws, I have never hurt anybody or anything like that. I am going to keep being who I am, keep enjoying myself and that is one of the most important things as well - to stop and smell the roses every now and then and that is what I like to do.

“I understand that I have not power, but influence. That is a great word. Knowing that you have to use that in a positive way all the time.”

The Panthers have qualified for their fourth successive grand final and can create history on Sunday night should they charge to another premiership.

No side in the NRL era has won three in a row. It would mean the Panthers enter rarefied air. Their success has attracted its fair share of criticism - they have had to deal with accusations of arrogance while being driven by the opportunity to complete a threepeat.

Their mantra has been “Hunting History”, a nod to what lays before them if they can beat the Broncos.

Not everyone will be happy if Luai and his teammates manage to make it three in a row. As much as the Panthers would love to be embraced by Sydney, they are more than happy to play the villain.

“People are saying they are sick of us winning and stuff like that,” Luai said.

“I would probably be the same in their shoes if someone else was winning all the time. Success is going to bring that but we are very level headed with what we need to do every game.

“I think that is what makes it great - 80 minutes and we are pretty zoned in our roles. I don’t think they can understand because they are not really in our shoes.

“We’re cool with that. So we block what the outside says and hone in on what is in our four walls. It is just natural now. You know what to expect and the week is planned out for you.

“I think the important thing is to just understand what you need to do to be on your A-game on Sunday.”

Originally published as NRL 2023: Jarome Luai learning to tune out the outside noise