The NRL odd couple that could save the Canberra Raiders

It may seem like the craziest partnership of all-time, but this out of the ordinary duo could be exactly what one NRL club needs.

Jarome Luai could be just what the Raiders need. Pic: Getty

COMMENT

Some things in life just shouldn’t be combined.

Vinegar and bleach. Milk and schooners. Joey and Matty.

But even if you placed all these in a blender with a dash of Queensland flattery, it wouldn’t match the hazardous reactivity of bringing together a pair of hoons like Jarome Luai and Ricky Stuart.

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With Luai free to test the open market from November 1 and the Raiders on the hunt for a new five-eighth, rumours have already linked the Panther to the Nation’s Capital from 2025 onwards, mainly because everyone’s curious to know what happens when you light a Molotov cocktail with a Catherine wheel.

And if the Raiders win the race to snare Luai, he could be the last piece of the puzzle that takes Canberra to the top four, or the civil disputes tribunal.

While uniting two agitators like Luai and Stuart could cause a range of damage to opposition, brand integrity and/or each other, the Origin star actually profile-matches with the Raiders quite neatly.

Not only is he the perfect replacement for Jack Wighton, he’s also looking for ample money- and the Raiders have a space in their cap you could drive a Hummer through.

Jarome Luai could be just what they need down in Canberra. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Additionally, the five-eighth’s running game would complement the organisational style of Jamal Fogarty, and with Hudson Young and Corey Horsburgh leading the line, he’s not even arrived and he’s already third-man-in.

Better yet, Stuart and Luai could do wonders for each other on a personal level.

With many experts concerned the Panther’s “polarising” nature could sully his value, facts are he looks like a Harvard freshman next to Stuart, a potty-mouth straight-shooter who considers ‘nuance’ to be a brand of French hatchback.

On the other hand, with the coach desperate to reverse his side’s bizarre trait of suffering with comfortable leads, Luai could be the splash of premiership braggadocio that instils the killer a-hole instinct he craves.

With the Raiders largely a squad of affable folks, they sorely need the indecent influence of a changeroom gangster like Luai.

After all, this is a guy with the self-assuredness to unleash his playlist in the dressing room, an environment where one errant Nikki Webster track could see you ostracised forever.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart is on the lookout for a star five-eighth. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Jack Wighton will leave a gaping hole in the Raiders salary cap. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

However, coaxing the 26-year-old playmaker away from his home base of Penrith could be tougher than it sounds.

Splitting with his management has complicated matters, with the removal of a player agent from talks leaving all parties in the odd position of dealing with full transparency.

But most of all, departing Penrith not only means leaving behind friends and premierships for baristas and politicians, Luai would also be abdicating his role as the undisputed heart, soul and face of Penrith.

But with Dylan Edwards new $950k deal leaving scant cabbage in the Panthers’ cap, odds are in 2025 he’ll be elsewhere- but at least it’ll be miles away from Nathan Cleary.

Luai has been long criticised as the dispensable second banana to Cleary, and besides the two premierships and seven Origins achieved as his halves partner, fleeing him surely looms as a major career positive.

- Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.