‘I had to mature’: Luai leaves Penrith a man transformed

In the past 14 months Jarome Luai has gone from a deal breaker and social media bad guy to a respected leader, gamebreaker and solo superstar who shines outside the shadow of greatness cast by his Penrith “brother” Nathan Cleary.

A little more than a year ago, Luai was being positioned as the game’s biggest multi-media star with big-money DJ gigs in Las Vegas on the horizon. He blew that deal. Less than a year ago, he also agreed to join the Bulldogs, but changed his mind.

The Luai that stands in front of the football world today in the grand final against the Storm in his last game for the Panthers is settled, clear-minded and focused only on football. He is still the brash, lippy Luai loved by teammates and coaches – but just wiser.

“I like the responsibility I have now,” he said. “In the team and in my life. I had to mature. I think everyone does. Everyone has their time. I think mine was a bit later than others. Life’s good at the moment, and you got to cherish that, because life’s not always great. But, yeah, just cherishing what I have here and now.”

The Panthers love the calculated, cold-blooded competitor Luai is. He is the on-field killer whose patience has been hailed as his greatest strength.

“Jarome was the star coming through, but was a little slower to develop than Nathan and some others in his age group,” former coach Cameron Ciraldo said.

Jarome Luai cuts a relaxed figure at the Panthers’ captain’s run at Accor Stadium on Saturday.Credit: NRL Photos

“Nathan debuted in 2016, while Jarome continued his development in the NYC [under-20s] and into NSW Cup. At the end of 2017, Matt Moylan traded places with James Maloney [at Cronulla], which most would see as a roadblock to Jarome’s progression. But I think that period was the greatest sign of Jarome’s character. He could have played NRL at a number of other clubs instead of being behind Maloney.

“When most kids in this generation would probably drop their lip and leave to play NRL, he sat behind Maloney for 2018 and 2019, and patiently waited for his opportunity to be Nathan’s halves partner. That opportunity came in 2020 and five grand final appearances have followed.

“I often wonder what would have been if he didn’t trust the process, and left to play NRL before he was physically ready. That patience is a credit to his character and his family.”

Ciraldo tried hard to get Luai to the Bulldogs for next year, and take it as fact there was an assurance he would sign there.

Instead, Luai decided he wanted to run a team on his own and show the world what he was capable of by stepping out of Cleary’s shadow, so he signed with Wests Tigers instead. It might be why we are seeing a different Luai – a player former Blues coach Michael Maguire made part of his Origin leadership group this year.

“When I sat down with him at his home before we picked Origin, I could see the steel in him that I knew would make him a leader for the Blues,” Maguire said.

“He showed that throughout the camp, and then when we needed him most in the decider, he split the game open and showed a calm head to slow down when he made that break to deliver a perfect pass on to Bradman Best for the try [that put the Blues in front]. He showed extreme skill and patience at the same time under pressure.

“The change in Luai has been rapid during the past 18 months. He has not been perfect away from the field, but his slip-ups have generally been mild. The DJ gig in Vegas is a prime example. It was part of a $150,000 contract with JBL and they had planned a collaboration with DJ Tigerlily.

Luai blew the deal by not responding to messages from the company. He also posted a photo using a rival product. JBL still don’t know why he stopped returning calls, but the company was left with no choice other than to end a deal it believed had great promise. The plan was to take him global.

Keys to decider

This column seldom gives you in-depth footy analysis, but given it is the biggest game of the year, I asked Will Badel to break down the grand final. Badel was an analyst during Manly’s premiership wins in 2008 and 2011. Here’s his observations.

It’s looking up for Melbourne
The Storm will use their height advantage by targeting Dylan Edwards, Brian To’o and Sunia Turuva with bombs and cross-field kicks. This clear mismatch has produced three tries in the past two games between them: round one when Reimis Smith scored from a Xavier Coates bat back; and round 24 when Eli Katoa scored twice after Will Warbrick batted the ball back. The Panthers need to win the ruck on tackle five and be aggressive with their kick pressure to avoid a repeat.

Storm up to their old tricks
The Storm love a grand final trick play and will need an ace up their sleeve to crack Penrith’s defence. In 2007, Cam Smith shaped to kick but ran on the last tackle for Anthony Quinn to score. In 2012, Cooper Cronk ran a “jockey” play for Billy Slater to score. And in 2017, Smith, Cronk and Slater ran their out-ball, in-ball ruck play for Josh Addo-Carr to score. Expect a similar play this year in two different ways: Katoa or Shawn Blore delivering the inside ball to Ryan Papenhuyzen, or on tackle five, Jahrome Hughes passing to Cameron Munster who passes inside to Papenhuyzen.

Cooper Cronk’s sleight of hand sets up Billy Slater for a try in the 2012 grand final against Canterbury.Credit: Brendan Esposito

Penrith’s straight men
The ability of Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo to catch and straighten the attack puts a lot of pressure on the edge defenders. As they receive the ball, they run deep into the defensive line and at the last second they find a pass. This attracts defenders infield, creating space on the outside. In round 24, they executed this perfectly, resulting in a try to Lindsay Smith. Blore had eyes for Cleary and Moses Leota in support, and the Storm could not adjust in time, leaving Munster and Jack Howarth back-pedalling.

Cleary and Luai kick early
Cleary and Luai are one of the best duos at spotting a fullback in the defensive line on an early tackle count. At some stage Papenhuyzen will find himself in this position, and you can bet he will be tested.

Will Penrith be right on night?
I expect Melbourne to ask some questions of Penrith’s right-side defence. A number of times this season they haven’t been on the same page with their reads. Panthers coach Ivan Cleary would be much happier after last week against the Sharks when Nathan Cleary and Izack Tago were better “connected”.

First in, best dressed
In the past 24 grand finals (2000-2023), the team scoring the first try has won 19 times. In the past 10 grand finals, the winner has scored first nine times. The only time the team scoring first did not win during that time was in 2015 when the Cowboys stunned the Broncos in extra time.

Hunt has every right to want out

It has been several weeks now since we revealed that Ben Hunt’s salary was thrown in his face during his season review. There has been no denial from the Dragons in that time.

Hunt has also been linked to other clubs since that story broke, without any actual evidence.

Is Ben Hunt’s time up at the Dragons?Credit: NRL Photos

Hunt deserves better than being salary shamed. For long periods he held the Dragons together. Those who know the inner workings of the Dragons are now asking how he can continue to play for the club.

It will take some courage for Hunt to walk away from the final year of his contract without a deal elsewhere, unless he is ready to retire. The way this column sees it, the situation is unworkable and the best thing is for Hunt to walk away from the club. You will remember Hunt was forced to stay when he asked for an early release last year.

Then at the end of the season he was criticised for being on a big contract. It feels like the time is up on the relationship between player and club, and a fresh start for both is needed.

Dragons playmaker Kyle Flanagan has received widespread praise for his 2024 season. He may be the man that coach and father Shane Flanagan puts his faith in to take the team forward.

Kenty’s comeback

Former News Corp columnist and NRL360 host Paul Kent has returned to public life doing some work offering opinions for a betting company podcast. He has barely been seen or heard in recent times, but that will change.

He will launch his own podcast in the new year. It will be fascinating if he deals with his treatment by Fox Sports during the last two years of his tenure.

Kent filed an unfair dismissal case in the Fair Work Commission after he was sacked following a brawl outside a Rozelle pub in April. The unfair dismissal case has now been settled for an undisclosed amount of money.

I have previously raised questions about the lack of acknowledgement that he had issues that needed addressing. Kent was able to deliver strong well-formed views in his early days on NRL360 and he will be looking to recapture those days in his own podcast.

Baz to worse?

Broncos assistant coach Trent Barrett was spotted meeting with his potential new boss Michael Maguire on Thursday. Barrett has been telling those close to him he is keen to keep the job he signed up for under Kevin Walters, before he was sacked as Brisbane coach.

Barrett has told some of his close contacts that the meeting with Maguire was positive and he’s expecting a good result.

Maguire knows how important it is to get his coaching staff spot-on straight away. He has known Barrett for a long time, but doesn’t have a working relationship with him that would ensure Barrett keeps the job. It is understood Maguire is doing his research.

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