Jarome Luai’s Penrith fairytale is finished, now it’s time to fix the Wests Tigers
Having tasted unparalleled success at the Panthers Jarome Luai is now coming to terms with his 2025 move to the wooden spoon winning Wests Tigers.
Jarome Luai has declared he’s ready to lead a team on his own after achieving an irreplicable fourth NRL title with Penrith.
The Wests Tigers bound five-eighth celebrated a fairytale finish with the Panthers on Sunday night, bringing an end to a magical run with his lifelong club with a 14-6 win over Melbourne.
Luai wore the brunt of playmaking responsibilities for the bulk of this season with skipper and halfback Nathan Cleary sidelined through injury.
And after another star performance in his fifth straight grand final Luai now knows he’s ready to do it without his old mate by his side.
“I’ve gotten a lot of confidence out of this year, especially with Nath being out, it was an opportunity for me to grow in that role, I’ve never had to play it since I’ve been here,” he said.
“I know I’m on the way out, but I’m ready for it.”
Luai has played his entire career with Cleary, starting as kids in Penrith’s lower grades.
“Best to ever do it,” he says of Cleary. “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.”
Melbourne were the best team all season and finished two wins clear at the top of the ladder, but Luai says he never doubted he would get a fairytale finish along with James Fisher-Harris (Warriors) and Sunia Turuva (Tigers).”
It never crossed my mind, not once,“ he says. “I’ve got supreme confidence in me and in this group.
“I was nervous (on Sunday morning) laying in bed and then I just thought of all the players around me and I was like, we’re sweet.
“This team is amazing. They all probably view pressure in the same way that I do. What a way to go out.“
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