Jarome Luai’s Origin axing to Blues resurrection proves the leader he has become

This is the moment that Jarome Luai was told he’d lost the NSW No. 6 jersey. What he did next speaks to the leader that the Blues’ pantomime villain has become.

Jarome Luai had only just walked off the field and up the tunnel at Campbelltown Stadium a few weeks ago when Wests Tigers head of football Matt Betsy handed him a mobile phone.

Luai looked at the name on the screen, leaned on a nearby cage where the equipment is stored in the bowels of the stadium, and listened on intently.

NSW coach Laurie Daley was on the other end of the line, delivering the sobering news that he had missed out on the Blues side for the opening game of the State of Origin series at Suncorp Stadium.

Jarome Luai takes a phone call from Laurie Daley on May 18, telling him he has been axed from the NSW State of Origin team.

This columnist watched from a few metres away as Luai, still wearing his sweaty No.7 jersey, took the news with class and dignity.

He was bitterly disappointed but, after a few minutes, he thanked Daley for the call, headed into the sheds for coach Benji Marshall’s post-match address following their 22-12 loss to South Sydney, and then emerged to front the media.

He could have declined to talk. He could have bowed his head and kept his thoughts to himself. No-one would have blamed him.

Not even the ravenous media, who were waiting to hear his every thought. That’s not Luai’s style though. Never has been. Probably never will be.

He held his head high and answered a volley of questions over his State of Origin snubbing. Luai vowed to get better, not bitter.

He conceded his disappointment but promised to be a man about it. He would support the Blues and focus on his club footy.

He knew his own form could improve and he insisted that was his focus rather than dropping his bundle after losing his NSW No.6 jersey.

Jarome Luai. Artwork: Scott 'Boo' Bailey

Luai and the Tigers were in the midst of the Lachlan Galvin saga at the time. He had plenty on his plate given he was at the centre of the drama.

At the same time, Luai gets it. It’s just a game of footy after all. It puts food on the table for his wife and kids, but you get the sense that Luai realised long ago that other things in life are more important.

Family for starters. This, after all, is a bloke who grew up with little and is now one of the highest-paid players in the NRL. A leader at his club and for his state.

Being called into Origin at late notice won’t overawed him. If anything, he’ll relish the chance to lock horns with Queensland again and join a cast of villains alongside former Penrith teammates Liam Martin and Spencer Leniu.

In his absence, Martin and Leniu have taken up the running but Luai is back to help ease the load. He is a reviled figure among Maroons fans, rubbing opponents the wrong way and using social media to taunt Queensland supporters.

In the 2022 series, he was pictured standing over a concussed Selwyn Cobbo in the Origin decider. A year later, after a losing series, he made the posted infamous missive: “Chill. All you idiots have work tomorrow morning.”

Jarome Luai's infamous Instagram post.

Luai outside the Caxton after Origin III last year.

Last year, having helped NSW retain the Origin shield, Luai posted an image outside the famed Caxton Hotel in the early hours of the morning with the caption: “Goodnight.”

Sadly, from a pantomime perspective, the second game of the series will be in Perth. You get the feeling Luai, as much as anyone, would have loved a return to Queensland’s spiritual home of Suncorp Stadium.

No doubt the Maroons fans who travel west will give him plenty. Luai will love every minute of it.

* * * * *

Only two coaches in Queensland State of Origin history have lost four games in succession – Wayne Bennett and Paul Vautin.

Not bad company, although you get the sense Billy Slater would prefer not to join the fold. After a rip-roaring start to his Origin coaching career, Slater is in danger of heading down the same path as his Nine Network colleague Brad Fittler, whose reign began in a blaze of glory but fizzled out and led to his eventual departure.

We’re not suggesting for one moment that Slater is about to be turfed by the Queensland Rugby League. He clearly remains the chosen one but the mere fact that his future is being discussed shows how quickly Origin coaching careers can fall by the wayside.

Fittler is a case in point, having seemed destined for a long and successful career at the helm of the Blues until he ran headlong into Slater.

Now it is Slater who is in the crosshairs as he attempts to overcome defeat in Brisbane against a NSW side with the wind in their sails. To top it off, he has been branded a grub by his former Kangaroos teammate and one of this columnist’s colleagues on Triple M, Aaron Woods.

Those comments, harking back to some contentious moments during Slater’s playing days, were designed to create some enmity leading into Origin II but Slater is yet to take the bait.

You can’t imagine with so much at stake that he will be dragged into a war of words with Woodsy. Well played big fella, but we’re tipping you don’t get a bite. Slater has bigger things to worry about than becoming immersed in a war of words with Woodsy.

Bridging an alarming gap in Brisbane is the priority. The scoreboard failed to reflect the gulf between the sides.

Slater would know that too. The Maroons coach has always been a competitive beast. You only have to go back to his playing days to get a reminder of what Slater is like when he is on the back foot.

Queensland coach Billy Slater is on the brink of losing four Origin games on the trot. Picture: Getty Images

He got his start when he arrived in Melbourne to win a contract and dominated pre-season training. Slater won everything. Storm coach Craig Bellamy, now in the opposition coaching box, has never seen a pre-season like it.

From those humble beginnings, Slater became a legend in Melbourne. Some players stewed on their losses. Slater was different – he didn’t carry his divots for long.

“Some guys will get over a loss in an hour,” Bellamy recalled in his book Home Truths.

“Billy Slater can do that. If he has played poorly, he will hang on to that for a bit, but if he has played well in a losing team, sure he will be disappointed, but he can shake it off pretty quickly.

“He’s always been able to do that, even when he initially came into first grade. I found that a little alarming to start with. At first I thought he got over it a bit too quickly, but that’s just him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.”

Slater cares. Make no mistake about that. It would have been bruising to the ego the way the Maroons capitulated on home turf. He will want revenge as much as anyone.

“I am pretty sure guys like Billy Slater look on the brighter side of things, and I don’t think he is driven by fear of failure,” Bellamy wrote.

“That enables him to express himself freely. What is the opposite to a fear of failure? Pride is a big thing. It is probably an ego thing as well, but as I have said, everyone has an ego and as long as it’s not out of control, it’s a healthy thing.”

Slater’s ego, along with that of every Queenslander, took a hit in Brisbane. Time to win back some pride.

Originally published as Jarome Luai’s Origin axing to Blues resurrection proves the leader he has become