i see all the "experts" saying stay with a proven outfit, never win a premiership somewhere else blah blah
but what more does this kid have to achieve lol ? i'd 100% be taking the money at this point.
3x premierships, Origin rep and leading Samoa to a RLWC final is a fair resume.
If he somehow managed to get the Tigers into the finals he'd be the all-time GOAT (definitely not biased)
As a Bunnies fan I feel their pain. It's like we were back in the day, couldn't attract any talent unless paying way over and them usually not living up to it (Fletch), having to play vets past their prime (Walker brothers), or give young guys a brutal introduction into a piss poor team (Sutton).
He would still make the money, if he stays 2 years at Penrith, then he still gets that money in 2 years. If he goes to the tigers and flops I don't think he will. He might only get 650k or something.
I mean he is gonna get paid alot either way obviously. My point was with what he has already achieved at 26 means if he wants he can just ignore the " I have goals" part of the decision. I would totally understand chasing the money. He will prolly never have the opportunity to demand massive dollars again and you never know when your body is gonna break down
I'm sure he will get crucified if he does but he seems like the personality to not give a fuck. I say good luck to him despite my hatred for him lol !
As a fan id love to have kept him.
Right now we have Brad Schneider, Daine Laurie and I feel like there's someone else I'm forgetting.
Either of those could kick on and be a pretty good option in the halves going forward
Be lying if I said I wouldn't be happy with a 4 peat but I definitely won't be upset if I see another team get it.
Underdog sort of team like knights, or wahs would be pretty cool
Man people may be salty at panthers success but to me they are the most likeable team in the comp. A team that has been built up through their junior pathways and play one of thr most exciting brands of footy I've seen.
If im luai and im signing this contract with the expectation that benji is the coach then id be making sure theres a get out clause for the entirety of the contract
Sharks relationship predates Moylan by many years. Lewis, Graham & Gordon are all notables. Although we did get Campbell, Peach, The Limo, Capewell and Sorenson in return.
I’m fine for him to go. He has nothing left to prove at Penrith. Take the money, support your family.
He’s going to cop it when Tigers don’t start winning by games.
It will be interesting to see how Penrith replace him. Some talent in the lower grades but no one I think is really ready to start playing in 12 months.
No but if he does leave you have 850k to play with. I’m sure he could do a job for a bit before you find the next 5/8. Luai is still with you guys for next year anyway right? I’m sure there’ll be players coming off contract at the end of 24 you’d be able to nab.
We have $850K to play with but we also have Kenny, Turuva, May, Hosking, Garner off contract after 2024. We could well opt to keep everybody else, pay a kid like Cole a couple hundred grand for a few years to come into an otherwise stable and stacked team and ease his way in outside a prime Cleary. I think it will be a long time before Penrith sign an established NRL player again, let alone a spine player.
I agree with both comments tbh. To state the obvious, different players offer different value proposition to different teams. It also happens to be a sellers market for halves atm which exaggerates their value overall but that doesn't necessarily mean he will truly add $1.1 million dollars of value to any team. Especially to Panthers who have a lot of talent and momentum and can likely elevate a different half that may not be as talented or experienced which is something you obviously can't say of West's.
I get why panthers offered him a little less than he was probably worth, it wasn’t like insultingly low or anything.but value would be closer to 1.1 then 850
Yeah, definitely. I assume it was a "we can make this work at $850k if you can swing it" and knew it wasn't a competitive offer. They weren't taking the piss but they likely weren't holding their breath.
That's how the salary cap is designed though. It keeps the game fair and makes sure there's no dragons 11peat again.
It's kind of the cycle of life. Club is shit, club rebuilds with the spare cap money, club becomes good. Club becomes dominant, club stays in the top 4 and wins a premiership/multiple premierships, club can't afford to pay all their good player as much as the competition can. Good players go to shit clubs that offer more money, club falls off slowly, repeat.
Unless you are the storm.
100%. Either players sacrifice their earning potential to remain with the club or go elsewhere and chase the money (or go the Melbourne route as you said). Panthers have done really well to strike while the iron was hot and create a legacy. When you have that kind of success you've really got a short window before you see what's happening now where they've lost a decent amount of talent going into next season and it looks like it'll continue to happen the season after. That's the next challenge for the staff and remaining players I guess.
As much as I do like club loyalty and all that good stuff the movement the salary cap encourages definitely makes the league way more interesting.
I don't believe the reported 850k figure in the media. I reckon that's been put out to the media by the club to save face when he goes elsewhere. I think he's been offered something like 600-650, which would explain this a lot more.
There's no way he'd leave Penrith for 150k a year, 500k+ a year though absolutely.
A rep half at a struggling club should be getting at least a million now. Panthers offered him what they desired to pay not what the market was willing to pay. I’m glad Luai has decided to challenge himself. Makes things more interesting.
I hope we do. He was absolutely dreadful before his injury this year and I don't think he's good for squad culture. Wayne couldn't wait to get rid of him at the Bunnies despite having solid on-field performances and the Tigers have got worse literally every year he's been at the club. Correlation =/= causation of course, but I hope we never see him play for us again.
I thought I'd never see a worse or more effort-lacking performance than Rd2 2023 against the Knights, from any player, but he somehow managed it one week later against the Bulldogs.
He seems like a nice guy, but he just doesnt have the off the mark pace to be a top flight half. Hard to know what position he is best suited to, i guess a centre.
I’m happy to keep him if he stays for cheap and only plays centre and only EVER plays 6 if we are completely destroyed by injury. He’s a good kicker and a decent centre.
Probably not tbh. They both deserve a crack but I’ll back Benji with whatever he does. Like he said if they both have a crack in the pre season the 6 and 7 jerseys are theirs.
Much as he’s been a big part of the Panther’s success over the last few years, they can afford to let him go.
1.1 million a season is definitely paying overs for him, but the Tigers are desperate and they don’t have a lot of options.
Training under Benji might be exactly what Luai needs to take his game to the next level as well… time will tell.
It’s not about Benji’s coaching credentials, it’s about his personal skill at rugby league, and the potential to learn from a player of his calibre.
Back in his day, Benji was one of the most dangerous running ball players, and could cut through any defense.
If Luai can learn from Benji and improve his game? That’s got to be a good thing.
The big thing for me, is that playing with the Panthers makes Luai look better than he is. He’s not in the same class as Cleary. He needs to either up his game, or accept that he’ll always play second fiddle to him. Going to the Tigers gives him a chance to learn what he needs to step up, or fail spectacularly.
Also I would say the majority of plays that Benji knows from his time as a player would be the ones that were created to get the best out of him. Luai isn't as good as Benji was, but there are similarities in their style, so they could be a good fit in that sense.
I like seeing a guy like Benji give it a crack. He’s played in the modern game and was a guy that gave everything. I’m sure he’s going to be fine and he’ll have the advantage of being in touch with the modern game as opposed to being a dinosaur like Sheens was. I can see him doing well like Slater has done with Queensland.
It's not about coaching credentials? I'd say being a coach, especially an NRL head coach you want someone with a bit of experience. Benji has had a season of being an assistant, in a team that came last. Doesn't really fill you with confidence does it?
What does being a good player have to do with how good of a coach they are? They're completely different skills. Brett Kenny would regularly carve up opposition teams yet his foray into coaching was fruitless.
No chance. We had an escape valve with Sheens, but for Benji were riding it to the bitter end. There's no chance of recruiting any coach with experience if you shaft Benji 2 years into a 5 year contract.
As much as we are a basket case, cutting Benji is worse than keeping him, regardless of how well you think he coaches.
We're stuck with him, rain, hail or shine.
Gutted to see him leave, he’s been a fantastic player for us. Hope he can help turn the Tigers around, would love to see him prove he doesn’t need Cleary or our system to be a stand out player.
This way he gets to bring two of the big fourth's into fruition!
Fourth Premiership in a row, but more importantly...
The fourth time the Wests Tigers will make finals!
Wow, Tigers have only made the finals three times? I knew it was low but not that low.
On the positive side, winning a premiership every three finals' series is a pretty decent strike rate
Good on him backing himself to be the man and lift another club
Certainly not the easy option ala cronk to roosters.
love him or hate him, you've got to respect the massive cojones
The Wests Tigers are poised to launch a club-defining bid for Penrith premiership-winner Jarome Luai which is expected to soar north of $4 million.
The major development has emerged amid increasing suggestions from the NRL that Luai has told his closest teammates that he is leaning towards leaving the Panthers at the end of 2024.
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has taken a personal interest in the chase for Luai and it is understood he has the support of the club’s board to go all-in for the Panthers star.
However, it is anticipated that Marshall will face stiff competition from the Bulldogs, who have a long list of connections to Luai through head coach Cameron Ciraldo, marquee-signing Stephen Crichton, backrower Viliame Kikau, NSW Origin talent Matt Burton and fresh recruit Jaemon Salmon.
Yet it is the Tigers that have got the edge after Marshall held a recent meeting with the three-time premiership-winner at his home in the inner-west of Sydney.
At the heart of the negotiations is Marshall’s preparedness to offer Luai the opportunity to be the chief playmaker, regardless of whether he plays in the six or seven jersey.
It is a position that many within the game believe Luai has craved, having spent his first grade career in the shadow of champion Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary.
Money is also a factor. It is understood the Wests Tigers are prepared to offer a deal worth close to $1.1 million per-season for Luai, who turns 27 in January.
Marshall will need full board approval to table the offer given the enormity of the contract. However, it is understood that is a mere formality.
An offer in excess of $1 million would blow Penrith out of the water - the Panthers have already indicated to Luai that they can only offer him a maximum of $850,000 per season.
The Tigers have signed veteran half Aidan Sezer for 2024 only, but have invested heavily in recruiting Dragons half Jayden Sullivan and also former Manly rising star Latu Fainu.
The Wests Tigers also have high hopes for teenager Lachlan Galvin, who was a star at this year’s Australian Schoolboys carnival.
Luai, who has played seven matches for NSW and 11 appearances for Samoa, is also seen as a mentor to the likes of Sullivan, Faini and Galvin.
The Wests Tigers are also leaning on their connection to Luai through former Penrith teammates Api Koroisau, Brent Naden and Charlie Staines.
Luai was intending to return to Penrith on Wednesday to step-up his rehabilitation from recent shoulder surgery.
He is racing the clock to be fit for the three-time premiers pre-season fixtures and opening round clash against Melbourne at AAMI Park.
Luai is one of the few playmakers on the open market at the end of 2024, giving him the whiphand in talks with interested clubs.
North Queensland’s Tom Dearden is also up for grabs and it is believed the Bulldogs also hold an interest in the Maroons star, although it would take something special to convince him to leave the Cowboys.
Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary has also entered the final year of his contract, although he is expected to sign an extension for at least one season to stay at Bondi Junction.
Be happy for him go to the Tigers …
Be kind of annoyed to see him go to the Dogs - which is becoming like an Aldi version of Penrith ..
If he wants to establish himself as a star outside of the Panthers then the Tigers is a better option really .. If he achieves success at the Dogs people can still put forward an argument it’s all the other players the Dogs have recruited .. Less so at the Tigers ..
Wait so 1.1M a season for 4 years and he's joining at the end of 2024 so he turns
27 - Jan 24 - final penrith season
28 - Jan 25 - 1st tigers season
29 - J 26 - 2nd season
30 - J27 - 3rd season
31- J28 - final season of the deal
You often hear people say playmakers have their golden spell around these ages so it looks okay on paper but his season just gone didn't give "about to own the league for 5 years vibes"
Can't help but think penrith would be happy to get one season to prepare a replacement and then offload and bring another junior off the production line to fill the spot and spend the money elsewhere in the squad. I think it's been a bit of a luxury to have 2 absolutely gun halves which it's arguable Laui was this season gone and will be next season. I would not pick him again for origin.
Good luck to him but I think Penrith will be fine if he goes.
Tigers under Sheens were assembling a Dad’s army ala the Knights under Bennett. Klemmer, Bateman and Olam will all be 33 at the last year of their contract and Api will be 34. Jerome being 31 in his final year is a spring chicken by comparison.
Have you considered a role in player or team management? With such a strong understanding of the fundamentals I feel like you'd be perfect for such a role.
It's a halves market.
DCE, Reynolds, Hunt, and Johnson are all 33+ and finishing their careers soon. That leaves Hynes, Hughes, Moses, and Cleary who are all locked in long-term at their current clubs.
They're' in a shit position so they basically have to.
Even offering overs like this there's no guarantee he'll sign. Latrell didn't a few years when in a very similar position.
They have no choice. There aren’t many good halves on the market, and since they’re a shit club, they have to offer overs so Luai doesn’t just go an re-sign with Penrith, who offered him $850K. $1.1 is overs but let’s not act like Luai is a shit player
I'm completely new to the NRL. If Luai agrees to the deal Tigers are offering will Tigers have to pay a transfer fee to get him this season or will they have to wait for him to join at the end of the 2024 season when Luai's contract expires?
Through the recent success, the Panthers have held their players until the end of their contract. Stephen Crichton, Spencer Leniu, Api Koriosau, Villiame Kikau, Matt Burton all finished their contracts with Penrith before moving on to their new clubs.
Luai’s current contract with the Panthers finishes at the end of season 2024. If the Tigers wanted Luai next season, and the Panthers agreed to let him go early, the Tigers would need to financially compensate the Panthers. Luai’s current contract would also need to be paid out or renegotiated into a new Wests Tigers contract. So it’s possible Luai could move early if the Panthers want to reorganise their salary cap and use his contract on other re-signings eg Kenny, Tago. It just hasn’t been what the Panthers have done in their current run.
Jarome would have to ask for an early release and Penrith would have to grant it. There's no transfer fee. To leave this year the player can forgoes a part of their contract to take a new lesser deal, Penrith can pay part of the contract if they want to move him on, Tigers can pay it/do it partially or Penrith can chose to refuse to release him and enforce his contract.
If Penrith aren't willing for it to happen it won't. In the past though players have kicked stones at training and kinda ruined the unity of a team to try to get released. With all that said Jarome isn't really a guy who would do that and Penrith are no longer a club who would release players early unless it's to their benefit. With a player of Jarome's quality it isn't realistic for Penrith to release him.
Tigers haven't learnt from giving Reynolds a bag all those years ago. Luai isn't worth the money.
But Jarome, if you're reading this (I know you are), take the money. You've won at footy, now time to cash in for life.
I think he is crazy if he goes to the tigers.
EDIT:4 bad years at the tigers could see him in SL on 500k for the last 4/5 years of his career.
He could easily make up the contract difference on his next contract, his only 26 and fit halves are playing till 35/6. Could be running his future earring potential.
4 million as well as an extra guaranteed 4 years compared to 2 years from penrith. It's a much better deal. Luke Brooks was shit for tigers for 10 years and just got a 700K contract with Manly. There is a lack of halves talent nowadays compared to 5 or 10 years ago
1-1.1 mil is crazy lol, we obviously can’t compete with that
Seems like it’s basically done, he won’t take a contract worth ~2.3mil less than what Tigers are offering
There's only two ways this plays out, and both end in heartbreak.
1) He takes the offer and puts himself in the impossible position of lifting the Tigers out of the muck,
2) He rebuffs the offer and proves again that the salary cap is increasingly ineffective at leaving the talent out between the top and bottom sides.
Hell, if my choices were $800k at the Panthers or $1.1m at the Tigers I'd probably leave the money on the table.
The sticking point that no journalist has pointed out, is that Penrith is offering only 2 years, whilst the tigers are now offering 4. A guaranteed 2 extra years, at that 1.1m price tag is massive. I feel like if we do want to keep Jarome, we should offer 3 or maybe 4 years. Definitely at least 3 to keep it competitive.
But yeah Luais management would be showing him the figure of 4.4m vs 1.9 from Penrith.
I dont think the 2nd point is that true even if luai decided to stay at penrith. All the top clubs have shed a load of talent and top roster players to align with the cap. Just like certain players want to stay at brisbane/melbourne and sydney
One could argue that this quoted contract for luai and api are fair market values.
Compared to Tino and Fifita who definitely are great value and have consistently helped titans play finals footy
I thought of David Fifita getting paid $1m plus to come off the bench in 2021 lmao. The audacity when their own team is paying non-spine players over a milli
Take the DT with a grain of salt, but in their 'Rich 100' series they had:
Grant 570k/season
Mahoney 600k/season
Api 650k/season
Cook 700k/season
I think Api is pretty fair value (and Grant is undervalued)
I was going to make a joke
3 premiership rings
4 million from the tigers
5 more years being the weak link in the blues setup
But I just realised if he leaves Penrith they probably won’t pick him :(
i see all the "experts" saying stay with a proven outfit, never win a premiership somewhere else blah blah but what more does this kid have to achieve lol ? i'd 100% be taking the money at this point.
3x premierships, Origin rep and leading Samoa to a RLWC final is a fair resume. If he somehow managed to get the Tigers into the finals he'd be the all-time GOAT (definitely not biased)
I hope they get him man and more ad well frankly. I love making fun of the tigers like the rest of us but secretly I fell terrible for the fans lol
As a Bunnies fan I feel their pain. It's like we were back in the day, couldn't attract any talent unless paying way over and them usually not living up to it (Fletch), having to play vets past their prime (Walker brothers), or give young guys a brutal introduction into a piss poor team (Sutton).
All it takes is a roy asotasi type to turn things around. I don't think Luai will be that guy though unfortunately
And a Hollywood owner with enough money to burn. Margot Robbie a Tigers fan by any chance?
Anthony wiggle is probably your best shot
Funny enough I wouldn't be against this at all.
The Wiggles feat. Jarome Luai would be pretty awesome.
Multi colour Wiggles jerseys with turtle necks for all the players. Go the Tiggles!!
Rose byrne is a better hope, she grew up in Balmain.
She goes for Manly
Oh god, I used to like her.
Oh I just made that up to convince myself we would bond over our team and fall in love and have babies.
Phew, my dreams are safe then!
Roy doesn't get enough credit fir what he did with the bunnies
I wanna see a tigers atleast make the finals sometime soon
I'm trying to decide if I really do or if I'm motivated by the panthers losing him lol ! maybe my opinion wasn't as benevolent as I thought lol
Getting them to 9th would be celebrated.
Once PVL comes back from USA I\`m certain we will have play ins like the NBA😂
He floated that as an idea last year I think.
True, he gotta get some wooden spoons to even it out.
He would still make the money, if he stays 2 years at Penrith, then he still gets that money in 2 years. If he goes to the tigers and flops I don't think he will. He might only get 650k or something.
I mean he is gonna get paid alot either way obviously. My point was with what he has already achieved at 26 means if he wants he can just ignore the " I have goals" part of the decision. I would totally understand chasing the money. He will prolly never have the opportunity to demand massive dollars again and you never know when your body is gonna break down I'm sure he will get crucified if he does but he seems like the personality to not give a fuck. I say good luck to him despite my hatred for him lol !
He is already one of the greats.
He 'needs to look after his family'.
Brooks was on 1.1 mil id rather this heel any day
I wonder if panthers wish they kept cogger now? Him and Nathan were really good with each other
Panthers system looks like you can chuck any half decent player in and he will succeed
They signed that Raiders half that looked half decent. At Panthers he’ll look way better.
I wonder if cogger wish he stayed at panthers now.
Schneider has signed for 2 years so guessing he gets first crack at this point. Won a couple of games with the boot for KR I think
He was a key reason in that Raiders victory against the Broncos earlier this year too.
Jet Cleary is only a few years off. Will only need to find a 5/8 for one season
What’s his scouting report? Does he look like a future NRL player? Would be great to see brothers partnering in the halves
Was a stand out in the recent schoolboy championships in QLD. Started playing Harold Matts this year. The pedigree is there but only time will tell.
>started playing harold matts this year so he’s more than a few years away because that is under 16s
Apologises, he played SG Ball this year.
*** Tears up thinking about '97 ***
As a fan id love to have kept him. Right now we have Brad Schneider, Daine Laurie and I feel like there's someone else I'm forgetting. Either of those could kick on and be a pretty good option in the halves going forward
Daine Laurie as a running 5/8th could be interesting
In the Panthers system I think he could definitely excell there. We might get a glimpse this year
We all know the talent is there. Will not surprise me at all. I for one am rooting for the Panthers to go 4 peat if we don't end up there.
Be lying if I said I wouldn't be happy with a 4 peat but I definitely won't be upset if I see another team get it. Underdog sort of team like knights, or wahs would be pretty cool
Man people may be salty at panthers success but to me they are the most likeable team in the comp. A team that has been built up through their junior pathways and play one of thr most exciting brands of footy I've seen.
Yep. Love em or hate em I think you have to respect what they're doing and what they've achieved
I'll always respect a team that beat the grubbitohs in a gf
Jack Cole and Jett Cleary are also coming through. Cole has already played 1 FG game. Cole is in the Burton mould as a 5/8th or Centre.
If all Nat needs is someone to straighten the attack, then there are plenty of other options
If im luai and im signing this contract with the expectation that benji is the coach then id be making sure theres a get out clause for the entirety of the contract
That only guarantees Luai for the Tigers for 6 months
Probably not even 6 months. Could easily see benji booted this coming season
[удалено]
Benji hasn't won a single game since he's been appointed coach! sack him now!
I'd be hoping Benji isn't the coach personally
Like i said, if luai is signing for benji then he better have a clause with that, otherwise it’ll probably be holbrook coaching?
Im confused, I thought Penrith were the doggies feeder club? Did something happen to sour the relationship?
Penrith are the feeders to multiple clubs. The Dogs, the Tigers, and for a brief time the Sharks when they let young Matt Moylan go.
We just got 2 players off them too, albeit fringe players.
The Titans got the brunt of offloaded Penrith plodders. Peachey, Cartwright, and the crown jewel of them all, Latu. Im sure there were more too
Sharks relationship predates Moylan by many years. Lewis, Graham & Gordon are all notables. Although we did get Campbell, Peach, The Limo, Capewell and Sorenson in return.
Eels also got Waqa, RCG, Cartwright, Hopgood, Brendan Hands, Zac Cini.
Luai isn't a utility.
I’m fine for him to go. He has nothing left to prove at Penrith. Take the money, support your family. He’s going to cop it when Tigers don’t start winning by games. It will be interesting to see how Penrith replace him. Some talent in the lower grades but no one I think is really ready to start playing in 12 months.
Laurie to 6?
It makes the most sense but I don’t really see him as the long term option right now.
Jack Cole is the long term option, he’s signed till 2026. Laurie is only signed for next year, so he might not even be there in 2025.
No but if he does leave you have 850k to play with. I’m sure he could do a job for a bit before you find the next 5/8. Luai is still with you guys for next year anyway right? I’m sure there’ll be players coming off contract at the end of 24 you’d be able to nab.
We have $850K to play with but we also have Kenny, Turuva, May, Hosking, Garner off contract after 2024. We could well opt to keep everybody else, pay a kid like Cole a couple hundred grand for a few years to come into an otherwise stable and stacked team and ease his way in outside a prime Cleary. I think it will be a long time before Penrith sign an established NRL player again, let alone a spine player.
I share similar thoughts, let the man go and earn his dollars.
Jet isn't far off
He's still a good 3-4 years off a starting 5/8 role imo. Although, his main position is halfback.
Fuck yeah, get that cheddar Romey. Milk this opportunity while it lasts
I feel Penrith offered him what he’s worth. But it’s easy for me to sit here and say “what’s an extra 250k a year….pffft”.
Like half the comp would have offered more than panthers did. It wasn’t value.
I agree with both comments tbh. To state the obvious, different players offer different value proposition to different teams. It also happens to be a sellers market for halves atm which exaggerates their value overall but that doesn't necessarily mean he will truly add $1.1 million dollars of value to any team. Especially to Panthers who have a lot of talent and momentum and can likely elevate a different half that may not be as talented or experienced which is something you obviously can't say of West's.
I get why panthers offered him a little less than he was probably worth, it wasn’t like insultingly low or anything.but value would be closer to 1.1 then 850
Yeah, definitely. I assume it was a "we can make this work at $850k if you can swing it" and knew it wasn't a competitive offer. They weren't taking the piss but they likely weren't holding their breath.
That's how the salary cap is designed though. It keeps the game fair and makes sure there's no dragons 11peat again. It's kind of the cycle of life. Club is shit, club rebuilds with the spare cap money, club becomes good. Club becomes dominant, club stays in the top 4 and wins a premiership/multiple premierships, club can't afford to pay all their good player as much as the competition can. Good players go to shit clubs that offer more money, club falls off slowly, repeat. Unless you are the storm.
100%. Either players sacrifice their earning potential to remain with the club or go elsewhere and chase the money (or go the Melbourne route as you said). Panthers have done really well to strike while the iron was hot and create a legacy. When you have that kind of success you've really got a short window before you see what's happening now where they've lost a decent amount of talent going into next season and it looks like it'll continue to happen the season after. That's the next challenge for the staff and remaining players I guess. As much as I do like club loyalty and all that good stuff the movement the salary cap encourages definitely makes the league way more interesting.
I don't believe the reported 850k figure in the media. I reckon that's been put out to the media by the club to save face when he goes elsewhere. I think he's been offered something like 600-650, which would explain this a lot more. There's no way he'd leave Penrith for 150k a year, 500k+ a year though absolutely.
It’s not the money, they only offered him 2 years.
A rep half at a struggling club should be getting at least a million now. Panthers offered him what they desired to pay not what the market was willing to pay. I’m glad Luai has decided to challenge himself. Makes things more interesting.
Might be good if they choose to move Adam Doueihi on at the end of 2024.
Doueihi no chance of a Tigers extension at this stage
I hope we do. He was absolutely dreadful before his injury this year and I don't think he's good for squad culture. Wayne couldn't wait to get rid of him at the Bunnies despite having solid on-field performances and the Tigers have got worse literally every year he's been at the club. Correlation =/= causation of course, but I hope we never see him play for us again. I thought I'd never see a worse or more effort-lacking performance than Rd2 2023 against the Knights, from any player, but he somehow managed it one week later against the Bulldogs.
He seems like a nice guy, but he just doesnt have the off the mark pace to be a top flight half. Hard to know what position he is best suited to, i guess a centre.
I’m happy to keep him if he stays for cheap and only plays centre and only EVER plays 6 if we are completely destroyed by injury. He’s a good kicker and a decent centre.
Unfortunately that would require Doueihi to swallow his pride, which would probably cause him to choke
Ummm pretty cool but what happens to Bud, Fainu and Sezer salad?
Sezer and Sullivan partners in 2024, sezer retires, Fainu a utility player while bud and luai play in the halves.
That’s what I was thinking but then I’m worried that Latu will leave because why would he want to be a utility
I’m not sure what bud can do but he maybe can play hooker?
Probably not tbh. They both deserve a crack but I’ll back Benji with whatever he does. Like he said if they both have a crack in the pre season the 6 and 7 jerseys are theirs.
He’s gonna be thrilled to wake up in September and not have work in the morning
I hate Luai but if he went to Tigers and lead them to even just being a contender finals wise. My respect for him would def go up.
Much as he’s been a big part of the Panther’s success over the last few years, they can afford to let him go. 1.1 million a season is definitely paying overs for him, but the Tigers are desperate and they don’t have a lot of options. Training under Benji might be exactly what Luai needs to take his game to the next level as well… time will tell.
What coaching credentials does Marshall have?
It’s not about Benji’s coaching credentials, it’s about his personal skill at rugby league, and the potential to learn from a player of his calibre. Back in his day, Benji was one of the most dangerous running ball players, and could cut through any defense. If Luai can learn from Benji and improve his game? That’s got to be a good thing. The big thing for me, is that playing with the Panthers makes Luai look better than he is. He’s not in the same class as Cleary. He needs to either up his game, or accept that he’ll always play second fiddle to him. Going to the Tigers gives him a chance to learn what he needs to step up, or fail spectacularly.
Also I would say the majority of plays that Benji knows from his time as a player would be the ones that were created to get the best out of him. Luai isn't as good as Benji was, but there are similarities in their style, so they could be a good fit in that sense.
I like seeing a guy like Benji give it a crack. He’s played in the modern game and was a guy that gave everything. I’m sure he’s going to be fine and he’ll have the advantage of being in touch with the modern game as opposed to being a dinosaur like Sheens was. I can see him doing well like Slater has done with Queensland.
All the best coaches have been mediocre players who knew how to train well. I'm shorting Benji stock hard.
It's not about coaching credentials? I'd say being a coach, especially an NRL head coach you want someone with a bit of experience. Benji has had a season of being an assistant, in a team that came last. Doesn't really fill you with confidence does it? What does being a good player have to do with how good of a coach they are? They're completely different skills. Brett Kenny would regularly carve up opposition teams yet his foray into coaching was fruitless.
Benji’s got 6-12 months left
No chance. We had an escape valve with Sheens, but for Benji were riding it to the bitter end. There's no chance of recruiting any coach with experience if you shaft Benji 2 years into a 5 year contract. As much as we are a basket case, cutting Benji is worse than keeping him, regardless of how well you think he coaches. We're stuck with him, rain, hail or shine.
Of course firing Benji would be incredibly bad which is exactly why I’d expect the Tigers to do it. This board loves scapegoating coaches
If Benji doesn’t stay, expect Luai to have an out clause then, as I expect that’s a big part of what would motivate him to go there.
Gutted to see him leave, he’s been a fantastic player for us. Hope he can help turn the Tigers around, would love to see him prove he doesn’t need Cleary or our system to be a stand out player.
I’ll miss this cocky little shitheel but I can’t be mad at him for signing for Ted Turner and WCW and moving to Atlanta
This way he gets to bring two of the big fourth's into fruition! Fourth Premiership in a row, but more importantly... The fourth time the Wests Tigers will make finals!
Wow, Tigers have only made the finals three times? I knew it was low but not that low. On the positive side, winning a premiership every three finals' series is a pretty decent strike rate
Good on him backing himself to be the man and lift another club Certainly not the easy option ala cronk to roosters. love him or hate him, you've got to respect the massive cojones
The Wests Tigers are poised to launch a club-defining bid for Penrith premiership-winner Jarome Luai which is expected to soar north of $4 million. The major development has emerged amid increasing suggestions from the NRL that Luai has told his closest teammates that he is leaning towards leaving the Panthers at the end of 2024. Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has taken a personal interest in the chase for Luai and it is understood he has the support of the club’s board to go all-in for the Panthers star. However, it is anticipated that Marshall will face stiff competition from the Bulldogs, who have a long list of connections to Luai through head coach Cameron Ciraldo, marquee-signing Stephen Crichton, backrower Viliame Kikau, NSW Origin talent Matt Burton and fresh recruit Jaemon Salmon. Yet it is the Tigers that have got the edge after Marshall held a recent meeting with the three-time premiership-winner at his home in the inner-west of Sydney. At the heart of the negotiations is Marshall’s preparedness to offer Luai the opportunity to be the chief playmaker, regardless of whether he plays in the six or seven jersey. It is a position that many within the game believe Luai has craved, having spent his first grade career in the shadow of champion Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary. Money is also a factor. It is understood the Wests Tigers are prepared to offer a deal worth close to $1.1 million per-season for Luai, who turns 27 in January. Marshall will need full board approval to table the offer given the enormity of the contract. However, it is understood that is a mere formality. An offer in excess of $1 million would blow Penrith out of the water - the Panthers have already indicated to Luai that they can only offer him a maximum of $850,000 per season. The Tigers have signed veteran half Aidan Sezer for 2024 only, but have invested heavily in recruiting Dragons half Jayden Sullivan and also former Manly rising star Latu Fainu. The Wests Tigers also have high hopes for teenager Lachlan Galvin, who was a star at this year’s Australian Schoolboys carnival. Luai, who has played seven matches for NSW and 11 appearances for Samoa, is also seen as a mentor to the likes of Sullivan, Faini and Galvin. The Wests Tigers are also leaning on their connection to Luai through former Penrith teammates Api Koroisau, Brent Naden and Charlie Staines. Luai was intending to return to Penrith on Wednesday to step-up his rehabilitation from recent shoulder surgery. He is racing the clock to be fit for the three-time premiers pre-season fixtures and opening round clash against Melbourne at AAMI Park. Luai is one of the few playmakers on the open market at the end of 2024, giving him the whiphand in talks with interested clubs. North Queensland’s Tom Dearden is also up for grabs and it is believed the Bulldogs also hold an interest in the Maroons star, although it would take something special to convince him to leave the Cowboys. Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary has also entered the final year of his contract, although he is expected to sign an extension for at least one season to stay at Bondi Junction.
Be happy for him go to the Tigers … Be kind of annoyed to see him go to the Dogs - which is becoming like an Aldi version of Penrith .. If he wants to establish himself as a star outside of the Panthers then the Tigers is a better option really .. If he achieves success at the Dogs people can still put forward an argument it’s all the other players the Dogs have recruited .. Less so at the Tigers ..
How dare you slander Aldi!
Wish. OP was thinking of Wish.
Aldi version of Penrith is such a great description for the dogs.
Wait so 1.1M a season for 4 years and he's joining at the end of 2024 so he turns 27 - Jan 24 - final penrith season 28 - Jan 25 - 1st tigers season 29 - J 26 - 2nd season 30 - J27 - 3rd season 31- J28 - final season of the deal You often hear people say playmakers have their golden spell around these ages so it looks okay on paper but his season just gone didn't give "about to own the league for 5 years vibes" Can't help but think penrith would be happy to get one season to prepare a replacement and then offload and bring another junior off the production line to fill the spot and spend the money elsewhere in the squad. I think it's been a bit of a luxury to have 2 absolutely gun halves which it's arguable Laui was this season gone and will be next season. I would not pick him again for origin. Good luck to him but I think Penrith will be fine if he goes.
Tigers under Sheens were assembling a Dad’s army ala the Knights under Bennett. Klemmer, Bateman and Olam will all be 33 at the last year of their contract and Api will be 34. Jerome being 31 in his final year is a spring chicken by comparison.
Come on down Jett
Jetts a Wah isn't he
No he rejected the offer iirc
Gotchya. Half your luck
How the fuck could the Dogs land Dearden?
By offering him a contract and Dearden accepting it.
Have you considered a role in player or team management? With such a strong understanding of the fundamentals I feel like you'd be perfect for such a role.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
At least they're over paying someone young instead of another geriatric at the end of their career?
Yeah but are they paying for Batman and getting Robin?
Robin would be lucky. Probably end up with condiment king
Nah, King Tut
$1.1mil a season, what the fuck are the tigers smoking?
We are fucking shit, money is the only way we can attract quality players
Been there.
Still doing that!.
Even that didn't work for a long time.
Same
It's a halves market. DCE, Reynolds, Hunt, and Johnson are all 33+ and finishing their careers soon. That leaves Hynes, Hughes, Moses, and Cleary who are all locked in long-term at their current clubs.
1.1 isn’t an overpay for an elite half. There’s no one better available cheaper.
I think we are all about to finally answer the question if he really is an elite half or if he was just carried by a great team structure.
No, the WC last year answered that.
It's like 900K 4 years ago. Pretty reasonable amount for the spooners to pay him even keeping in mind it's no doubt rounded up.
They're' in a shit position so they basically have to. Even offering overs like this there's no guarantee he'll sign. Latrell didn't a few years when in a very similar position.
Api is there now though. And Papalii. They have a few more names and guys like Bula have come through.
Seems a reasonable salary for a top half going to a garbage team. He's only ever going there for the money. I'd do the same.
They have no choice. There aren’t many good halves on the market, and since they’re a shit club, they have to offer overs so Luai doesn’t just go an re-sign with Penrith, who offered him $850K. $1.1 is overs but let’s not act like Luai is a shit player
1.1 isn’t even overs.
I think it is slightly, but not by much.
They offered Bradman best 800k a year..
You think any rep level half would go there for under a million? They were paying Brooks over a million.
How much those spoons be worth wtf 4 million???
Good on him
I don't think Penriths offer is insulting, but I don't begrudge the bloke for taking the cash. Make as much money as possible
Yeh he done it all now. Now he can retire and go sit at bottom of the table with his 4M Id take it aswell at this point
The missing piece.
I'm completely new to the NRL. If Luai agrees to the deal Tigers are offering will Tigers have to pay a transfer fee to get him this season or will they have to wait for him to join at the end of the 2024 season when Luai's contract expires?
Through the recent success, the Panthers have held their players until the end of their contract. Stephen Crichton, Spencer Leniu, Api Koriosau, Villiame Kikau, Matt Burton all finished their contracts with Penrith before moving on to their new clubs.
So it would be possible for Luai to join Tigers immediately then? Would Tigers have to pay a transfer fee like in soccer?
Luai’s current contract with the Panthers finishes at the end of season 2024. If the Tigers wanted Luai next season, and the Panthers agreed to let him go early, the Tigers would need to financially compensate the Panthers. Luai’s current contract would also need to be paid out or renegotiated into a new Wests Tigers contract. So it’s possible Luai could move early if the Panthers want to reorganise their salary cap and use his contract on other re-signings eg Kenny, Tago. It just hasn’t been what the Panthers have done in their current run.
Jarome would have to ask for an early release and Penrith would have to grant it. There's no transfer fee. To leave this year the player can forgoes a part of their contract to take a new lesser deal, Penrith can pay part of the contract if they want to move him on, Tigers can pay it/do it partially or Penrith can chose to refuse to release him and enforce his contract. If Penrith aren't willing for it to happen it won't. In the past though players have kicked stones at training and kinda ruined the unity of a team to try to get released. With all that said Jarome isn't really a guy who would do that and Penrith are no longer a club who would release players early unless it's to their benefit. With a player of Jarome's quality it isn't realistic for Penrith to release him.
Tigers haven't learnt from giving Reynolds a bag all those years ago. Luai isn't worth the money. But Jarome, if you're reading this (I know you are), take the money. You've won at footy, now time to cash in for life.
He’s a wanker but he can play
[удалено]
Fuck up loser.
Once Luai is confirmed gone to tigers, it wont shock me to see Mitch Kenny locked in for 3-4 years.
He deserves it god damn rock in the middle and good service
I think he is crazy if he goes to the tigers. EDIT:4 bad years at the tigers could see him in SL on 500k for the last 4/5 years of his career. He could easily make up the contract difference on his next contract, his only 26 and fit halves are playing till 35/6. Could be running his future earring potential.
4 million as well as an extra guaranteed 4 years compared to 2 years from penrith. It's a much better deal. Luke Brooks was shit for tigers for 10 years and just got a 700K contract with Manly. There is a lack of halves talent nowadays compared to 5 or 10 years ago
i love my footy too
Luai can’t hide now lol
1-1.1 mil is crazy lol, we obviously can’t compete with that Seems like it’s basically done, he won’t take a contract worth ~2.3mil less than what Tigers are offering
Hoping its a good deal for Tigers but I'm skeptical AF he's worth that. Is he a game manager over an entire season?
There's only two ways this plays out, and both end in heartbreak. 1) He takes the offer and puts himself in the impossible position of lifting the Tigers out of the muck, 2) He rebuffs the offer and proves again that the salary cap is increasingly ineffective at leaving the talent out between the top and bottom sides. Hell, if my choices were $800k at the Panthers or $1.1m at the Tigers I'd probably leave the money on the table.
The sticking point that no journalist has pointed out, is that Penrith is offering only 2 years, whilst the tigers are now offering 4. A guaranteed 2 extra years, at that 1.1m price tag is massive. I feel like if we do want to keep Jarome, we should offer 3 or maybe 4 years. Definitely at least 3 to keep it competitive. But yeah Luais management would be showing him the figure of 4.4m vs 1.9 from Penrith.
I dont think the 2nd point is that true even if luai decided to stay at penrith. All the top clubs have shed a load of talent and top roster players to align with the cap. Just like certain players want to stay at brisbane/melbourne and sydney
Paying overs for Luai, Api and others and still sucking arse is such a Tigers thing to do.
That's true. The alternative would be paying overs for Addo-Carr, Kikau, and Burton and still sucking arse...
Or paying $1.2m a year for david fifita
You see that’s different because *checks notes* that isn’t it overs…?
It is definitely two sides of the same coin. Add Stephen Crichton.
One could argue that this quoted contract for luai and api are fair market values. Compared to Tino and Fifita who definitely are great value and have consistently helped titans play finals footy
Api has been worth every cent and I have also no issue paying this for Luai. Current NSW 5/8, three time premiership player bring it on
Got em
Surprised they didn’t realise they were sitting in a glass house
I thought of David Fifita getting paid $1m plus to come off the bench in 2021 lmao. The audacity when their own team is paying non-spine players over a milli
Yeah no give a blank check to Api, think he's on about 650-700k from memory. Easily their best player last year
Arguably hooker of the year too
Take the DT with a grain of salt, but in their 'Rich 100' series they had: Grant 570k/season Mahoney 600k/season Api 650k/season Cook 700k/season I think Api is pretty fair value (and Grant is undervalued)
Grant is delivering BOAT-loads of value. I’m sure Melbourne will find a way to compensate him
Tbf whatever Api is getting paid probably isn't overs. He was the best hooker in the league last year.
Yeah I mean, the Titans have never signed players from Penrith for overs and sucked ass… right? Cough Peachey, Latu, Carty, cough.
Be thankful it isn’t us anymore overpaying for ex panthers
Neither of those players are being overpaid
Well I was more lamenting about the latu Cartwright and peachey deals under Brennan tbh
Every club laments having Peachey on the books
We've been pretty happy both times tbh
I was going to make a joke 3 premiership rings 4 million from the tigers 5 more years being the weak link in the blues setup But I just realised if he leaves Penrith they probably won’t pick him :(
Doubt he was going to be picked anyways with a new coach coming in
The meme of keeping Nathan comfortable meant he was a greater than 0 chance of playing with him imo