Jarome Luai was signed to be the face of the new Wests Tigers, a rebuild after finishing dead last three years in a row.
Their 2025 season wasn’t exactly a roaring success, but they managed to lift themselves to 13th to avoid a fourth consecutive wooden spoon.
Just two years into the new project, Luai opted to exercise the exit clause in his contract to announce he would be joining the PNG Chiefs when they join the league in 2028.
At the time, that meant the 29-year-old would stay with the Tigers through the 2027 season before making the switch.
A decision that the Tigers, and head coach Benji Marshall, have decided they could not abide by, and have told Luai he must find a new club for the 2027 season.
And now, Jarome’s father has added more fuel to the fire, by hinting that his son’s and Marshall’s relationship has broken down since his decision.
Jarome Luai shocked the NRL world when he decided to sign for the PNG Chiefs when they join the league in 2028
Since the decision, reports have surfaced that Luai has fallen out with head coach Benji Marshall, furthered by Luai’s father Martin’s comment on Instagram
Martin Luai left an ‘ok’ hand sign emoji on a Triple M Instagram post that included a quote from Danny Weidler claiming Jarome and his coach are no longer close.
‘I don’t think Jarome and Benji are as close as they were… ever since he said I’m off to PNG,’ said Weidler.
That certainly seems to be in line with Marshall’s approach to leading the team and demanding a complete buy-in from everyone.
Before the season started, he laid down the law to his players, saying, ‘At the Wests Tigers we f******g now stand for something and if you’re not prepared to follow what we stand for, guess what, there’s the f******g door.’
No one could accuse the coach of not standing by his principles, having shown who should have been the cornerstone of their franchise the door recently.
He demanded full commitment to the cause and it seems Luai’s decision to leave has defied that request.
There is no doubting he helped raise the standards at the club since his arrival, but, there will be questions as to whether Luai was all in.
When he signed for the club there was an exit clause added in, one that he could exercise within the first two years of his five-year $1.2m per year deal.
And that is exactly what he used to be able to secure a move away to PNG when they join in 2028.
Perhaps, this breakdown is all the Tigers’ own doing as they allowed such a clause to be included.
But it does also hint that perhaps Luai was never actually completely sold on the vision for the team in the long run.
Though it is worth noting that the former Concord superstar received a life-altering deal from the Chiefs.
Whatever the motivation for his move, it seems to have soured the relationship between the Tigers captain and his coach, and the only logical move was to cut ties at the end of the season.
