Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Jarome Luai says the prospect of tax-free riches with the PNG Chiefs first got him interested to sign with the expansion team, but insists it was the chance to create a game-changing legacy that sealed the seismic move.
Following Luai’s game-changing decision to take up a multimillion-dollar, three-year deal with the Chiefs from 2028, the Tigers skipper and coach Benji Marshall declared the joint venture would not be derailed by the decision, with Luai also dismissing comparisons to Lahlan Galvin’s walkout on the club last season.
As one of the most influential Polynesian players in the NRL, Luai shapes as a marquee attraction for PNG to build coach Willie Peters’ inaugural roster around.
Given Luai is expected to earn a similar figure to his existing $1.2 million Tigers salary, he will take home an additional $500,000 each season at the Chiefs thanks to the deal between Australian and PNG governments for players and staff to earn tax-free salaries.
“I think everyone wants me to say tax-free [salary] and how appealing that is … but that’s not what got the deal signed,” he said after a whistle-stop tour of Port Moresby with his wife and son last weekend.
“That’s definitely appealing, from the outside in especially – that’s probably what got the conversations started – but it’s not what got the deal signed and delivered.
“Unless you get over there, experience it for yourself, you won’t really know yet … Being over there, you realise that it’s bigger than a game over there. When the time comes, we’ll be able to change a lot of lives for the better.
“Being Polynesian, there’s a lot of similarities to Samoa and what that team’s eventually gonna do for those people is just grow a nation. That’s something that resonated with me.”
Inevitable comparisons to Galvin’s exit from the Tigers a year ago surfaced as soon as news of Luai’s PNG jaunt emerged. Luai acknowledged his “team first” social media shot at Galvin this time last year looms large, but pointed to the clauses in his Tigers contract that ensured he and the Chiefs “broke no rules throughout the process.”
“It’s a tricky one, two different situations, and I’m going to be an adult about it and not drag Lachie into something he’s not part of. He’s got a big part to play in his own team now,” Luai said.
“It’s two different situations. I know the ‘team first’ thing is getting thrown around a bit, but I’m here for 18 months. I live and breathe team first – my brothers know that, they’re happy for me and my family, and this club will be in a great position when I leave.”
Marshall said he and the Tigers had no regrets about the contentious clauses in Luai’s deal that allowed PNG to poach their halfback. Luai has taken up the 2027 option in his Tigers contract, and will ultimately play three seasons of what was originally announced as a five-year deal.
“Those player options are what got him here and if we don’t get him here, we probably don’t get off the bottom of the table like we did given what he’s given us,” Marshall said.
“I’ve got a guy who I begged to come out of a four-time premiership-winning team to help a club off the bottom of the table progress into a better position, and he took that challenge with us.
“He’s 18 months into that deal and what he’s done in 18 months has only been positive, and we get to make it positive for the next 18 months to actually get some more out of him before he takes that opportunity.”
Luai had the blessing of the club to visit PNG and see what the franchise had to offer when he travelled on a private jet to Port Moresby over the weekend, and Marshall said he could see how torn the Tigers star was about the decision in front of him.
“One thing about Jarome is he’s been transparent through the whole process and communicated very clearly to me about what his plans were and what he was going to do, and we sent him there with our blessing to explore that opportunity,” Marshall said.
“I had a guy in my office who was a bit broken down [and] emotional about making the decision that clearly wasn’t just about himself, [it was also about] his family, and an opportunity that was simply too good to refuse for him.”
Marshall refused to discuss recruitment when questions turned to who would replace their marquee man come 2028, but said PNG’s coup in landing Luai highlighted the threat they now pose in the player market.
“I don’t think anyone was probably that worried about it before until now,” Marshall said.
“So yeah, it’s realistic. If you’re chasing more money and a better deal, then there’s great opportunities for you. I think every club need to be on their toes for a bit.
“My job has always been to create an environment where players want to be and want to stay and want to have that opportunity here. If they want to get the opportunity to go somewhere else, well then that’s up to them.
“One thing with rugby league – and you guys all know this – is that no matter what happens, players come and go, but the club is always bigger than anyone, any individual. That’ll always be the same.”
On the Tigers potential playmaking options, Marshall said: “We’re lucky we’ve got a great amount of depth – which is a credit to our recruitment team – in those positions.
“Just off the top of my head, Javon Andrews, Latu Fainu, Jock Madden, all potential options to fill that void. But that’s 18 months away, too, so it’s a lot of time between now and then. But we are, and we have been, planning for 2028 now anyway.”
