The Samoan international is coming off three-straight premierships with Penrith, but made the move from Penrith for his family with the Tigers offering him a much bigger deal. And Tigers fans are already excited for his combination in the halves with promising talent Lachlan Galvin.
Marshall copped a blow to his pre-season preparations when Luai opted to play for Samoa against England in the post-NRL tour. This meant he would have to wait to link up with his new teammates due to the required time off required for international players.
And Luai, along with fellow recruits Sunia Turuva, Royce Hunt and Jack Bird, joined Tigers training on Tuesday ahead of schedule. The Tigers have been lacking leaders for years having finished last three years running.
Although there appears to be a changing of the guard at the Tigers with the signing of Luai prompting renewed hope the team can change its fortunes. Luau is also speculated to have had a hand in persuading Terrell May to join the club.
The forward was not wanted by the Roosters heading into 2025 and made the switch over to join his Samoan teammate. Marshall will now be able to get to work on his new halves combination with Galvin only going to benefit from more time with Luai ahead of the new season.
Luai’s intention also shows his willingness to become a leader at the Tigers, which echoes a sentiment that he won’t be taking up any reported ‘player option’ in his contact.
Jarome Luai’s return to Penrith dashed
Only last week, fans were left stunned when it was reported Luai could leave the Tigers after just two years because the final three years of his deal are ‘player options’. This excited Panthers fans with the possibility of Luai returning to Penrith if things don’t go to plan at the Wests Tigers.
However, reporter Peter Lang quelled expectations around this and claimed Luai has ended up where he is because of his determination to succeed. “A lot of Panthers supporters have renewed hope that Jarome Luai will return to Penrith due to a clause in his contract which will allow him to leave the Tigers after two years if he wants to,” Lang wrote on social media.
“My personal opinion is that Luai will never return to the Panthers…he’s not a quitter.” And after explaining Luai’s determination to prove himself at the Tigers should be enough for him to see out his contract, Lang also explained the Panthers’ salary cap situation would make it hard to bring him back.
Wests Tigers looking for fresh start in 2025
Tigers fans are finally excited for a new season with halfback and a number of forwards joining the club in some much needed recruitment. The Tigers have splashed out nearly around $4 million on new signings. And while many, including the likes of Phil Gould, are predicting the Tigers to soar up the ladder it could also spell disaster for Marshall if things don’t go right.
Marshall was expected to improve the Tigers in 2024 and while they may have played slightly better footy, they still finished last. And the coach has been warned if things don’t improve in 2025 he could be facing extra pressure.
“On paper, they’re not getting the wooden spoon… And this is the thing right. Now the blowtorch is going to go off the admin, it’s going to go off the players because they now have the roster and the blowtorch is going to be firmly on Benji.
“Benji is a really really good coach. He’s a great guy to have around the players as well, he’s highly intelligent and he knows the emotional intelligence to know his players but he has to keep it simple. I think sometimes Benji tries to overcook the coaching.”
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