An emotional Jarome Luai has joined the long list of Panthers stars to leave with a premiership ring, with his impending move to the Wests Tigers particularly difficult for Ivan Cleary who has seen him develop as a player and a person alongside his son.
Cleary has seen guys like Stephen Crichton and Viliame Kikau forced out of the club because of salary cap pressures, with Luai, James Fisher-Harris and Sunia Turuva all set to leave following the club’s fourth grand final win in a row.
This one hurts a little bit more for Cleary given he desperately wanted to keep Luai, who has formed one of the all-time great halves pairings with Cleary’s son, Nathan.
“I think of all those boys a bit like my sons,” the coach said.
“He’s such an infectious personality, so it was a difficult negotiation at the start of the year. It was hard for him, but he put his head down and has stood up this year.
“When ‘Nat’ was out he stood up when we really needed him. I’m so proud of not just the player he is but the man that he’s become.
“I love these boys, so I don’t like it when they leave. I’m stoked we get to have a bit of fun over the next couple of days.”
Luai will leave Penrith on a lucrative deal to join the Tigers in 2025. He wants to go from being a Robin at the Panthers to Batman at the club that has finished last three years in a row.
There were question marks at the start of the year over whether he’d be able to handle that responsibility, but he’s shown for Samoa, NSW and when Cleary was out injured that he has all the tools to be the top dog.
“I’ve gotten a lot of confidence out of this year, especially with Nath being out,” he said.
“It was an opportunity for me to grow in that role. I’ve never had to play it since I’ve been here. I know I’m on the way out but I’m ready for it.”
