Wests Tigers Head Coach Benji Marshall says the tough decision to allow Jarome Luai to depart at the end of this season was made in the best interest of the Club’s long-time future.
Originally contracted to the end of 2027, the Club has mutually agreed to release the star five-eighth from the final year of his contract following extensive discussions between Luai, his management and the Wests Tigers.
Marshall said ‘open and honest’ discussions had been held over the past four to five weeks with Luai, who signed with the incoming PNG Chiefs in April for their debut 2028 season.
“He made the decision to go (to) PNG, which is all good and we supported him through that,’’ Marshall said today.
“Now, we’ve made a decision based on what we think is best for our long-term future.
“To Jarome's credit, he accepted it really well and even said he wanted to leave a parting gift to some of the players that even though he goes, it benefits other players here.
“It speaks volumes of Jarome. I said this when he signed with PNG, we can never repay him for what he's done for this Club.
“What people probably don't see is what he does in the locker room, what he's done for our culture, how he's shaped the way the players train, and given us a level of professionalism.
“We love what he brings. But moving forward, we’re prioritising guys that are probably going to be here for the next 10 years, not for the next 12 months.”
Marshall dismissed speculation there was a relationship breakdown with Luai, saying it is ‘far from the truth’.
He added that Luai’s decision has since given the Club time to look at its playing roster around the five-eighth position.
“We've got kids coming through in the same positions. If we hold a couple of those kids back another 12 months, we might lose those kids,’’ Marshall said.
“This decision was made in the best interest of the Club, and if anyone's having a go at us with that, well, unlucky.”
Marshall also confirmed Luai would remain in the six jersey as the Club focuses on keeping their finals hopes alive.
“One thing I know about our group and myself as a coach is that we will not surrender,’’ Marshall added.
“We’re not going to throw in towel and give up. We'll keep fighting while it's there, and we'll try and win as many games as we can to the end of the season.
“If you look at us now from last year, we’ve improved. I think the start to the season probably gave more expectation than what everyone probably thought, and we've fallen off the cliff a little bit, but we've still improved.
“One thing I've learned in this job is you can't control a lot of the stuff that happens externally.
“In this instance, we've probably made the noise in terms of making this decision, but would make the decision again, based on what we think is best for the club long term.
“I’m not here for the short-term thought, it's tough and I understand the fans will be frustrated with the constant noise.
“But if you turn that noise into results, then there's no drama, but we haven't been winning, so of course that's going to create drama. And I think our fans are sick of losing.”
Watch the full interview on Wests Tigers YouTube
