Jarome Luai

Jarome Luai (born 16 January 1997) is a international rugby league footballer who plays as a or and is co-captain for the Wests Tigers in the NRL (National Rugby League).

He previously played for the Penrith Panthers, where he was a four time premiership winning player; he has also represented and captained Samoa at test and 9's level, the NSW Blues in State of Origin and the Māori All Stars in the annual NRL All Stars match. He won the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 NRL Grand Finals with the Penrith Panthers.

Background

Luai was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. His father is Samoan while his mother is part Māori, he also has English ancestry. Luai's paternal grandparents were from Palauli, Samoa
He played his junior rugby league for the St Marys Saints before being signed by the Penrith Panthers.

Playing career

Early career

Luai played games for the Penrith Panthers in the NYC between 2015 and 2017, scoring 13 tries and kicking 43 goals.

Luai spent part of the 2017 season playing for Penrith in the New South Wales Cup. Luai captained the Junior Kiwis in May 2017, scoring a try in their 4622 loss to the Junior Kangaroos.

2017

At the 2017 World Cup, Luai was the only member of the Samoan squad without any prior NRL experience. He speculated on his selection, saying "I think you'll find Tyrone May was in the squad originally but due to his injury there was a spot for me." Luai made his Test debut against Tonga on 4 November 2017.

2018

Following an injury to Nathan Cleary, Luai was named to make his NRL debut off the interchange bench in round 4 of the 2018 NRL season. However, he was cut from the line-up on gameday in favour of Wayde Egan, who was also on debut. Luai made his NRL debut in round 10 against the Newcastle Knights, playing for 26 minutes off the interchange bench. In round 17, Luai started at in his second NRL match in the absence of Nathan Cleary and James Maloney due to State of Origin. His performance in the 364 win, which included two tries and multiple try assists, was heavily praised by the media.

2019

Luai made 13 appearances for Penrith in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table and missed the finals for the first time in four years. Luai also represented Samoa playing hooker in their 24-6 win over PNG. And played halfback in their 44-18 loss to Fiji.

2020

Luai had a breakout year for Penrith playing 23 games, scoring seven tries and bagging 23 try assists as Penrith claimed the Minor Premiership and reached the grand final against the Melbourne Storm, losing 2620. Luai's form throughout the season was rewarded with a spot in the New South Wales State of Origin 27 man squad although he did not play in the three game series.

2021

On 30 May, he was selected by New South Wales for game 1 of the 2021 State of Origin series.
Luai made his debut for New South Wales in game 1 where they defeated Queensland 50-6. On 27 June, Luai was a part of the NSW side which defeated Queensland 26-0, sealing the series for 2021. However, Luai was ruled out of game three of the series after he suffered a knee injury in Penrith's round 16 win over the Parramatta Eels.

Luai played a total of 25 games for Penrith in the 2021 NRL season including the club's grand final victory over South Sydney.

2022

In round 11 of the 2022 NRL season, Luai scored two tries for Penrith in a 32–12 victory over the Sydney Roosters.

Luai played all three State of Origin games as New South Wales lost the series 2-1. During the series, Luai verbally abused an unconscious Selwyn Cobbo, whist standing over him. The move prompted criticism, especially after Luai refused to apologise.

Luai won the 2022 Premiership with Penrith in a 28–12 win over Parramatta in the Grand Final. Following the grand final victory, Luai once again mocked the Parramatta club through social media posing for a photo with the caption "Daddy loves you". Luai had previously referred to Penrith as Parramatta's "Daddy" four days out from the match.

On 6 October, Luai mocked Parramatta player Ryan Matterson on social media after Matterson had mentioned Luai had gone unpunished in the grand final for allegedly kicking Isaiah Papali'i whilst Matterson was suspended for three games over a crusher tackle on Dylan Edwards. Luai posted the words "Cry 4 U" on Instagram accompanied by three crying emojis, and the chorus to R&B star Kennyon Brown’s song "Cry 4 You". This was followed by an Instagram story posted after the game, which contained a racial slur "nigga". The Panthers' management subsequently stated that the term was used affectionately, which drew further widespread criticism.

In October Luai was named in the Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

Luai played every match of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup including the final against Australia in which Samoa were comprehensively beaten 30-10.

In November he was named in the 2021 RLWC Team of the Tournament.

2023

On 18 February, Luai played in Penrith's 13-12 upset loss to St Helens RFC in the 2023 World Club Challenge.

On 22 May, Luai was selected by New South Wales for game one of the 2023 State of Origin series which was ultimately lost to the Queensland side. In game 2, Luai was sent off just before the end of the match for alleged fighting as New South Wales lost the match 32-6, and therefore the series. Following the game, Luai posted a message on his Instagram account which read “All you idiots have work tomorrow morning, We go again". Luai claimed it was in response to receiving death threats on social media following the match.

On 3 July, it was announced that Luai had not been selected by New South Wales for game 3 of the series.

The same month, Andrew Johns said, "I think Jarome is a back-up singer, he’s not a main playmaker. He’s not an organising half."

In round 26, Luai was taken from the field early in the first half after suffering a suspected dislocated shoulder during Penrith's 32-18 shock loss to Parramatta.

Luai played 22 matches for Penrith in the 2023 NRL season including the club's 26-24 victory over Brisbane in the 2023 NRL Grand Final as Penrith won their third straight premiership.

2024

On 3 January, Luai announced he signed a five-year deal with the Wests Tigers, commencing in 2025.
On 26 May, Luai was selected by New South Wales ahead of the 2024 State of Origin series.
Luai played in all three games as New South Wales won the series 2-1.
Luai played a total of 24 matches for Penrith in the 2024 NRL season. On 6 October, he won the 2024 NRL Grand Final with the Penrith club, the fourth consecutive premiership victory for the side. This was also his final appearance with the team prior to his move to the Wests Tigers.

2025

On 22 January. Luai was named alongside Apisai Koroisau as co-captain of the Wests Tigers for the 2025 season. Luai made his club debut for the Wests Tigers in round 1 of the 2025 NRL season against Newcastle which Wests lost 10-8. In April, a number of senior players including Luai and Apisai Koroisau had asked team boss Shane Richardson about Lachlan Galvin and said that they did not want him in the team. Galvin had issues with being "second fiddle" to the four time premiership winning playmaker and that he had "no faith" in Benji Marshall's coaching.

Honours

Club
* 2020 Minor Premiership Winners
* 2021 NRL Grand Final Winners
* 2022 Minor Premiership Winners
* 2022 NRL Grand Final Winners
* 2023 Minor Premiership Winners
* 2023 NRL Grand Final Winners
* 2024 NRL Grand Final Winners

Representative
* 2021 State of Origin series Winners
* 2024 State of Origin series Winners

Statistics

References

External links

Penrith Panthers profile

2017 RLWC profile

Samoa profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luai, Jarome
1997 births
Living people
Australian people of Māori descent
Australian rugby league players
Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent
Australian people of English descent
Junior Kiwis players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
New Zealand Māori rugby league team players
Penrith Panthers players
Wests Tigers players
Rugby league halfbacks
Rugby league players from Sydney
Samoa national rugby league team captains
Samoa national rugby league team players
Samoan rugby league players
21st-century Australian sportsmen