'Ticket out': Luai grateful to Panthers
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“This could be our ticket out”.
That was the reaction of Jarome’s Luai’s father, Martin, after the then teenager signed his first contract with the Panthers.
Luai, who will play his last game for Penrith in Sunday’s NRL grand final after signing a far bigger deal with Wests Tigers, admits that the game and the club has given him a lot more than three premiership rings and representative jerseys.
Growing up in Mt Druitt, Luai considered an NRL career the same way Rocky Balboa viewed the offer of a heavyweight world title bout with Apollo Creed.
“I was really, really young in my first contract, there wasn't much money, but I remember that, and I remember my dad tearing up,” Luai said.
“We were talking about it and saying, you know, ‘this could be our ticket out’. That's what it was for us.
That’s how we looked at footy and sport.
“I think that’s a pretty good insight to what everyone sort of goes through and how they sort of view it, growing up, when they get that first contract.”
“It wasn't too big, but it’s pretty special for me to put it into perspective now about how much it meant to us back then.”
Fast forward more than a decade later and Luai is moving on, but the 27-year-old has no plans to move from the area his parents Martin and Raumako settled after arriving from New Zealand before he and his three siblings were born.
Now with three young children of his own, Luai and his wife Bailey live within 10 minutes of his parents, and he is proud of where they have come from.
“That's why I'm grateful to be here,” Luai said. “I'm not making memories just for myself. My family's here for this ride and the success we've had means just as much to them than it does to me.
Luai making magic
“My kids have grown up here, my son gets to experience all of this. He loves the boys, he loves footy, and so I'm really grateful; they haven’t just given me lifetime memories, they've given my whole family [the same].”
Almost all that the NSW and Samoa playmaker has achieved since debuting in 2018, with his father forced to listen to the game on radio from a Brisbane prison cell, has been alongside halves partner Nathan Cleary.
The pair first played together for Penrith’s Harold Mathews Cup team after Cleary moved from New Zealand when his father Ivan took over as Panthers NRL coach in 2012.
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Since then, Cleary has become a superstar, while outsiders are only now beginning to appreciate Luai’s ability to lead a team around.
“I sort of always used him as the benchmark for me, so I always thought I was chasing him growing up and coming through the grades. He debuted at 18, it took me three years to debut.
“We have done so much cool things together both on and off the field. I’ve just got to thank him for the ride and the journey, and for him helping me grow as a man and as a player.
“In terms of the play making stuff, I've never really had to play that role here because we all play our roles. That’s the way it should be and that's why we're a successful club and we respect each other.
“I think for me, I just want to make sure that I do get a chance to sort of play that role, have a full season under my belt without him and see how far I can take it.”
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Before he departs, Luai wants to create history by helping Penrith to a fourth consecutive premiership.
It's a feat that hasn't been achieved since St George won 11 grand finals between 1956 and 1966, and would make the Panthers the greatest team of the limited tackle era, which began in 1967 with four tackle sets.
“In terms of taking pride in proving people wrong, I think it's always been a little bit of a chip on the shoulder sort of thing," Luai said.
"If you want to bet against us then we'll sort of take you on with that, If you want to do that, then you're going to lose your money. We'll be there at the end of the hooter with our gloves up."
