The NRL was rocked by a breaking report today that the Wests Tigers had given Jarome Luai permission to sign with other clubs for the 2027 season following his decision to link with the PNG Chiefs from 2028. That situation has swiftly evolved into the Parramatta Eels leading the chase for his short term services as they look to simultaneously install a star next to Mitchell Moses and keep the pipeline open for a number of highly touted halves prospects.
Sixties and Forty20 convene for an emergency podcast as the wheels whir into motion for the Eels. Of all the potential players – could Luai be the signing to ignite some recruitment momentum for the Blue & Gold?
Just tuned in now Craig and John. This is something left field but we will see about if the Luai news is 💯 or not. Could be v good if this occurs.
For me we need a couple of decent signings ie. forwards to cover the losses and centre as mentioned before.
What are the plans for Volkman? Rumours he’s possibly off too? And is Fletcher the new back up from 28 then?
Seen a lot of push back for this already on social media, but I think this would be brilliant if recruitment can pull it off. A lot of people seem to be comparing it to the Pezet situation, but it’s just not the same thing for me. I understood the pushback on Pezet because 1, he wasn’t a proven star and 2, we were offering experience to an inexperienced player which was therefore beneficial for another club (Broncos). However, Luai is a star that undoubtedly improves our side
If nothing else changes, we have Pezet and potentially Volkman leaving next year. That leaves our halves and backups looking very inexperienced next to Moses. Luai buys us time to either sign a long term 6 or continue the development from within.
If Luai is available you absolutely take him even if just for a year his a three time premiership player. It’s Not even close to the same mould as the pezet signing.
We need to do anything to start winning football games. It helps us in future recruitment and brings some hope in players that Parra do have some upside. Right now we are clearly not desired only winning can change this
Won 4 premierships , state of origin winner took Samoa to the World Cup final, only a moron would think this was a bad signing, yes 1 year and yea he’s a bit of a knob but he’s a quality player
Then call me a moron Ivan.
Hypothetical this out.
Lets say Luai was currently at Manly or the Bulldogs (whoever), and with a PNG contract signed his club said he could look around for a 1 year deal.
If two clubs had the chance to sign him (assuming the same salary cap restraints) who would go after him, the Tigers or Panthers?
The answer is the Tigers, the Panthers wouldn’t even consider it.
Which club do you aspire the Eels to be more like? the Tigers, or the Panthers?
Its not just who the player is, it is what it says to the league. And a club who are not one players away from a comp (where not even one player away from being Top 8) giving tonnes of cash to a player for 1 year… for what? It says to players all around the league that this club isn’t serious, doesn’t have a plan, and is going to be yo’yoing around the bottom fo the table for years, so why join? Unless you just need the cash.
BA you say the Panthers would never take a player on a one year deal because that is the sort of club they are. Well the truth is they have. They signed a deal for Tabitha Pangai Junior while he was on his way to the Dog’s.
I think that the deal has a lot of upside. In a perfect world maybe a 2 year deal is better but I am happy with the deal. I think Mitch will benefit having an accomplished player to work with
Tavita
I would argue the Tavita signing was them breaking their own rules and they haven’t tried to do it since (to my memory) for good reason.
BTW: I dare you to call TPJ “Tabitha” to his face 😛
Not accepting the challenge
I’d be disappointed to see Volkman go. He continues to improve with each game, and it would be naive to think that as he gets older Moses will spend less time off the field with injury.
Luai is a no-brainer.
Luai to the eels as a lock or 14 taking walkers place.
We have Volkman, fletcher and Lorenzo who we can give first crack at 6 and Luai can help mentor them and if they need more time to develop he can slot into 6
Then in 28 Ryda or Koina will hopefully be ready to be an nrl lock.
If the signing of Luai materialises it would be a boost for 2027. As John pointed out if not Luai then who. It is clear that the juniors coming through are not quite ready but by 2027 they should be starting to get some time in the NRL.
What is important here is that the Wests Tigers are in this position because they allowed Player Options in their recruitment contracts . This is something that we must never return to. It cost us Dylan and Blaize.
I’ll listen to the boys on the way to work tomorrow.
I’m stunned by the above comments all being pro signing Luai! It shocks me!
a) Most were against signing Pezet for a year (to be fair I wasn’t), but it hasn’t worked out. Now we want Luai for a year?
b) All he has done is cause drama at the Tigers. He failed as a leader. He has woefully underperformed and he has failed on a team without stars.
c) newsflash – we will be a team with next to no stars in 2027.
d) with or without Luai Parra are not winning the comp in 2027. So why sign him?
e) AGAIN. This would be the Eels signing a player that no one else is after. Enough already with the knee jerk reaction signings. It shows no strategy, no vision. It reeks of desperation and a complete lack of any sort of plan.
They can not sign Luai. They shouldn’t even be talking to Luai. The entire football department should be sacked if they even entertain the idea.
Yep…I am 100% with you BA. when I first heard of this my immediate reaction was no…I cannot imagine cheering for him in an Eels jersey!
I wholeheartedly agree B.A, the Eels don’t like the criticism they receive but goodness gracious they bring it on themselves
No to Luai
Yes to Spencer
Yes to Dylan Brown
Yes to Dylan Walker
Yes to Volkman
Yes to Drinkwater
Yes to Milky
They managed to get every option wrong, what is their motivation, are they trying to get another spoon?
The fans are not happy
Spot on again B.A. How committed would Luai be? He seems to attract headlines for all the wrong reasons. Did the Tigers get value for what was a massive investment? I don’t think so.
As a club we seem to be always just buying time waiting for something to happen instead of buying players who want to commit to the club and be part of a genuine strategic rebuild which will set us up long term. I’m convinced we have the right coach but I’m less convinced by those in the front office and their ability to deliver what is required. I live in hope that they prove me wrong.
100% Joe
How’s these a good signing
Wat so Ronny is leaving ?? Him & Walker been our best
These bosses really have no clue
DOPES
I WON’T BE RENEWING MY MEMBERSHIP NEXT YEAR. I’M DONE.
Ronni, the guy who missed 12 tackles against Souths? Are your eyes painted on? Jesh
Beggars can’t be choosers. We have continually shown we can’t land any decent signings this is why we have one of if not the worst squad in the comp. He improves our roster and even it is only for one year and keeps us from getting the spoon then great. Until changes are made at the top we will continue to struggle to sign anyone and remain anchored at the bottom half of the comp.
People talking of building a dynasty are kidding themselves unless their idea of a dynasty is one of failure which is what we appear to be setting ourselves up for with our current lack of recruitment.
Luai, are we serious? Far out
That’s a bad move for club culture, signing this guy is not what we need
I would like a quiet word with recruitment at this point, because I’m not seeing any sensible decisions coming from that department at the moment
We should be retaining Walker and Volkman, what on earth is going on
Yeah, who’s your daddy. This luai is a rather distasteful individual that has talent but now is in the mercenary stage of his career. Ryles preaches culture ,this bloke is about himself. If you keep discarding players who might not be as talented but want to have a go for your club what’s the message. Indicative of the perception and planning of our R&R.
Ok so had a listen to the boys – and respect their opinion, and everyone elses.
But it didn’t sway my view in the slightest.
Addressing some of the boys thoughts:
Jerome Luai won 4 premierships. He won them at a club that built from the ground up. A club that had a plan. He then went to the Tigers, where he has finished 13th last year and now sits 12th and sinking like a rock. A club with no plan, a flailing culture and a club that over the last 10 years has always tried to pay for the quick fix.
If the Eels go with Luai, then there is no plan. It continues the recruitment approach of when a club wants to get out of a contract we grab it – no matter the player, no matter the position. We’re looking for the short cut to success and it doesn’t exist.
A couple of the boys other points: The theory that he is an elite player and therefore will be great for our youngsters to learn from. Just because someone is an elite lpayer, doesn’t automatically make them a great mentor or teacher. There is nothing about Luai’s last 18 months that says he is a good leader. Nothing. And with no premiership within reach, he has shown his focus and interst is not there. He went to the Tigers for the money. He went to PNG for the money. He isn’t coming to the Eels for a flag or to build a great club culture, he’s coming for cash.
The boys rightly point out there are not alot of quality players coming on the market for next year. There was the notion that if we sign a high profile player, other high profile players will follow with the success that player brings. Agree with the theory. But he is coming for a year. In the event the Eels had any sort of success in 27, he is leaving anyway. So it becomes a moot point in my opinion.
The Eels are set to finish in the bottom 4 this year. There is no big swag of players coming on the market for 2027 nor do we have any sort of history that suggests, even if there were, that we would be able to secure their services. So 2027 will be a building block year. It won’t be a premiership year. Top 8 would be an achievement and a sign to players in the NRL we are going somewhere… if th eplayers who get us there are staying. The way this club is going to get out of this hole it has dug itself in is by creating a plan that players can buy into and getting the mix right on retention and recruitment. That won’t just allow us to sign the elite players, it will help us sign the RIGHT elite players on longer term deals that help continue to build the club. Do we want to be Penrith (who by the way seem to have no interest in him) or do we want to be the Wests Tigers? Because right now no one could argue that our approach is much more like the Tigers approach, and how is that working out for them?
Does he improve our team..YES, end of story.
So if he moves us from 14th in 2026 to 11th in 2027… for 1 year… and then back to square 1, that’s worth it?
Ask the Tigers fans if they think it was worth it.
I think what he does is provide us cover till Fletcher / talatino are ready and they may never get to first grade level , it’s a sugar hit but we have such poor recruiting and retention the fans need something to get mildly excited about, I believe we’ll see a lot more of this happening in the future
Sorry but cover for what? If they are the future, lets go. Again, not winning a comp next year any which way you slice it. So lets see them play.
Isaayia Katoa – 82 NRL games, 22 games before he turned 20
Sam Walker – 100 NRL games, 35 games before he turned 20.
Nathan Cleary – 207 NRL games, 41 games before he turned 20
Mitch Moses 250 NRL games, 10 games before he turned 20
Laclan Galvin – 60 NRL games, 30 before he turned 20
Stephen Crichton – 154 NRL games, 26 before he turned 20.
Ethan Strange – 59 NRL games, 21 before he turned 20.
Tom Dearden – 136 NRL games, 17 before he truned 20.
AJ Brimson -149 NRL games, 15 before he turned 20
Stars or future stars (just the playmakers) of the game. They get action before 20 – so what are we waiting for? Sitting in a NSW Cup side that stinks is helping them? Telling them, you’re not good enough so we are going to literally give money away to a mercenary who does not care about our club – but we want you to care – while we pay you a 1/4 of what we pay him…. and maybe we will pick you one day?
What is there to be excited about? Winning one extra game? Maybe two? Thats how many he won for the Tigers when he was supposedly “all in”.
More of it happening? This is Joe O, Lomax, Walker, JAC, TDS, Sua. This is who we are. And where has it got us?
Sugar hits (which i know was a term Sixties used) feel good in the moment, but they drain you and they are bad for your long term health. I can’t say that is what i want for my footy club that hasn’t won a comp in 40 years and his facing the reality of being bottom feeders for the next 3-5 years.
Ask the Tigers why they put so many clauses in his contract. Ask the Tigers why they played him as a 7 when he is an out and out 6. How do you know we are not talking to Burton for ’28, which makes the Luai signing a master-stroke.
If we are getting Burton in 28, great. But how does that make signing Luai now a masterstroke when you could use that money to secure other players for 27,28 and beyond?
… Not they we have any reason to believe our current Admin could get anyone..
Blaze doesn’t look right in black and I will never get used to Jerome playing for us. Surely we can do a swap. I’d be happy for the Panthers to contest for another premiership with their band back together.
If he comes back, it will coincide with his brother being on the verge of first grade
And then Talataina can transition to half when Moses winds down.
All this change of personnel over the last four years is dismantling our identity.
My oldest daughter doesn’t come to the games any more because she doesn’t know the players any more. And that’s the case for most fans who aren’t consumers of all rugby league media but just love the eels.
Why would you want Talagi back, he’s more of a liability, and Penrith are slowly working that out.
I agree with BA, I don’t think this is a great move at all! The definition of madness is repeating the same thing, again, and again but expecting a different result. Granted the level between Pezet and Luai is different, but the applied principles are the same. Parramatta continue to seek out bargain players no other clubs want. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen ‘the Eels offer NRL a lifeline to…’! If we can’t get a clear run at player, we lose out to another club. Luai will make a marginal difference on the park but that’s about it in my opinion.
I don’t think he’ll add anything particularly special around the culture either, especially how he’s treated younger players at other clubs. We’re not finishing in the top 8 next year unless we sign some real quality to complement this signing (if of course the signing actually happens). Also why are we helping other clubs with these interim 1-year deals!?! As mentioned in previous posts, we don’t gain a great deal, and it puts us back to square one in another year.
It’s not a good move but having said that, I’ll be happy if I’m proven wrong.
“… why are we helping other clubs with these interim 1-year deals!?!”
This is another good point.
If you take (in this case Luai), the Tigers don’t want him becuase they want to play players who will be the future of the club. And they want to be able to pay those players. So you are allowing them to free up their cap, and a place on their 30 man roster (strengthening them), while clogging your own pipeline and using money you could be investing in other players you have or want to get.
Moses injured FFS
I’m glad Moses got the fairy tale finish to the series but I honestly think that has to be the grand finale. He’s 32 and he’s just missed way too much club footy over the last 3 or 4 seasons for to major and minor injuries sustained playing or training for origin. He moves to 1.5 million bucks a year next year and he’s only got a few seasons of top flight footy left. Surely that’s it for origin
If it is a cork as reported one week should be enough. Painful short term injury.
I really don’t know where I sit in relation to a potential Luai recruitment. People here on both sides have all made valid points. I guess the question would be is there more upside than downside in making such a signing? If we can honestly answer that with objectivity then the answer should become easier.
However, if Parramatta do sign Luai for one year what I would like to see/hear is the long term strategy in how we use him in 2027 and what the plan is post that for our halves pairings. Don’t have to necessarily name players but at least admit there are one or two we are considering and what the plan is with the young bucks coming through. It needs to be spelt out clearly and plainly so we know.