The Wests Tigers have been forced to remove a graphic of new signing Jarome Luai wearing the club’s jersey from their social media accounts.
Luai’s current club, the Panthers, reportedly weren’t happy with the doctored graphic – which had three photos of the playmaker, two of them in a Tigers jersey.
Not long after the original graphic had been posted, the Tigers took it down, but refined it with different photos of Luai wearing a Blues jersey.
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Luai announced during a snap press conference in Sydney on Wednesday that he would be joining the Tigers in 2025 on a five-year, $6 million deal.
The press conference ended weeks of speculation about whether Luai would take the offer from the Tigers that has been on the table since last month, sign with the Bulldogs or remain at Penrith.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the Panthers and Bulldogs weren’t aware if Luai’s press conference until late Wednesday morning.
Luai’s move to end the speculation was lauded by The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis, who believes it will end the media circus.
Now, both the Tigers and Panthers can focus solely on their preparations for the 2024 with Luai aiming for a fourth consecutive premiership and a final swan song with Penrith next season before making the move to Concord.
In his press conference, Luai said the “connection” he has formed with Tigers coach Benji Marshall was a big reason for his decision.
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“The obvious reason was it was a great opportunity for me to provide and create for my family, and also to create for myself,” Luai said.
“I’ve had a great connection with Benji (Marshall), we’ve spoken about the future and what he sees in me and moving forward. I’m really excited about it.”
Luai’s press conference and subsequent announcement came on the back of the Panthers’ decision to waive the 10-day cooling off period.
Under the new contracting rules in the CBA, there is a 10-day cooling off period after a player receives an offer they’d be willing to accept from another club.
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That gives the player’s former club the chance to negotiate and potentially up their offer if they would like. Those 10 days also gives the player the option to change his mind if he wants to.
With Luai a no-show at Panthers training pre the Christmas break, there was speculation the playmaker could leave Penrith a year early to join the Tigers.
However, a club-issued statement on Wednesday put that to bed.
“Penrith Panthers can confirm that Jarome Luai will depart the club at the end of the 2024 season,” the statement said.
“Luai informed Panthers staff and players about his intention to depart the club following the 2024 season and the club has waived the 10-day cooling off period.”
