Panthers icon confident Jarome Luai will remain in Penrith in 2024

 

Although he has been linked to an exit from the Penrith Panthers, club icon Greg Alexander is confident that he will remain at the club next season.

The star five-eighth, who is off-contract at the end of 2024, has the Penrith Panthers, Wests Tigers and Canterbury Bulldogs all believed to be interested, but it’s understood a decision will be made by the time he returns for pre-season training on December 8, according to News Corp.

That means Luai has just over two weeks to determine where he will be playing his rugby league from 2025 onwards.

The Wests Tigers are believed to have formally put their offer to Luai’s new management on Thursday, totalling about $4.5 million for four years, while the Bulldogs are believed to have expressed interest but as yet haven’t put an offer to Luai.

While the decision from Luai may be imminent, the Panthers have confirmed they won’t be matching the bid.

However, there have been talks about if the Panthers would gift him  an early release from his contract, an idea that club icon Greg Alexander is adamant won’t happen.

“(Releasing him in 2024)? Forget it,” Alexander said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“Like forget it, it’s not happening, we went through this with Matt Burton.

“We had every man and his dog chipping in saying, ‘It’s not fair’. Well, it is fair, he (Luai) has a contract with Penrith next year.”

“Jarome Luai has a contract with Penrith for 2024, he will not be playing for the Tigers, I don’t know what else I have to say,” Alexander added.