As the race continues for the signature of Jarome Luai, there has been a surprising twist with the Penrith Panthers preparing to increase their initial offer to the three-time premiership winner.
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.
However, it’s understood he will make a decision by the time he returns for pre-season training on December 8, per News Corp.
That means Luai has just over two weeks to determine where he will be playing his rugby league from 2025 onwards.
As 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, The Sydney Morning Herald is now reporting that the Penrith Panthers are prepared to increase their initial offer.
The original offer that the Panthers offered Luai would see him earn a two-year contract worth $850,000 a season – approximately $300,000 less per season than the offer from the Wests Tigers.
However, the club is now prepared to offer Luai a three-year deal, which would see him contracted until the end of 2027 – the same year as good friend and halves partner Nathan Cleary.
“We’ll get Jarome back in the building on Friday and pick up our conversation from there,” Cameron told the Herald.
“We’ve been in constant dialogue with him. He spoke to the coach [Ivan Cleary] just last week. We’ve been 100 per cent transparent with him, and he’s been 100 per cent transparent with us as to what is going on.
“We just want to get him back in the building, make sure his shoulder is OK, then talk about his contract. There’s no rush from us. This talk of him wanting to sort out his contract before returning to training has never come from us, so I can’t comment on that.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – we’re optimistic we’ll get a deal done with Jarome.
“It will not be all about the money. And we’ve got a pretty good track record of players recommitting to the club and taking a little less for the chance to pursue something pretty special.”
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