Benji Marshall’s Wests Tigers make $4.9m play for NRL star
Wests Tigers are ready to make a four-year, A$4.
5 million (NZ$4.
87 million) offer for Jarome Luai in a bid to secure the most valuable contract on the open market.
The Tigers are in ongoing discussions with Luai and his manager and plan to make a formal offer.
A contract could be presented to Luai management before the close of business Thursday, said people familiar with the situation, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
It comes after the Sydney Morning Herald revealed that Tigers coach Benji Marshall personally made a secret pitch for Luai at the Penrith playmaker’s home.
The Tigers deal will dwarf a Panthers extension offer of A$1.7m over two years, which Luai has so far opted not to accept. Marshall believes he can build the club around Luai, who will get the chance to be the chief playmaker if he opts to shift from the foot of the mountains.
The Luai interest comes at a time when there is intrigue over David Klemmer’s future at the joint-venture outfit. Klemmer is contracted until the end of 2025, with a mutual option for the following season.
However, the Tigers won’t stand in his way if another club is prepared to offer a long-term deal.
Wests Tigers have provided Jarome Luai a four-year, $4.5 million contract, as well a chance to fulfil an ambition that’s impossible at Penrith; the chance to wear the No.7 jersey.
The Tigers have had ongoing talks with Luai and his manager which, according to sources speaking on the condition of anonymity to ensure negotiations aren’t affected, crystallised in the form of a formal offer on Thursday.
The disparity between what Penrith can afford and what the Tigers have offered is significant. Luai has opted to test the market rather than immediately accept a $1.7 million, two-year extension from the Panthers.
If Luai’s primary motivator is money, it makes sense for him to leave the foot of the mountains. However, the Tigers’ pitch for his services goes beyond finances.
As an extra incentive for Luai to shift from the three-peat Panthers to a team that has earned the past two wooden spoons, Luai has been offered the chance to become the Tigers’ chief playmaker.
Tigers coach Benji Marshall recently made a secret pitch to Luai at the Penrith playmaker’s home. During discussions, according to informed sources, Luai expressed a desire to play at halfback. It’s an ambition the NSW playmaker won’t fulfil at the premiers given Nathan Cleary has a mortgage on the No.7 jersey.
Marshall is happy to provide that opportunity, handing Luai the keys to the team and a chance to emerge from Cleary’s shadow.
In his first season as a head coach, Marshall is keen to make a statement signing and hopes it comes in the form of Luai. The club currently has playmaking options in veteran half Aidan Sezer, newcomers Jayden Sullivan and Latu Fainu, youngster Lachlan Galvin and the injured Adam Doueihi on their books.
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