‘We’ve got something special here’: Panthers re-sign Luai until 2024

Jarome Luai was never going to leave his “brothers” as his fresh $2.1m three-year extension ensures the Panthers premiership window remains jammed wide open for a few years yet.

In the same week Stephen Crichton put pen to paper, along with the recent re-signings of Isaah Yeo, Stephen Leniu and Charlie Staines, Penrith finally pegged down Luai until the end of 2024.

Jarome Luai (right) has re-signed with the Panthers just two days after Stephen Crichton also re-committed.Credit:Penrith Panthers

Tyrone May is expected to extend his own deal soon while the only remaining senior player without his future sorted, Kurt Capewell, is expected to head home to Queensland, where the Broncos have already expressed interest.

Luai told the Herald on Friday the chance to win a premiership with his best mates at his hometown club meant he was never going anywhere.

Another goal, he said, was joining Nathan Cleary in the NSW Origin team as early as this year.

“I’m more grateful and blessed than relieved I’ve re-signed,” Luai said. “When I play I’m never thinking about contracts. It’s more about putting my best foot forward for the team and this community.

Jarome Luai improved the longer the season went in 2020.Credit:Getty

“I didn’t talk to any other club. From day dot I said I wanted to stay here because I think we’ve got something special here. I was happy to chill while everyone else got their futures sorted.”

Cleary and Luai are both signed until the end of 2024, as it co-captain Yeo, while premier prop Leniu, Staines, Crichton, Brian To’o – the new left winger – and Liam Martin are off-limits until the end of 2023. Penrith still have decent money to go to market for one more middle forward, and are expected to soon open talks about extending James Fisher-Harris beyond 2022.

Luai can’t wait to grow his on-field combination with Cleary, the club star he has played alongside since he was 15. He also welcomed the weekly challenge from rival clubs who might think many of the young Panthers, including Luai, will suffer from a serious case of second-year syndrome.

“‘Nath’, or ‘skipper’ as I now call him, will be one of the best players I play with,” Luai said. “He makes me a better player and makes the whole team better players.

“One of the reasons I wanted to stay was to play with my best mates, we’re like brothers here – we’re like family – and I can’t wait to see how we go this year. I do think we can go one better, 100 per cent.

“Everyone talks about second-year syndrome, but I just can’t wait to get out and compete against the best. We’ve got a pretty good team here. They’ll say we’ll be the hunted. Well bring it on. I love when teams say they’ll do this and that because it just makes us fire up more.”

Luai got better as the year went on last season and was rewarded with a call-up to Brad Fittler’s extended Blues squad.

“And now hopefully I can play along side ‘Nat’ in that Blues jersey,” Luai said. “Maybe I had set my bar too low in the past, especially being younger and never being in those [representative] teams. I was like, ‘I’m not good enough to be at that level’. But I was so blessed to be in that NSW camp and it gave me the confidence to reach for the stars.”

Penrith were forced to let go of James Tamou, Josh Mansour and Zane Tetevano, while Matt Burton will link with Canterbury next year.

But coach Ivan Cleary knows the club have done well to keep the core group together and said: “You don’t want to break this crew up at the moment.”

Crichton, who re-signed on Wednesday, is the one player tipped to emerge as the best Panther of all, and while he acknowledged he had a handshake agreement in place with Cleary, it was a commitment he would stay put rather than settle for $500,000 a season.

“The handshake was there, I spoke with Ivan, I didn’t think it was much, but Ivan thought it was a proper handshake. It was more to let them know [I was staying],” Crichton said.

Sport newsletter

Sports news, results and expert commentary delivered straight to your inbox each weekday. Sign up here.

Most Viewed in Sport

Source: Read Full Article