Luai the tigepie.

[Tigerm]

Getting his mind settled.
Hope the penny fans don’t see it, they’ll have a melt down hahaha

 

[Nutz]

View attachment 84234
Getting his mind settled.
Hope the penny fans don’t see it, they’ll have a melt down hahaha

What do you mean? That he is holding a tiger teddy bear or he is cuddling his 80yr old girl friend, either way I have no problem with it

 

[Nutz]

Koroisau begged Luai to join the Tigers after ‘taxing’ first year as skipper.​

Late last year, the man in charge of leading the Tigers couldn’t help himself when the club was courting his old teammate, Jarome Luai.
Api Koroisau picked up his phone and told Luai, in not too subtle terms, what he thought about the Panthers star weighing up a club record offer to join the Tigers.
“I messaged him saying we needed him,” Koroisau laughs.
And after that?
“At the end of the day, I just kept asking him, ‘Are you coming? Are you coming? Are you coming?’ I think [coach] Benji [Marshall] put in the hard yards there.”

Luai is coming.



He will do so on five-year deal worth more than $6 million, and none are more pleased than the Tigers captain, who will be reunited with his old friend at Penrith in 2025. But that’s then, and Koroisau is about the now.


“Everyone is excited about Romey coming, obviously the calibre of player he is,” Koroisau said. “We’re all excited. But at the same time we’ve been trying to not think too much about it.”

Koroisau left the Panthers after back-to-back premierships in 2022 to join the Tigers. Try as he might, couldn’t lift them off the bottom of the ladder last year.

Without question, he was the club’s most influential player in a rotten season which saw them lose their first seven matches, their coach Tim Sheens by the end of the campaign and their entire board and chief executive before Christmas. That the captain was spared wasn’t a coincidence.
He knew he was going to have to shoulder a big responsibility, but never did Koroisau think that would include playing halfback and kicking goals in the final rounds of 2023.

“It was tough,” Koroisau says. “By the back end, you can’t say or do any more. “The hardest thing was the boys were trying. It had nothing do with effort areas. For me, it was just about doing what I can do and trying to be positive. We knew early on it wasn’t going great. By the back end it was really taxing. I just tried to be there for everyone.

“I enjoyed halfback. You don’t have to do as much tackling, but I don’t think I like the responsibility of trying to call the plays. That’s not me. Pass the ball off the deck is a super easy job for me.”

The Tigers’ long and slow climb back up the NRL ladder will begin in Canberra on Saturday when Koroisau leads Marshall’s team in their first competition match of 2024 against the Raiders. They had the bye in the opening round.
Over summer, Koroisau has already been enthused by the Tigers’ young talents Lachlan Galvin, Heath Mason and Tallyn Da Silva. And a rookie coach in Marshall.

“He’s very honest,” Koroisau says. “That’s just how his personality is. He’s very up front and doesn’t beat around the bush. If he thinks something is up, he will tell you how it is. That’s even if he’s not your coach. That’s a very good quality to have. Everyone knows exactly where they stand with Benji.”

Koroisau begged Luai to join the Tigers after ‘taxing’ first year as skipper

In a disastrous year which cost the club their board, chief executive and coach, only the captain is still standing. He knew an old teammate was crucial to the Tigers’ renaissance.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Tigerm]

NBWT
My favorite part of Richo’s recent bye round interview is him recounting an interaction he shared with Luai when signing him.

Richo asks “what do you want out of this”

Luai says “I do it for the rings Richo, I play for rings, we’re gonna win rings”

love the confidence

 

[Tigerm]

NBWT
My favorite part of Richo’s recent bye round interview is him recounting an interaction he shared with Luai when signing him.

Richo asks “what do you want out of this”

Luai says “I do it for the rings Richo, I play for rings, we’re gonna win rings”

love the confidence

I think we showed against the Sharks, if we can keep our act together, we are certainly capable of being top 8, then confidence kicks in and anything can happen.

But this guy is confidence personified.

 

[Vic Mackey]

With Nathan Cleary due to miss a few games will be interesting to watch Luai without him. His record without him previously is pretty good

 

[Tigerm]

Twitter chat:
Since 2019, Jarome Luai has played 1⃣7⃣ games without his halves partner, Nathan Cleary.

The Panthers record in those 17 games:
1⃣5⃣ wins
1⃣ draw
1⃣ loss
———————
Interesting stat, shows he can do it.

 

[Das Hassler]

With Nathan Cleary due to miss a few games will be interesting to watch Luai without him. His record without him previously is pretty good

Happy he's learning the role over there

 

[Nutz]

With Nathan Cleary due to miss a few games will be interesting to watch Luai without him. His record without him previously is pretty good

I don't think the Panthers will change Luai's role as Brad Schneider will slip right in.

 

[simmo05]

He ain't done much this game except for a few brooks bombs direct to the fullback. Has he done anything this year?

 

[Chins get the wins]

He ain't done much this game except for a few brooks bombs direct to the fullback. Has he done anything this year?

Do you have eyeballs? He was very good tonight

 

[simmo05]

Do you have eyeballs? He was very good tonight

Meh

 

[Chins get the wins]

Meh

Fans has dumb as the board it seems. Enjoy your night

 

[BrotherJim05]

Luai had a blinder tonight. Tough kid. That rib shot from Manu would have rattled players a lot bigger and uglier than him.

 

[Nutz]

Luai had a blinder tonight. Tough kid. That rib shot from Manu would have rattled players a lot bigger and uglier than him.

I like his energy and those long passes kept the D moving. That's what Penrith do well, work the D.

 

[gordsy]

Say what you like about Ivan the Panthers brains trust they have created a system much like Melbourne's but seemingly better.

 

[Tigerm]

The ‘big hurdle’ Luai has already overcome ahead of Tigers move as NRL get glimpse into future

‘Won’t realise until they’ve got him’: Big myth busted in Panthers star’s $6m switch

www.foxsports.com.au

“People think it would just be [money] but it was getting the keys to the team, that was the other motivation,” Luai said at the time.


“... I think anyone saying ill about me motivates me. I’ve always had the edge and that chip on my shoulder. ... Being my own guy, writing my own story, was another big part.”

 

[Tigerm]

’Devastating’ Cleary blow exposes Panthers weakness; Burton’s Origin opening: What we learned

’Devastating’ Cleary blow exposes Panthers; Burton’s Origin opening: What we learned

www.foxsports.com.au

Regular five-eighth Jarome Luai could shift to the No.7 jersey and become the chief playmaker, giving Tigers fans a first glimpse of their marquee signing in a dominant role.
-----------------------
We may be getting a look of where Jarome will play for us next year?

 

[TheDefinitionOfMadness]

I hope they do it. It will give us a good insight to where he's at currently as a game manager and what he needs to work.

The flip side is it could be devastingly depressing before he even gets here

 

[Nutz]

I hope they do it. It will give us a good insight to where he's at currently as a game manager and what he needs to work.

The flip side is it could be devastingly depressing before he even gets here

I've got a bad feeling that he's a dud buy. I've seen nuppin to suggest Luai is an organising half. His strength is energy.
I hope I'm wrong because he's taking a huge chunk out of our cap for a long time.
He'll be useless if we have a weak roster especially our pack.
In fact all of our newly signed halves don't give me confidence.