The Bulldogs met with Jarome Luai and his management on Wednesday – however Wests Tigers remain the favourites to sign the Panthers star… but with a twist.
The Panthers are believed to want two of the Tigers’ best players – a veteran prop and a boom rookie – before entertaining any deal for 2024.
Sources have told Wide World of Sports that if the Tigers agree to swap Luai for former Test prop David Klemmer and young halfback sensation Lachlan Galvin, the deal could be done immediately.
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Luai is contracted to the Panthers until the end of next season but the Tigers are so desperate for a big name signing that they may be prepared to release the two players.
Klemmer was great for the Tigers this year while Galvin is regarded as the next big thing, having been named player of the tournament at the National Schoolboys Cup in September.
Luai and his manager Warwick Wright sat down with Bulldogs boss Phil Gould and coach Cameron Ciraldo on Wednesday.
But a source close to the negotiations described it as a “courtesy call” more than anything else.
“The Dogs want Luai but the Tigers have more money to throw at him,” the source said.
“And it wouldn’t surprise me if they met with the Bulldogs just to squeeze a little more money out of the Tigers.
“Word is that if Penrith get Klemmer and Galvin – who is going to be a sensation in a couple of years – they will let Luai go now.”
The Tigers are keen for a coup on the signing front with the club in the midst of an internal review that sees several high profile officials fighting to keep their jobs.