While it’s been doom and gloom for the Wests Tigers this season, happier times could be ahead with the arrival of Jarome Luai on a long-term deal in 2025.
The five-eighth, who has helped the Panthers win the past three NRL premierships, inked a $6 million contract to move to Concord next year in a major boost for the club.
Luai will bring a wealth of experience and x-factor to the club, where he is expected to partner rookie sensation Lachlan Galvin in the halves.
READ MORE: Chalmers reveals ‘degenerative’ issue after booking Paris pass
READ MORE: Teen star locks in Olympic debut as champ falls short
READ MORE: Bunnies shake-up begins with rival set to swoop on star
But one aspect of Luai’s game which has been overlooked is his leadership.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and The Eighth, rugby league great and former NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler was quizzed on whether the 27-year-old should take over the reins as captain at the Tigers and gave a definitive response.
“Yeah, for sure,” he said.
“The standards he carries [at Penrith], they don’t muck around. They turn up and train harder than everyone with a smile and make you have fun.
“It will change [at the Tigers].”
Luai wouldn’t be the only player to leave the Panthers and become a leader at a rival club, with the Bulldogs reaping the benefits of a proven match-winner at the helm.
“You look what Stephen Crichton has done [at the Bulldogs],” Fittler continued.
Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
“Not only have they filtered out people who didn’t want to train hard, but every time they speak now they talk about how everything is about the team and the club.”
Neither player were seen as leaders at the Panthers, but their premiership experience and working alongside some of the game’s elite stars has certainly rubbed off on them.
Fittler saw first-hand the work Luai and Crichton put in during their time together at Origin level and his endorsement of their leadership is a coup.
The proof has been in the pudding for Canterbury this season, who went from a bottom-four outfit to a genuine top-eight team with Crichton in charge on the field.