Jarome Luai signs big contract with Tigers

Jarome Luai has reportedly signed a five-year deal with the Wests Tigers worth more than $6 million.

The Penrith Panthers star is set to join the Benji Marshall-coached club in 2025, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

It comes after the club sacked their entire board this week, with club legend Benny Elias saying the decision was its “greatest step forward in a decade.”

The decision was made following the recommendations of an independent internal review and the board was dismissed on Tuesday afternoon.

It will be a big move for the dynamic five-eighth who is a Panthers junior. The 26-year-old was a member of the club’s NYC side in 2015 before stepping up to senior football in 2017, playing five-eighth in the Panthers ISP side that won the premiership and the state championship title. He made his NRL debut in 2018 and then made headlines in his second game with two tries in a man-of-the-match performance against the New Zealand Warriors.

In 2020, Luai established himself in the halves alongside Nathan Cleary and has been a key player in the side since, helping steer them to premierships in 2021, 2022 and this past season in 2023. He made his State of Origin debut in 2021, and last year led Samoa to silver at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

The Panthers had reportedly offered Luai a two-year deal worth $1.6 million to remain there in 2025 and 2016. However, he opted to test in value on the open market.

Closer to home, last week the Warriors announced the signing of 30-year-old Kurt Capewell on a three-year deal which will see him play with the club until the end of the 2026 season.

Capewell, who has fronted for Queensland at State of Origin level on nine occasions, was contracted with the Broncos until the end of the 2024 campaign but was granted an immediate release from the club in order to sign with the Warriors.

Capewell brings a high pedigree to the second-row stocks at Mt Smart Stadium - he won an NRL Premiership title with the Penrith Panthers in 2021 and has played 139 NRL matches to date.

“We’re thrilled to be able to lock in a player of Kurt’s quality and experience immediately,” said Warriors general manager of recruitment, pathways and development Andrew McFadden.

“With room in our squad, we tabled a long-term offer in the hope of bringing Kurt to club from 2024. We’re grateful to the Broncos for their help in allowing him to leave early.

“Quite apart from what Kurt will provide as a player, he’ll be immensely valuable with his experience in a mentoring role for the young back rowers we have coming through the club.”

Meanwhile, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has revealed how one coffee altered the course of his career.

In December last year, the cross-code sports star was considering a two-year deal to play rugby in Japan from 2024 as it was becoming clear his long-term aspirations with the All Blacks were complicated by the emergence of other contenders.

The Warriors had also kept in touch – informally – but it felt like that door was closed and Tuivasa-Sheck and his family had already started looking at places to live in Japan. But before he committed to the Asian adventure, Tuivasa-Sheck wanted to make sure, prompting a cafe meeting with former teammates Tohu Harris and Jazz Tevaga.

“I had a Japan deal lined up,” said Tuivasa-Sheck. “I was just going to go, take my family, explore the world and go from there. But when we were going through the process I called Jazz and Tohu. I said, ‘Sit down, let’s have a coffee, just tell me one thing’.

“‘Do I just go? Go to Japan and take off and see what happens or do I come back [to the Warriors] because there’s something?’ And they both looked at each other and said, ‘Bro, there’s something here’. That got me excited.”

That was the spark and a catalyst for further conversations with Warriors coach Andrew Webster. Tuivasa-Sheck liked what he heard from the Australian but still needed more convincing.

The final step came in the first month of the 2023 season, as he watched the Warriors win four of their first five games, three by tight margins. That was the evidence needed to be willing to step back, after his sweet and sour first stint. While there were good moments, there was plenty of misery and it never felt like the Auckland club were able to make the most of his talents.

On Monday, former Chiefs and Highlanders speedster Solomon Alaimalo also joined the Tigers. The 27-year-old outside back, standing at almost two metres tall, was signed to the club’s top-30 roster for the highly anticipated 2024 NRL season.

The announcement was made by Wests Tigers head coach Marshall, who expressed his excitement about the acquisition. Marshall highlighted Alaimalo’s potential contribution to the squad, emphasising not only his on-field prowess but also his leadership qualities and wealth of experience.

“We’re very excited to have Solomon join the club,” Marshall said.

“He will also add leadership and experience to our group, and he is a man of great character.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission