Benji Marshall said he was unaware Jarome Luai had planned a quick trip to Papua New Guinea last weekend, that it was a shame the playmaker “always gets painted as the villain” and that he wished things had panned out differently at Wests Tigers, but he still claimed Luai’s two seasons at the club were a success.
Fans will be split on whether Luai was a good buy for the Tigers as he prepares for his final game on Sunday against Penrith.
Luai will move to Parramatta next season before linking with the PNG Chiefs in 2028.
After he became the Chiefs’ marquee signing in late April, the Tigers imploded, losing 13 of their next 16 games – which is likely to become 14 of 17 games on Sunday against raging favourites Penrith at CommBank Stadium.
Marshall said there were no regrets about signing Luai on $1.2 million a season, and what he failed to deliver on the field, he made up for off the pitch.
“You can only commend what he’s brought to us – anyone who walks out of a four-time premiership-winning team to a team that has won a couple of spoons in a row wants to make change,” Marshall said on Friday.
“I’m sure a lot of people will have their opinions about what he hasn’t done here.
“All I’ve seen are the things he has done, the impact he’s had on the club, the players he’s helped attract, and what he’s brought to the standards and training.
“I’m sure he’d admit himself he would have liked to have contributed more on the field.
“But all in all, he’ll leave here having had an impact on our club. That’s a really important memory for him to take away.
“There are no regrets from our side about bringing him here whatsoever because he did the job we needed him to.”
Despite the Tigers’ season unravelling around the same time Luai took the tax-free cash on offer with the Chiefs, Marshall said his relationship with the NSW Origin and Samoan international had not been impacted.
“Not at all,” he said.
“One thing about my relationships with my players is they are always open and honest. We have the tough conversations if they are needed, but I don’t judge them or get angry.
“Understandably, anyone in his [Luai’s] position would have done the same thing and looked after their family long term and [realising they can] have an impact in PNG. You can’t blame him for that.
“Would I have liked it to have panned out a bit differently? Yeah, sure.
“There are a lot of things probably both sides wish went a little bit better.
“We are where we are and we have to move forward.
“They’re all things I’ve learned this year as a coach, what I need to be more understanding of, and if that situation pops up again, I’ll be better equipped to handle it.”
The sight of Luai being paraded around Port Moresby alongside Prime Minister James Marape last weekend became a hot topic. Even though the Tigers had two days off, Luai failed to inform anyone at the club of his plans to help promote third-party deals he has in place with the club that is not due to enter the NRL for another 18 months.
“Externally, everyone will have an opinion about it,” Marshall said.
“It’s his time off. He paid to change his flights and not come back with us, which happens quite often with players. What he chooses to do on his time off is up to him.
“In one week’s time he’s not going to be here any more – we don’t have to worry about any of those things.”
Pressed on whether he knew about Luai’s trip, Marshall said: “I knew he was staying in Townsville. It’s irrelevant what I knew.
“What people love about this game are the characters, the villains, the heroes. He always gets painted as the villain for some reason, but he’s about to walk into a country in 12 months time where he’ll be the hero.”
Luai failed to finish last weekend’s loss to the Cowboys due to a leg injury. He will play against the Panthers, but not a full game, Marshall said, with Latu Fainu to spent time in the halves after shaking off ongoing hamstring problems.
The Tigers have missed the finals for a 15th straight season, but Marshall saw enough at the start of the year to have hope.
“What we have to do is find a way to get through the tough times, which we couldn’t do this year, and stay on the course to give ourselves success,” Marshall said.
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