Api Koroisau remembers Jarome Luai as an “immature larrikin” when they first met five years ago, but he could always tell that his good friend would develop into the leader he is now and the main reason why Wests Tigers fans are confident the tough times are over.
Luai and Sunia Turuva are a couple of the key signings for the Tigers in 2025, with the former Panthers stars bringing experience, confidence and a winning edge that has been missing at a club that has claimed three-straight wooden spoons.
While Luai is no longer the chief energy officer he was at the Panthers, he’s earnt his new role as co-captain in a sign Benji Marshall and club bosses see him as the man who can reshape their future.
The four-time premiership winner captained Samoa during their tour of England last year and has developed into a tremendous leader on and off the field, which is slightly different to Koroisau’s first memories with Luai at Penrith.
“He’s changed so much since when I first met him back in 2020,” the Tigers hooker said.
“When I first met him, he was really young and absolutely loving life and really immature, which is a good thing because I’m also immature.
“His footy IQ and the way he’s able to convey his ideas or what he thinks we should do is incredible.
“The way he walked into the place, he knew that he had to change things at this club. He’s come in and he hasn’t held back. Everyone looks up to him and loves him.
“I think everyone needs to get that early immaturity out of their system.
“He was always smart. He never came off as smart because he was always mucking around, but if you ever got him one-on-one, you noticed he was quite intelligent, articulate and you could see that he was going to go into that leadership direction.
“To see the way he’s done it (has been great). He hasn’t been shy about anything. If he needs to say something then he will, and that takes real leadership and courage.”
There’s a different feel at the Tigers this pre-season, with no outlandish predictions coming from the players who are purely focused on ticking off daily targets.
The mood around the club hasn’t been great over the years, with players leaving, coaches moving on and wins hard to come by, but the energy feels a lot different thanks to Luai and Turuva who have been just as loud as they were in Penrith.
“The vibes have been great,” Koroisau said.
“A couple of those boys that have come in are really high energy and they’re a bunch of larrikins, so it’s been great having them.
“They’ve been just as loud as they were at Penrith. Turuva is leading the charge. He walks around with that boombox all day, and then Jarome comes in on the back of him.
“How you start your sessions at training is really important, and when the energy is a bit low, sometimes training can start that way as well.
“But (it’s not like that with those two guys) and the vibe they’ve created helps build connections off the field as well. The laughs you create off the field definitely translates to on the field.”
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
It would be interesting as I'm guessing he passed his physical when he joined us and as far as we are concerned, he was healthy. He had not had any ops or anything to indicate a long-term or chronic injury.Olam injured again ? medical retirement hopefully
at this rate bird might get a run at centre
Ni chance for medical retirement in my opinion as it is his knees.
It would be interesting as I'm guessing he passed his physical when he joined us and as far as we are concerned, he was healthy. He had not had any ops or anything to indicate a long-term or chronic injury.Olam injured again ? medical retirement hopefully
at this rate bird might get a run at centre
Ni chance for medical retirement in my opinion as it is his knees.
His knees were known to.be an issue when he signed.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
I get that; however it will depend on his physical. If he was at the club when he had the knee issues and our medical team were across it than I get it, and it was obviously known to us. Yet if nothing was shared and our medical team did proper testing and gave him the all clear than we have an argument. The RLPA would be all over something like this, as it could set a precedent that a player with any history of an injury could become severely restricted when moving to a new club.It would be interesting as I'm guessing he passed his physical when he joined us and as far as we are concerned, he was healthy. He had not had any ops or anything to indicate a long-term or chronic injury.Olam injured again ? medical retirement hopefully
at this rate bird might get a run at centre
Ni chance for medical retirement in my opinion as it is his knees.
His knees were known to.be an issue when he signed.
It could be that the issue was identified in his physical and we took a punt...than that is on us.
I get that; however it will depend on his physical. If he was at the club when he had the knee issues and our medical team were across it than I get it, and it was obviously known to us. Yet if nothing was shared and our medical team did proper testing and gave him the all clear than we have an argument. The RLPA would be all over something like this, as it could set a precedent that a player with any history of an injury could become severely restricted when moving to a new club.It would be interesting as I'm guessing he passed his physical when he joined us and as far as we are concerned, he was healthy. He had not had any ops or anything to indicate a long-term or chronic injury.Olam injured again ? medical retirement hopefully
at this rate bird might get a run at centre
Ni chance for medical retirement in my opinion as it is his knees.
His knees were known to.be an issue when he signed.
It could be that the issue was identified in his physical and we took a punt...than that is on us.
It would be decided by a medical assessment by the insurance company.
QBE tells why it rejected NRL player’s claim
QBE has defended its decision to deny an NRL player’s claim for a “career-ending injury” that has been highlighted by media during the past week, saying the injury that forced Parramatta Eels player Anthony Watmough into retirement was due to a pre-existing condition.
The insurer says Mr Watmough’s forced retirement only a year into a four-year contract was due to ongoing and degenerative knee problems – not a “career-ending injury”.
He was among the top 25 players at each NRL club covered by QBE’s career-ending injury policy, created following a tackle on Newcastle Knights’ Alex McKinnon in 2014 that left him a quadriplegic.
A QBE spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au the policy was introduced in consultation with the NRL and the players’ association, covering “unexpected” or “catastrophic injury”.
“This was never designed to support all players who are medically retired.”
Parramatta claimed Mr Watmough suffered a career-ending injury in February during pre-season training, and thus was covered.
But QBE says a medical examiner determined the condition was pre-existing.
“While the club involved is no doubt disappointed with the outcome in Mr Watmough’s case, the medical examiner’s report was clear – it wasn’t a new injury that forced his retirement, rather the result of chronic and degenerative problems that have been well documented,” the spokesman said. “As such, Mr Watmough wasn’t eligible to claim benefits under this policy.”
QBE says it has the NRL’s support on the decision.
The Eels will now have to pay out the rest of Mr Watmough’s contract, reportedly worth about $1.2 million.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
Olam injured again ? medical retirement hopefully
at this rate bird might get a run at centre
Ni chance for medical retirement in my opinion as it is his knees.
damn we are running out of centres
Turuva, Naden, To’a, Doueihi, Bird. There’s a few options.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Olam injured again ? medical retirement hopefully
at this rate bird might get a run at centre
Ni chance for medical retirement in my opinion as it is his knees.
damn we are running out of centres
Turuva, Naden, To’a, Doueihi, Bird. There’s a few options.
Plenty of centres, just no good ones.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
Olam injured again ? medical retirement hopefully
at this rate bird might get a run at centre
Ni chance for medical retirement in my opinion as it is his knees.
damn we are running out of centres
Turuva, Naden, To’a, Doueihi, Bird. There’s a few options.
Plenty of centres, just no good ones.
Was waiting for that response from you!
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
Olam injured again ? medical retirement hopefully
at this rate bird might get a run at centre
Ni chance for medical retirement in my opinion as it is his knees.
damn we are running out of centres
Turuva, Naden, To’a, Doueihi, Bird. There’s a few options.
Plenty of centres, just no good ones.
Was waiting for that response from you!
lol
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
