Jarome Luai

Jarome Luai (born 16 January 1997) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth or halfback for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.

Jarome Luai
Personal information
Born (1997-01-16) 16 January 1997
Sydney, Australia
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight88 kg (13 st 12 lb)
Playing information
PositionFive-eighth, Halfback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018– Penrith Panthers 40 9 8 0 52
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017– Samoa 5 1 0 0 4
2019– Samoa 9s 4 1 1 0 6
As of 16 November 2020
Source: [1]

Luai represented Samoa at the 2017 World Cup.

Background

Luai was born in Sydney, Australia, [2] He is of Māori & Samoan descent, he’s Samoan through his paternal grandparents,[3] who are from Palauli.[4]

He played his junior rugby league for the St Marys Saints before being signed by the Penrith Panthers.[5]

Luai grew up in Mount Druitt along with other members from the Penrith Panthers.

Playing career

Early career

Luai played 33 games for the Penrith Panthers in the NYC between 2015 and 2017, scoring 13 tries and kicking 43 goals.[6] Luai spent part of the 2017 season playing for Penrith in the New South Wales Cup.[7] Luai captained the Junior Kiwis in May 2017, scoring a try in their 46–22 loss to the Junior Kangaroos.[8] At the 2017 World Cup, Luai was the only member of the Samoan squad without any prior NRL experience. He speculated on his selection, saying "I think you'll find Tyrone May was in the squad originally but due to his injury there was a spot for me."[2] Luai made his Test debut against Tonga on 4 November 2017.[9]

2018

Following an injury to Nathan Cleary, Luai was named to make his NRL debut off the interchange bench in round 4 of the 2018 NRL season.[10] However, he was cut from the line-up on gameday in favour of Wayde Egan, who was also on debut.[11] Luai made his NRL debut in round 10 against the Newcastle Knights, playing for 26 minutes off the interchange bench.[12] In round 17, Luai started at halfback in his second NRL match in the absence of Nathan Cleary and James Maloney due to State of Origin. His performance in the 36–4 win, which included two tries and multiple try assists, was heavily praised by the media.[13][14][15]

2019

Luai made 13 appearances for Penrith in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table and missed the finals for the first time in four years.[16]

2020

Luai had a breakout year for Penrith playing 23 games, scoring seven tries and bagging 23 try assists as the Penrith club claimed the Minor Premiership and reached the 2020 NRL Grand Final. Luai played in the grand final against the Melbourne Storm, Losing 26-20.[17]

References
  1. "Jarome Luai". Rugby League Project.
  2. Newton, Alicia (6 October 2017). "Panther Luai bolts into Samoa side". NRL.com. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  3. "Jarome Luai shaping as Samoa's Rugby League World Cup smoky". Daily Telegraph. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  4. Matatia, Nefertiti (17 October 2017). "Toa Samoa rookie proud to be home". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  5. Media, NRL Digital. "Jarome Luai". Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  6. "L". NYC Database. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  7. "Jarome Luai". NSWRL.com.au. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  8. "Junior Kangaroos thrash Junior Kiwis at GIO Stadium". Fox Sports. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  9. "Tonga outclass Samoa in Rugby League World Cup thriller in Hamilton". Stuff. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  10. "Tamou's Panthers bracing for fired-up Cowboys". Townsville Bulletin. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  11. Morris, Dylan (27 March 2018). "Cowboys v Panthers: Cleary replacements named". NRL.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  12. Pavey, James (6 July 2018). "Who is Jarome Luai? Stand-in Penrith Panthers playmaker lauded by coach, fans". Sporting News. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  13. "Penrith Panthers score 36–4 NRL win over Warriors, as rookie Jarome Luai stars". ABC. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  14. Newton, Alicia (6 July 2018). "Rookie No.7 Luai stars in big win over Warriors". NRL.com. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  15. Read, Brent (7 July 2018). "Panthers unveil another star at No 7 in Jarome Luai against Warriors". The Australian. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  16. "Panthers: 2019 season by the numbers". www.nrl.com.
  17. "Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
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