How James Marape and a family BBQ pushed Tigers star to accept $1.2m offer
PNG Chiefs officials revealed that a family barbecue was held in Sydney’s west and a personal request from Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape helped them secure Jarome Luai’s historic and valuable signature.
A day after Wests Tigers co-captain Luai spoke of wanting to create a legacy by signing a three-year, $3.6 million, tax-free deal with the NRL’s 19th team, the Chiefs explained why Luai is their main target.
The Chiefs also brushed off concerns about tax breaks after Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould questioned whether the financial incentives were available to him. Six Challenges with Gus podcast.
Chiefs football general manager Michael Chammas called Luai a few weeks ago, but upped the ante last Saturday when he invited the quarterback and his family to his home. The couple live in the same suburb in the Penrith area.
While Chammas cooked meatballs and kebabs, Luai chatted to Chiefs CEO Lorna McPherson and his children played football and rugby league in the backyard.
The next day they all boarded a private jet to Port Moresby, where Marape gave an impassioned speech to the Luai.
“When the leader of a country picks up the phone and says to a player, ‘My country needs you,’ that’s something that goes beyond sport,” Chammas said at a press conference at the NRL’s Moore Park HQ on Thursday.
“Jarome was really impressed by that and that’s why he agreed to lead us into our inaugural season. Everyone knows how passionate the Prime Minister is about this team and bringing it to life. “When we talked to him last week about where we were with Jarome, he wanted to get involved.
“I really believe the way he talked to Jarome, it wasn’t even about football, it was about the country, what he could do for the country, inspiring a generation and making a difference.
“You talk about issues like the impact of domestic violence, encouraging kids to go to school, rugby league can do that for people there. It unites the country.
“I watched Jarome as the Prime Minister and others interacted with him, you could see it resonated with him. If he doesn’t go on that trip, Jarome won’t sign.”
“Signing a player of Jarome’s caliber sends a clear message to the competition – PNG Chiefs are here and we mean business.”
Rival clubs, including Gould, have questioned whether tax incentives were available as reported.
“You can only pay so much money to so many players,” Gould said on his podcast. Six Challenges with Gus. “But the advantage of this, of course, is that if these prove to be tax-free dollars, the amount of contracts they would normally win in Australia is almost double.”
Chammas said of Gould’s comments: “Over a year ago, the Australian Government and the PNG Government [NRL deals] be tax exempt. This is the initiative and there are no plans to move away from it. “We’re completely comfortable with that and the players should be comfortable with that, too.”
Luai is determined to leave the Tigers as winners before linking up with the Chiefs at the end of next year and will be chasing a fifth and first-place ring.
His relationship with former Penrith team-mates, including Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Brian To’o, is likely to be an asset to the Chiefs, especially if the multiple premiership winner becomes a free agent on November 1.
Every rival NRL club, including the Chiefs, wants to know whether Cleary plans to test the open market to help their own planning and how much they should fork out to bid for the game’s best player.
Chammas was careful not to make any reference to Cleary or any Penrith players under contract, saying: “We won’t go into details about the players. We can’t speak to them until November 1. We’ve signaled our intention to be a competitive and winning team. We’ll make sure we do that.”
News, results and expert analysis from the sports weekend delivered every Monday. Sign up for our sports newsletter.
