The $6 million man made a cardinal sin that allowed the Knights to take the momentum.
Jarome Luai didn’t exactly set the world on fire in his debut for the Wests Tigers against Newcastle on Friday night. And he’ll be ruing a cardinal sin that seemed to turn the game in the Knights’ favour.
With the Tigers up 8-0 in the 50th minute, Luai was looking to cap a brilliant set of six with the perfect kick. But he overcooked his bomb and landed it in the in-goal, which Kalyn Ponga caught to give the Knights a seven-tackle set.
The Tigers were immediately on the back foot as Ponga sprinted to the 20-metre line and tapped the ball, and just three tackles later they scored. Dylan Lucas sliced through a defensive line that was all at sea, streaming downfield in a brilliant 50-metre run. Fletcher Sharpe scored on the very next tackle to get the Knights back to 8-6, and from there they turned the tide in their favour.
Greg Marzhew scored the match-winner in the 66th minute, and it all stemmed from Luai’s kick that completely changed the momentum of the game. Speaking in commentary for Fox League, Dan Ginnane described it as a “poor” kick from Luai, while Cooper Cronk predicted it would prove costly.
The Melbourne Storm champion was spot on when he said: “Jarome Luai has made some good decisions throughout this game, but that one might just come back to haunt him. It could allow the Knights to start generating some good ball attack in this set.”
Cronk was proven exactly right when Sharpe crashed over near the posts following Lucas’ run. “It was all about the reaction from Kalyn Ponga after Luai’s kick,” Cronk said.
Jarome Luai ruing costly mistake in Tigers debut
While everyone makes mistakes, the kick wasn’t one of a top-notch halfback that Luai is trying to become at the Tigers after agreeing to a five-year deal worth $6 million. Part of his decision to leave the Panthers was to step out of Nathan Cleary’s shadow and be the chief playmaker, but it’s hard to see Cleary making the same mistake.
In fairness to Luai, he didn’t play in the pre-season due to an injury niggle, and his combination with five-eighth Lachie Galvin will take time to evolve. The Tigers also have Api Koroisau to come back from suspension, and young fullback Jahream Bula from injury.
Luai played with high energy and set up the Tigers’ lone try for Jeral Skelton. He also saved a try when he knocked down a pass from Ponga that would have seen the Knights score if it connected.
“Comparing it to when I debuted in the NRL, it felt like that,” Luai said afterwards. “It’s been a big pre-season, and emotion all came out getting the opportunity to lead the boys out. A bit anxious leading up to this point. A lot of chatter around it. But definitely good to get the first hit out. We showed a lot of resilience. There is a lot of improvement but I am proud of how my boys went.”
Benji Marshall sees positives despite throwing win away
Despite some positive signs, Tigers coach Benji Marshall felt they threw away victory. “We were obviously disappointed with the result,” Marshall said. “I’m proud of some of the things we can take away from that game. I thought we controlled the game for most parts of it and we let ourselves down with a few things.
All the things we want to be better at there were definite improvements, so we’ll take the positives away. There were moments in the second half we probably would like to have back again, but in saying that we can’t change the result now, but we can work hard again for next week.”
