Jarome Luai


Jarome Luai is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.
Luai represented Samoa at the 2017 World Cup.

Background

Luai was born in Sydney, Australia, and is of New Zealand descent through his mother and Samoan descent through his paternal grandparents, who are from Palauli.
He played his junior rugby league for the St Marys Saints before being signed by 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. Luai spent part of the 2017 season playing for Penrith in the New South Wales Cup. Luai captained the Junior Kiwis in May 2017, scoring a try in their 4622 loss to the Junior Kangaroos. 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." Luai made his Test debut against Tonga on 4 November 2017.

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. However, he was cut from the line-up on gameday in favour of Wayde Egan, who was also on debut. Luai made his NRL debut in round 10 against the Newcastle Knights, playing for 26 minutes off the interchange bench. In round 17, Luai started at in his second NRL match in the absence of Nathan Cleary and James Maloney due to State of Origin. His performance in the 364 win, which included two tries and multiple try assists, was heavily praised by the media.

2019

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

Personal life

A speaker of the Samoan language, Luai is yet to obtain any traditional Samoan tattoos, as of October 2017.