Jarome Luai’s decision to become PNG’s inaugural signing has sent an ominous message to the rest of the NRL, with general manager of football Michael Chammas declaring “the PNG Chiefs are here, and we are serious”.
The club announced on Tuesday that Luai had signed a two-year deal with a player option for an extra season when they enter the competition in 2028 in what shapes as one of the biggest moves in NRL history.
It was a whirlwind few days which started on the weekend with news the four-time premiership winner and current Wests Tigers co-captain has flown to PNG to meet with team officials.
That short trip was enough to convince Luai and his family that it was the right move for him, with the Samoan superstar landing back in Sydney on Monday night before the deal was announced 24 hours later.
“Today is a historic moment for the PNG Chiefs as we unveil Jarome Luai as the club’s first-ever signing,” Chammas said at Rugby League Central in Sydney where he was joined by the club’s chief executive, chairwoman and the PNG Minster for Sport.
“(He’s) a four-time premiership winner, State of Origin winner, and a World Cup finalist for Samoa. A player whose profile, personality, and ability transcends the game itself.
“Signing a player of Jarome’s calibre sends an unmistakable message to the competition – the PNG Chiefs are here, and we are serious.
“On the field, Jarome gives us a marquee half, a genuine elite pedigree around whom we can build a competitive roster. This signing will attract other players, and this announcement will open doors that would otherwise take years to unlock.
“Off the field, the significance is even greater. Jarome Luai in a PNG Chiefs jersey is a cultural moment for our nation. Rugby league is everything to our people, and a player of his standing choosing PNG will resonate far beyond the sport. It will inspire a generation.”
“Jarome is a proud Pacific Islander, and his cultural values of community, family, humility, and pride in where you come from are exactly the values this club will be built on.
“The PNG Chiefs will stand for something bigger than a single country. We are also a team of the Pacific. Jarome embodies that identity, and his presence in our jersey will resonate across every Pacific community.”
There have been plenty of doubts over the new franchise and whether players would be willing to uproot their lives to move to a rugby league country which is rife with socioeconomic issues.
But convincing one of the game’s biggest stars to head north changes that narrative.
“It sends a message (that) if it’s good enough for Jarome, it’s good enough for anyone,” Chammas said, with Luai an obvious choice to be their inaugural captain.
“He’s coming with three young kids, and his wife came over. They’re not just coming and playing while his family stays in Australia; he’s bringing his whole family over.
“The extension of that is we got the chance to spend some time with him the other night with his parents as well. They’re all excited, they’re all on this journey with us.
“I think that sends a message to people that this is going to be the adventure of a lifetime. Is it something they envisaged maybe two or three years ago? Maybe not. But when you get a chance to go over there and see what it means to everyone…it means everything to them.
“It resonated with me, and I know it resonated with Jarome. The fact that he’s actually coming with his family, I think people look at that and think it sends a really strong message.”
The signing news has sent shockwaves through the entire sport, with try-scoring machine Alex Johnston also expected to sign with the Chiefs, although Chammas said nothing official has been agreed just yet.
“That wasn’t just the people in the game (in shock), it was me (as well),” he said.
“I was sitting there thinking, how has this just happened? It’s been a whirlwind 72 hours, from getting him to the country, everyone seeing Jarome, and then the nervous wait to find out whether or not we were going to sign him.
“We’re in shock still. If you told us when we took on the job three months ago that Jarome Luai would be our first signing, we wouldn’t have believed it. I think the shock that everyone’s feeling, we’re feeling it as well.”
Chammas thanked the Wests Tigers for allowing Luai to waive the cooling off period which helped them get the deal done, but he refused to comment on going after Panthers players given no formal offers can be made until November 1.
The tax-free money will be a huge incentive for most players, even if it wasn’t a factor for Luai, and it’s led to fears the Chiefs have an unfair advantage over the Perth Bears, who will enter the NRL in 2027 and haven’t signed a marquee player.
“I think Perth will put together a pretty strong roster,” Chammas said, with Luai to remain at the Tigers next year.
“We have our own challenges around being so far away from Sydney and Brisbane, and they’re going to have some logistical challenges being five or six hours away.
“But we know that with (Bears coach) Mal Meninga at the helm, they’ll build a strong roster. They’re coming in a year before us, so we hope they have success and we hope we fall on the back of it. The game needs success.
“To the people criticising us around having that advantage, I think it’s short-sighted because the game will benefit from having PNG thrive. You think about the short-term taking players from clubs, but in the long-term, if this works, it’s better for everyone in the game.
“To have a country with 10 million people whose footy team is thriving is what we want to achieve as a game. I can understand clubs have self-interest in making sure they don’t lose players, but it’s bigger than that.”
