"Enormous success": Why Johns believes Luai will attract marquee players

The impact of Jarome Luai’s signing to the Wests Tigers is already being felt, with SEN’s Matty Johns believing the arrival of the premiership half will inspire other marquee players to join the newest club.

Luai has reportedly informed teammates he will be joining the PNG Chiefs in 2028, after activating a one-year extension at the Wests Tigers.

The club's captain, who was seen touring Papua New Guinea campuses in recent days had been won over by GM of Football Michael Chammas and PNG Prime Minister James Marape.

Johns believes the arrival of Luai will have significant knock on effects for the NRL’s 19th side, with the lure of tax-free dollars, and the ability to play alongside a player of Luai’s calibre, major drawcards for other star NRL players.

“My initial reaction is how far PNG (have) got their ducks in a row,” Johns told SEN 1170 Drive.

“I listened the other day to Lorna McPherson, who's the CEO there, talk about what's ahead and their plans and everything. What struck me is that as opposed to Perth who at the moment are still battling with internal politics, they know exactly what they're going to do, who they're targeting, what their plans are for the future and this has just confirmed it.

“PNG are going to be an enormous success. I don't think there's any doubt about it.

“They've landed a bloke in Jarome Luai who is going to attract other players, crucially, and I reckon as we speak now, there'd be players talking to their managers, reaching out, going ‘are PNG interested’ because, let's face it, in the cold hard light of day, it's tax-free dollars.

“You need a really iconic or you need a major player as your first signing because they're the queen bee. They attract the rest, and this is what they've been able to do.

“Where the Perth Bears have really struggled to find a legitimate marquee player, (PNG) have just nailed one straight away.

“Panthers are red hot favourites to win this competition going forward now, and, for blokes like Nathan Cleary and… they're going to target Mitch Kenny, but, blokes like Nathan Cleary or Dylan Edwards… they might look across now and go… as far as the Panthers are concerned, we've won 5 or 6 comps here, (this) might be an opportunity for something a little bit different.

“Particularly Nathan… there's a lot of upside for Nathan there as well, and there's been talk that they're gonna throw everything at him.

“You'd be naive to say they're no chance. I think they're a serious chance.”

Luai will remain with the Wests Tigers for the next 18 months, building on his goal of bringing the club their first premiership since 2005.

The five-eighth will be 31 when he joins the Chiefs, with the four-time premiership winner once declaring he would ‘never leave the Tigers’ despite the controversial clauses in his contract.

However, despite the devastating loss for the Tigers, Johns doesn’t believe the announcement will derail the club’s 2026 campaign.

“I don't think (it will derail them),” Johns said.

“Given the fact PNG are coming in in 2028… they've still got 18 months of Jarome, and I think initially, there could be a little bit of disruption, but I think eventually they'll just get on with it.

“I don't think it'll be a big effect on the Tigers at all, to be honest.”

The Wests Tigers play the Sharks on Sunday without stars Api Koroisau, Jahream Bula, and Kai Pearce-Paul.

The Tigers will hold a press conference on Wednesday in relation to the news.