Picture this….you are the worst team in the NRL. You’re not just bad, you’re historically bad. Not only do you win wooden spoons every year, but you haven’t even played in a finals series in over a decade.
It got so bad that your clubs finally saw some major changed being made. A new coach, a new CEO, a new chairman….and while you have a couple of pretty good young players, you don’t have much else.
Then, by some miracle (Its actually called the salary cap) you get the opportunity to get one of the best players in the entire game to talk to you about joining your club.
Now you’re lucky, this guy walks in with three (Soon to be four) premiership rings, so winning premierships isn’t a priority for him. He has proven he can win it all. What this bloke is after is a big pay day and some financial security. Once again, luckily for you you have salary cap space available to accomodate his needs.
You get to sign one of the top playmakers in the game, in his prime. A multiple premiership winner. A player with one of the highest winning percentages of all time. A player who will set the standard for every player at your club. This is huge!
Now here is the catch.
Jarome wants a five year deal, however he wants a player option on the last three years of that deal.
If you can get Jarome Luia for just two years and you are the Wests Tigers, you do that deal. He’ll, I’d do that deal! If he decides to stick around for longer, great! If he leaves after two years, hey, you had two years of one of the best players in the world in your team. It’s better than running out someone like Aidan Sezer again!
So while its not the locked in five year deal we first thought it was, I still think it’s a pretty good deal. It’s a deal I would have done too if I was the Wests Tigers. Beggars cant be choosers, and the Wests Tigers needed talent. I Jerome Luai they got one of the best in the game.
I still think it’s a pretty good deal for the Tigers no matter what.
