Samoa coach Ben Gardiner has little doubt Papua New Guinea will see the real Jarome Luai, as the heavily-criticised five-eighth prepares to play in the country he will call home, following the most disappointing season of his NRL career.
Luai, who is set to join the PNG Chiefs in 2028, is in Port Moresby as part of the Samoa squad set to take on the Kumuls in a World Cup pool game on Saturday.
The five-eighth was feted as a rockstar when he touched down in Port Moresby on Wednesday.
“I don't know if our players would know who the Beatles are but it was great fanfare for Jarome and Brian (To’o),” Gardiner said.
But not all has been smooth sailing for Luai, who was slaughtered for signing with the Chiefs midway through the season and then servicing third-party agreements with PNG businesses while still on the books of Wests Tigers.
“He did get stick for it, but to the same extent he has his own contracts and therefore he needs to service his contracts,” Chiefs chief executive Lorna McPherson told AAP.
“The thing people don't realise is the fact that the clubs have to agree to it … which makes me always question why then players get a hard time for it."
Luai's exit was widely attributed to the Tigers’ implosion midway through 2026.
But if it’s left a permanent scar on the four-time premiership winner, Gardiner has yet to see it.
“We haven't talked about his year, we've just talked about what he brings to us as a player and the energy and the joy and the leadership that he brings to us as a team,” Gardiner said at the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby on Thursday.
“You can see how carries himself around the hotels here, but also in Sydney when we were there last week.
“People love him and that's because he's kind to people and he cares for people.
“You see people asking for autographs and asking for pictures. He never says no. He's one of the great role models of our game of the NRL.”
Luai was eventually told he was free to find a new club for 2027 and has signed for Parramatta on a one-year deal before his Chiefs contract starts.
“The one thing about Jarome and the thing I’ve loved about him is he's a winner, right? So he'll bounce back,” McPherson said.
“I watched him play last weekend and he was smiling, and you could see the difference.
"Sometimes the environment that you're in and you're playing in as well can cause you not always to play well.
"Jarome as a person is special. I cannot tell you the joy that the guy brings to me."
