Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary has declared his desire for Jarome Luai to stay at the club after revelations the star five-eighth has split from his management.
The Sydney Morning Herald revealed Luai is likely to hit the open market on November 1, due to his departure from SFX Sports Group.
Speaking after his side’s 44-18 win over the Bulldogs, Cleary was defiant on his stance towards Luai potentially being available to offers from other clubs.
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“I want him to stay, he wants to stay but it is a little bit tricky because if he’s done that, if he’s leaving his management, there’s a period where you can’t actually do anything, but he knows what we think of him and I know how much he loves the place,” he said.
The period Cleary referenced is a three-month period where players need to wait until they link with another manager, a condition of NRL playing contracts.
With Luai debuting at Penrith, and playing 101 games at the club, the coach explained he’s the man they want in the “long term”.
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“He’s part of our team, he’s a local boy,” he said.
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“It’s not just how he plays, it’s how he connects the team and we definitely want him here long term.”
Penrith also recently signed Daine Laurie who will return to his junior club and battle Luai for the five-eighth jersey.
In Sunday afternoon’s clash against the Bulldogs, Nathan Cleary was solid in his return from a hamstring injury, coming up with two try assists while his halves partner Luai contributed three.
Brian To’o and Tyrone Peachey both crossed for two tries.
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