Jarome Luai plans to take the field at Accor Stadium well ahead of his Penrith teammates, long before the crowd filters in for the NRL grand final qualifier against Cronulla.
There, the star five-eighth will perform a ritual set to take on extra significance, given he could be about to play his last game for his beloved Panthers.
Each week, Luai makes a point of walking onto the pitch a couple of hours before kick-off, sitting on the ground against one of the goalposts, and spending a quiet moment alone.
The triple premiership winner pauses the music in his headphones, and runs through what he plans to do in the opening two sets of the game.
“(I’m) not really worrying about the outcome or the result, just worry about staying present, getting myself right before kick-off and making sure the energy’s high,” Luai said.
It’s also a weekly chance for the famously gregarious Luai to ground himself.
“We train a lot of mental preparation,” Luai said.
“I’m pretty loud around training and around the boys so I have to take myself away from all the boys and make sure that I’m around nobody to get that in for myself.
“For me, to make sure that I’m clear about my role, soaking up the stadium and soaking up the environment, that’s where I get my mental prep in.
“Before every game I try to do it and I’ll be doing it this week as well.”
A loss to the Sharks on Saturday night would dash the Panthers’ dream of appearing in a fifth consecutive grand final, a feat not achieved in 53 years.
It would also end Luai’s Panthers career, some 11 years after he played Harold Matthews Cup for the club as a teenager, and 130 games since running out for his NRL debut in 2018.
The 27-year-old will join Wests Tigers for 2025, the latest high-profile Panther forced out by salary cap pressure.
Luai said his ritual of sitting against the goalposts was all part of ensuring he remained present during an emotional time.
“(It’s about) making every moment count, I think that’s sort of come into play a bit more strongly, with the feelings and stuff like that,” he said.
“It just adds a bit more motivation to make sure that every game I’m starting at my best.”
Luai has been trying to harness the emotions of his impending exit for good all season.
He enjoyed a purple patch of form playing halfback in the absence of the injured Nathan Cleary earlier in the year, but things will go up a notch now that the Panthers’ season is on the line.
“It’s do or die now, regardless of if it’s your last ride or not, it’ll be the last game this year if we lose,” he said.
“When the stakes are at their highest, that’s when the intensity of the game and your preparation is going to be just as high as well.”
Panthers winger Sunia Turuva will join Luai at the Tigers next season and admitted he too had been working hard to process his emotions.
“I know our last game at home against the Roosters (in the qualifying final), I was pretty chill through the week so I thought I was going to be good on game day,” Turuva told AAP.
“But just speaking to ‘Romey’ (Luai) and Fish (departing prop James Fisher-Harris), the thoughts have just been going crazy.
“I’m just trying to control the emotions and keep it in check. But I’ve been pretty good.”
Leave a Reply