Jarome Luai Refuses to Make Excuses for Tigers’ Disappointing Performance
Jarome Luai was not in the mood to make any excuses for his team’s poor performance against the Sharks, offering a minimal response when asked if his move to the PNG Chiefs had been a distraction. The Tigers, who have been one of the surprise teams in the competition this season, suffered a heavy 52-10 defeat at Shark Park, marking the first time they conceded 50 points this season.
This loss came after Luai was seen around Papua New Guinea and announced he would be leaving the Tigers at the end of next season. When asked how it was getting up for the Sunday match, Luai simply replied, “Nah easy.” The follow-up question about whether it had been a distraction was met with a straightforward “nah.”
Later, when asked again about how he would describe the week leading up to the game, Luai wasn’t interested in elaborating further. “I just told the bro there, no excuse for the week that was towards the game. I’m like all the boys, right now I’m feeling the same as them, just disappointed, but we move on,” he said.
Coach Benji Marshall Also Avoids Making Excuses
Luai’s coach, Benji Marshall, also refused to use any distractions as an excuse for the loss. “We’ve had things that have been distractions all year to be fair, so it’s no excuse,” Marshall said. “If anything, I probably need to look at from a coaching point of view, what I did during the week, that made us change our mindset and the way we want to play.”
“The buck starts and stops with me, so I need to figure that out and go and really look deep into it. But I know with my team, we can turn it around pretty quickly, but we’re just going to have to hurt and go through that and learn.”
The loss marked the third defeat for the Tigers this season and was their most significant by far. Previous results were 20-16 against the Rabbitohs and 21-20 against the Broncos.
Lack of Drive and Poor Defense
Marshall expressed disappointment with the team’s lack of drive and their inability to defend their errors. He admitted he didn’t recognize the team that performed at Shark Park. “It’s way different, if you look at our two losses before, we lost by one and we lost by four and we never gave up in those games,” he said.
“And we dominated field position and played the way we wanted to play. Today was, I don’t know what team was out there, but that wasn’t the team that we’ve played like and prepared like, it was actually the opposite. So I’m not going to make any excuses, it’s credit to them, because they were relentless with the way they played.”
Marshall praised the Sharks’ halves for their strong performance and noted that their forwards ran harder than the Tigers. “I thought their halves really kicked well for them, and I thought their middles ran a lot harder than what we did, so it’s a good lesson for us.”
Looking Ahead
Despite the heavy defeat, Marshall remains confident that the team can bounce back. “I know with my team, we can turn it around pretty quickly, but we’re just going to have to hurt and go through that and learn.”
The Tigers will need to regroup and focus on improving their performance in the coming matches. With the right adjustments and determination, they have the potential to regain their form and climb back up the ladder.
