Jarome Luai has denied hypocrisy in choosing to leave his Wests Tigers contract to sign with Papua New Guinea, and says while the lure of tax-free money was what kickstarted the negotiations, it wasn't what convinced him to ultimately commit.
The superstar playmaker was on Wednesday officially unveiled as the Chiefs' first signing. He will join the NRL's new club in 2028 and has agreed to two seasons, with the option of also playing in 2030.
He was contracted to the Tigers until the end of 2029 but his deal has annual player option clauses which allow him to exit the club.
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Last year the four-time premiership player was critical of young playmaker Lachlan Galvin for walking out on the Tigers to join Canterbury, preaching a "team first" mentality.
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Luai hit back at accusations he is now also ditching the team.
"It's a tricky one – two different situations," he said.
"I'm going to be an adult and not drag Lachie into a situation he's not a part of. He's got a big part to play with his own team now (the Bulldogs).
"I know the team first thing is getting thrown around a bit… I'm here for another 18 months man. I live and breathe team first, my brothers know that, they are happy for me and my family.
"This club will be in a great position when I leave."
Luai says it was "tough" telling his Tigers teammates and coaches on Tuesday after making the decision to join the Chiefs at the end of 2027.
On Wednesday he thanked Tigers coach Benji Marshall, the club, his teammates, his family, and his management for allowing him to sign with the league's 19th team.
Luai is earning $1.2 million a season at the Tigers and is expected to be on similar money with the Chiefs, but his income there will be tax-free.
It means he will pocket more than half a million dollars more each year.
While he admitted the lure of tax-free dollars "got the conversation started", he says the final decision was not about money.
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"I think everyone wants me to say tax-free (salary) and how appealing that is… but that's not what got the deal signed," he said.
"Being over there, you realised that it's bigger than a game over there. When the time comes, we will be able to change a lot of lives for the better.
"It was a great experience, my family and my son got to come with.
"It's a vision, something that I resonated with. Being Polynesian, there are a lot of similarities with Samoa. What that team's eventually going to do for those people, it will grow a nation, so that's something that resonated with me.
"It happened pretty quickly, it was a whirlwind to be honest. The way my (Tigers) contract works and how it is structured, we broke no rules during the process, and I think that's what people don't really understand."
The Tigers will lose Luai two years before his contract expires, and some have been critical of the club's decision to insert annual get-out clauses in his deal to begin with.
But head coach Benji Marshall said he has no regrets about the contract that lured Luai to Concord.
"No, I don't, because those player options are what got him here. And if we didn't get him here we probably don't get off the bottom of the table like we did," he said.
Marshall also fronted media on Wednesday and revealed Luai became highly emotional when speaking to the coach about his decision to sign with the Chiefs.
The 29-year-old flew to Port Moresby over the weekend on a private jet reportedly paid for by the PNG government, then flew home on Monday to tell the Tigers of his decision.
"One thing about Jarome is he's been transparent throughout the whole process, and he communicated very clearly to me what his plans were and what he was going to do," Marshall said.
"We sent him there with our blessing to explore that opportunity.
"I had a guy in my office who was a bit broken down, emotional about making a decision that clearly wasn't just about himself. His family, and an opportunity that was simply too good to refuse.
"I've got a guy who I begged to come out of a four-time premiership winning team to help a club off the bottom of the table, progress into a bottom position, and he took that challenge with us.
"What he's done in 18 months has only been positive, and we get to make it positive for the next 18 months to get a bit more out of him.
"There's nothing but gratitude from me for what he's done for our club so far, and what he's going to do over the next 18 months.
"On the flip side of that, we get a good injection back into our salary cap in 2028 to help us keep some of the players we've got.
"Players come and go, but a club is always bigger than an individual."
Marshall concedes all NRL clubs will now be on high alert with the Chiefs ramping up their recruitment drive ahead of their inaugural NRL season.
The lure of tax-free salaries is sure to attract more big-name players.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone was that worried about it before now. Now it's realistic," Marshall said.
"I think every club will be on their toes a bit."
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