Penrith’s eighth In a new documentary series about the Panthers premiership, Jarome Luai will disclose the startling effects that harassment on social media has had on his family.
Since making his State of Origin debut, Luai has been a fixture for New South Wales and was instrumental in the Panthers’ three championship victories.
Because of his actions both on and off the pitch over the past several years, the Samoan international has also been referred to as “the most polarising player in the NRL.”
“Undisputed,” a brand-new documentary that will air on 9Now on Friday, explores how Luai and his family have handled harassment from football fans.
“I’m relieved that our children are not reading,” Bailey Paris Toleafoa, Luai’s fiancée, remarked.
‘Some things people just shouldn’t say. Our main thing is to protect our kids from seeing that stuff.
‘The Romey that you see outside is energetic, a loud mouth, all that – but he comes home and is completely different.’
Luai received huge backlash from fans after his message to angry fans following his team’s horror loss in Origin game two last year.
He wrote on Instagram ‘Chill, All you idiots have work tomorrow morning’ accompanied by several tears of joy emojis with rapper Tupac Shakur’s song ‘Me Against The World’ playing in the background.
Luai reflected on the post during the docuseries, saying he doesn’t regret what he did.
‘Everyone got angry with that post, but it was a laugh for me,’ he said.
‘It still is a laugh for me, and I don’t regret it. There are a lot of people who can give it but not cop it. I don’t know how offensive that post was, but it was aimed at the people who knew who they were and what they wrote.
‘I don’t know how many messages there were that night. It got to 999, and then [Instagram] put a cap on it. It doesn’t go any higher after that.
The messages are all negative: racism is there in everything that comes to mind. All I can say is that I’m relieved to be here. It can be one of the younger lads who doesn’t have the same strength or resilience here at the club.
“They [the family] were the ones who constantly expressed to me their anger regarding [the abuse].” I make an effort to inform them that I may draw inspiration from it as well.
“Leave the footy outside; my family must never witness my frustration.” I don’t want the feelings associated with rugby league to resurface and negatively impact them.
After the 2024 season, the three-time premiership-winning playmaker will sign with the Tigers.
