Luai: To disrespect Benji is to disrespect us as a team

Jarome Luai has stood behind his Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall, declaring any disrespect levelled at him — like many see Lachie Galvin’s recent comments — is “disrespect to the whole team.”

The Tigers have been embroiled in controversy since Monday, when Galvin told the joint venture he wouldn’t be playing on with them beyond his contract in 2026.

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While that’s not the end of the world (though it may feel like it to some Wests fanatics) what Galvin and his shadowy agent Isaac Moses said was the reason was: They, both to the club powerbrokers and through reporting channels, suggested Benji Marshall isn’t the coach to take Galvin into out and out stardom.

That claim sent the NRL world into an uproar — and some players at Concord.

Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva posted targeted Instagram stories, while others ‘liked’ comments.

Then, Benji called a meeting of leaders, where Luai and Apisai Koroisau, among others, told the Tigers boss the playing group didn’t want to run out with Galvin. He was dropped to NSW Cup soon after.

By Thursday, when Luai and Marshall fronted media, the whole thing had turned into a storm.

For Luai, though, it was all a whole lot simpler: “As a playing group, we’re trying to do all we do best and try and get wins on the board and improve this club’s position,” the Wests halfback said at the heavily-watched Tigers press conference.

“But he’s our coach,” the Tigers co-captain continued, “and at the end of the day, if you disrespect him, you disrespect us as a team… I don’t stand for that.

“From what’s been said, I think he has been disrespected

“But,” Luai then added, “that’s already been dealt with internally.”

He addressed the social media posts at the same time, both his high-profile “Team First” upload and Turuva’s much maligned “Here Comes the Money” story where he filmed Galvin’s locker at Concord alongside the Naughty By Nature classic.

“[The social media posts are] about throwing support behind the coach and the club,” Luai explained.

“I don’t think it [Turuva’s post] was meant for everybody, and if anyone knows Tito [Turuva], he’s a jokeful dude, so you’ll have to ask him, but I think he should stay off social media for a bit.”

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“We’re working hard to have team-first behaviours,” he concluded.