Jarome Luai is a confident man, but even he must have had doubts about going into a Preliminary Final just a month after dislocating his shoulder.
His injury, sustained against Parramatta in the penultimate round of the regular season, was tough to take, but Luai put in the hard yards to get back on the field as quickly as possible – while maintaining a wall against the outside noise from the media.
Asked if he had been worried about his shoulder popping back out following reports that one tackle could bust it open again, the Penrith five eighth laughed it off with characteristic swagger.
“Tell the doctor I’m built different, brother,” he joked.
“I didn’t really listen to the outside noise, there was always going to be a lot of that and I didn’t allow doubts to creep into my mind. I was always confident that I was going to be ready and put the work in.
He insisted that he never had doubts, and had passed all the tests that the medics had given him in order to return to action against Melbourne on Friday night – despite taking no painkillers due to stomach issues – and ended up departing at the hour mark with the result done and dusted.
“I didn’t let that creep into my mind anyway,” said Luai. “I’m really grateful for the physios and my family for the support, and for the coach’s blessing to make the call as well.
“I knew I could get the job done and I got the reps throughout the week and was happy with how it went. From the start (of the week) to the back end I just wound up the intensity. Two days before tonight was pretty heavy stuff.
“I’ve done a lot of reps, especially with tackling, and coach made sure I was confident coming into tonight.
“I’m pretty good with pain and playing with it. Pain is only temporary in my mind and I had the boys’ backing and I’m glad we were able to get the job done and I was able to get an early mark as well.”
He also described himself as ‘pretty weird’ in his belief, telling teammates on the night of his injury that he would back back for the first week of the finals.
“The boys would say I’m weird because that night I was saying I’d be back in two weeks,” said Luai. “I didn’t even know what the damage was.
“They think I’m joking about it but I actually really believed that. I manifested and I think that belief was what got me back tonight.”
The final decision was left to the player, with coach Ivan Cleary trusting him to know his own body, and once the contact session was done, he was ready to play, albeit heavily taped up.
“I was more proving to myself,” he said.
“I know I seem confident to everyone, but deep down I knew two nights ago that if I couldn’t get through that session and didn’t feel good then I had to drop my ego and put the team first. I came through the better side and knew I could get the job done.
“He left it in my hands, which is pretty cool from a coach coming into a Prelim.
“At the end of the day, I’m grateful that he gave me the call based on how I felt and that’s what he was asking. He said I looked alright tackling – I don’t think I’m a good tackler on a good day!
“He gave me the confidence I needed and I knew I could get the job done.
“I think you’re pretty nervous every game before that first initiation in terms of contact. It definitely got me into the game. I knew after I came out of that feeling good it was go time.”
Luai now gets a week to concentrate on getting himself right for the Grand Final, with talks on his contract and a potential surgery – or, if surgery is not required, Test matches for Samoa – put on the back burner.
“I’m not sure how it goes,” said the five eighth. “I know we’re got to review this to see where we can get better and I’m feeling pretty fit, so I’ll be able to get the reps done that we need to leading into the GF.
“That’s what I want to do, that’s where you get your confidence from, that’s how you know you’re ready for game day.
“I’ve had a great year, I’ve had a great time with this group especially. It’s what you work towards all year. I’m not going to get too caught up in the stars about and wonder about what ifs.
“I’m going to worry about enjoying this moment and getting back to work on Monday.
“You don’t come by Grand Finals and you want to limit every distraction that you can.
“I’m fully focused on what I need to do for this next week and making sure my mind and body’s right. Apparently if you have a dislocation you need one but I’m a quick healer so we’ll see what happens.”
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