Panthers win soured as NRL rogue Jarome Luai is placed on report for late shot on Jarhome Hughes

NRL pantomime villain Jarome Luai is facing a nervous wait ahead of State of Origin III after being placed on report for a late shot on Melbourne Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes.

Luai was put on report in the third minute for a tackle on Hughes, with his Storm teammate Harry Grant taking exception to the hit.

The tackle on Hughes as he put up a kick was deemed late, threatening Luai’s place in the NSW line-up for State of Origin III.

But, it was the timing and potential severity of the tackle Luai placed upon Hughes that led to the bunker intervening on the night and ordering referee Andrew Gee to blow a penalty then put the Panther playmaker on report.

In the end it didn’t affect the result as Penrith turned on a stunning, controlled second half performance to destroy the vaunted Melbourne Storm at Marvel Stadium, winning 34-16 after trailing by 14 points in the early exchanges. 

Jarome Luai being hugged by close friend and  Penrith teammate Brian To’o after the Panthers beat the Storm 34-16 after falling behind 14-0 early in the match

The controversial tackle Luai made on Storm’s Jarhome Hughes that led to Harry Grant charging in to grapple with Luai then eventually Luai being placed on report

The altercation left NRL fans divided, with many slamming Luai for his actions.

‘Luai always involved…. Such an insecure ‘man’ always trying to fight people to prove [he is] strong… it shows the opposite,’ one fan posted.

Others defended his tackle, saying there was nothing wrong with it.

‘Luai makes a legit tackle and people still pile on him,’ another fan argued.

‘I am by no means a Luai sympathiser, but that was a good, hard tackle. Nothing illegal about it,’ posted another. 

Others said that Grant should have been the one placed on report for being third man in.

‘Grant should have been penalised there,’ another fan added.

Hate him or love him, Luai is a galvanising force on the field and he thoroughly helped his side prevail over Melbourne

Storm’s Harry Grant and Penrith’s Jarome Luai (with ball) eye each other off during a fiery clash which Penrith won 34-16

Former champion Penrith halfback, Origin and Kangaroo star Greg Alexander, speaking on Fox League straight after the game said: ‘look it’s the rule now. ‘

‘You can’t put a player in a dangerous position after he kicks,’ he added.

‘It’s not the game I played and some people are even asking if it is still rugby league, but the NRL  says it is a penalty if a tackler puts the kicker in a position where he will or may get hurt.

‘That happened in this tackle but I certainly don’t think it was a tackle that should put a player on report.’

However the decision to place Luai on report was met with confusion from the Fox League panel during the match.

‘I’m not sure there’s much wrong with that tackle,’ commentator Dan Ginnane said.

‘It’s almost perfectly timed from Jarome Luai.

‘But there’s plenty of feeling in this game.’

Fellow commentator Michael Ennis praised the Panthers for bouncing back from a 14-0 deficit to take control of the match.

‘[Coach] Ivan Cleary will be rapt with the response,’ Ennis said.

‘Given how poor they were to start the game, a number of uncharacteristic errors — I think they got through five of their first 10 sets — and Penrith just haven’t done that the last two to three years. You thought maybe it’s just one of those nights.

‘But the ticker they’ve shown, the fight and resilience they’ve shown and the skill and decision-making under pressure… Gee they’re going to be hard to beat.’