Benji denies links to Folau, defends under-fire Luai

Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has emphatically denied the club is chasing Israel Folau, while also defending under-fire captain Jarome Luai.

Folau has been linked with a stunning NRL return in recent days, more than 15 years after he left the sport to play AFL and later, rugby union.

Now 37 years of age, the former Kangaroos and Wallabies representative is looking to land a train-and-trial contract before June 30.

His brother David told nine.com.au this week that multiple clubs have expressed interest in Folau, but Marshall is adamant the Tigers are one of them.

“No, we’re not signing him,” the Tigers coach said on Friday.

“I don’t talk about recruitment publicly, but that’s the furthest thing from my mind.

“I’ve seen there have been a lot of reports out there, but I need to get my team back on track. I need to focus on what’s important right now, and that’s us getting a performance we need ... I’m not even going to go down that path.”

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Folau was one of the game’s biggest stars when he walked out on the Brisbane Broncos in 2010 for a code switch, signing with the GWS Giants.

His career in the AFL failed to reach any great heights, playing just 13 games in two seasons before moving across to rugby union.

The talented outside back went on to play 73 matches for the Wallabies, before his contract was torn up due to homophobic social media posts.

While it would create plenty of noise, signing an ageing Folau is the furthest thing from Marshall’s mind, fresh off an embarrassing 68-0 loss to Penrith.

On top of the defeat and mixed form, Marshall has also been forced to defend Tigers co-captain Luai after his impending move to the PNG Chiefs in 2028 has been floated as a reason for the club’s slide down the ladder.

Despite the growing narrative, Marshall denies it has been a factor.

“I said this at the time - it’ll become a distraction if you let it,” Marshall said.

“If you don’t find the results, then they’ll find excuses to make that a distraction ... and we haven’t had the results, so people are always going to point to that.

“But it’s deeper than that. You don’t like making excuses, but we have a lot of our key players out, and what we haven’t done is adapt enough.

“You can talk all you want about Jarome’s decision to go to PNG, but there are 16 other players or 18 other players in the squad that need to do their job as well.”