Luai’s Tigers farewell at risk as Cowboys lock in top eight spot
Tigers fans could have seen Jarome Luai in the club’s jersey for the last time after he hobbled off the field late in a 20-10 loss to the Cowboys.
With five minutes left, Luai was swung around in a one-on-one tackle from Braidon Burns and stayed down before eventually playing the ball.
Tigers trainer Brett Hodgson attends to Jarome Luai. Getty Images
The Tigers half then left the field at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on a night where multiple players continued to slip over.
“Could this be his final game as a Tiger?” caller Brenton Speed said on Nine.
The Tigers have one match left this season, against Penrith next Sunday, before Luai joins the Eels.
Luai was also placed on report for high contact on Tom Chester.
The Cowboys’ win means they are now locked into the top eight with one match in hand but Billy Slater wasn’t convinced by their showing in Townsville.
“I thought they were very underwhelming, I wasn’t impressed with their performance at all,” he said on Nine.
“The only positive that came out of it was they got two points and booked a semi-final berth. They’ve got a fortnight now to get their game on ... if they play like this in September they won’t be going on for very long.”
The Cowboys were on the board first when Chester ran through a gaping hole created on the Tigers edge.
Four minutes later the Tigers hit back when Jeral Skelton won the race to a Jarome Luai grubber.
Then in the 22nd minute it looked like the Tigers had pulled off a sensational play when Luai ran 90 metres after a Cowboys error.
However, the replay showed Api Koroisau had hit the ball out of Thomas Mikaele’s hands which led to a penalty and two points for the Cowboys.
Tom Chester. Getty Images
The Tigers managed to get points back when Junior Tupou scored to make it 10-8 at half-time.
North Queensland came out of the sheds the better side, scoring three unanswered tries through Heilum Luki, Jaxon Purdue and Chester, to seal victory.
Jeremiah Nanai was an injury concern throughout the match for the Cowboys, appearing to struggle with a knee problem. However, he did play 68 minutes.
Next week the Cowboys play the Raiders on Saturday.
