Penrith Panthers fans furious after cheeky Jarome Luai Instagram post: ‘Pretty disrespectful’

The Tigers have been forced to delete a photoshopped graphic of superstar Jarome Luai wearing the club’s jersey from their social media accounts after upsetting the Panthers.

On Wednesday, Luai finally confirmed he has signed a five-year contract to join the Wests Tigers from 2025, bringing an end to the biggest trade saga of the NRL off-season.

Penrith’s three-time premiership-winning five-eighth had been linked with the Tigers for months and made the move official at a snap press conference in Sydney.

The deal is believed to be worth in excess of $1million per season and is a major coup for a Tigers side that’s in the midst of a 12-year finals drought.

The Tigers celebrated their new signing on social media by posting shots of Luai in a Tigers jersey, but it reportedly upset the Panthers.

The Tigers deleted a mocked up version of Luai in a Tigers jersey after backlash

The Tigers later deleted the post and posted a mock up instead of Luai in a NSW Blues uniform.

‘How low brow….Putting a player whose still contracted to an opposition club, in your colours 12 months too early. Try and stay classy,’ wrote one fan on X.

‘Done him dirty with that photoshop,’ replied another.

‘Pretty disrespectful, photoshopping him in our jersey when he’s still a Panther,’ said a third.

Last month, the 26-year-old informed his teammates of his intention to move from the Panthers, who handed him his debut in 2018 but could not match the Tigers’ big-money offer.

But no contract was formally signed at the time as new Tigers coach Benji Marshall and club management put the finishing touches on their offer.

Under the NRL’s new transfer rules, Luai was required to give the Panthers a 10-day window in which they could try to convince him to stay put.

But resigned to losing their flamboyant playmaker, the Panthers are understood to have waived that right this week, paving the way for the move to be confirmed.

Luai will play one more season with the Panthers before joining the Tigers

After taking the week off before Christmas, Luai is expected back at training with Penrith on Thursday.

The five-eighth used the press conference to reveal that the switch presented him with ‘the toughest decision of my career so far’.

‘The obvious reason [for the switch] was it was a great opportunity for me to provide and create for my family, but also to create something for myself.

‘I’ve had a great connection with Benji [Marshall, Tigers coach] and he’s allowed me to, not yet, but we’ve spoken about the future and what he sees in me.

‘I’m really excited about it.’