MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: Benji Marshall missed the mark on Luai’s spell at Wests Tigers

I can’t believe Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall is hailing Jarome Luai’s two years at the club a success.

From where I sit, it’s been a failure for both club and player.

The on-field results simply haven’t been there — the Tigers will finish 15th this season — and Luai has, at times, acted like he’d rather be anywhere else but Concord.

His decision to fly to PNG last week on a private jet and attend a golf tournament said it all for me.

I know it was on his own time but it was a crook look.

Coming off yet another Wests Tigers defeat, Luai should have returned to Sydney with his teammates and immediately begun preparations for the last round showdown with Penrith.

It’s his final game for the club yet he’s gallivanting around PNG, promoting a club he’s not even going to play for until 2028.

Benji didn’t even know what his marquee player was up to.

Talk about a slap in the face and lack of respect.

I find that absolutely incredible.

As I do the coach’s comments about what Luai has brought to the table since joining the Tigers two years ago.

“There’s no regrets from our side about bringing him here whatsoever because he did the job we needed him to,” Marshall said.

“I’m sure a lot of people probably have their opinions about what he hasn’t done here, but all I’ve seen are the things he has done and the impact he has had on the club.

“I’m sure he would admit himself that he would have liked to have contributed more on field performance-wise but all in all, he’ll leave here having had an impact on our club.”

Impact on the club?

Yep, if we’re talking negative impact.

Since Luai declared he was off to PNG — via a one-year detour to Parramatta — the Tigers have won just three games and lost 10 to again crash out of finals contention.

They will end this season two places above the wooden spooners after finishing 13th last year.

They’ve actually gone backwards in a season in which they were supposed to be pressing for a finals berth on the back of Luai’s brilliance.

That’s now 15 years without making the top eight.

Extraordinary.

I acknowledge Luai has done some positive things over the two years, but has he left the joint in a better place than when he arrived?

The answer to that is a big fat NO.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED

I played with and against some absolute lunatics.

Hell, a lot of people would put me in that same mad-as-a-cut-snake category when the Chief and I were going hammer and tongs at each other in the 90s.

So I am not going to sit here and bag two of the modern-day loonies — Ronaldo Mulitalo and Spencer Leniu — for stepping just the other side of legal over the weekend.

I loved mad Spencer taking on and eye-balling Rabbitohs forward Keaon Koloamatangi after the Souths enforcer had put a big hit on him.

It was great theatre and showed the passion both men had for the contest.

As Roosters coach Trent Robinson said: “(Leniu) flirted with the line and he went over it, and I want him to play with his natural spirit and just stay under the line.

“He creates an atmosphere when he’s in that mode.”

Mulitalo also took it a step too far when he slapped Harry Grant in the face and was sent to the bin during Cronulla’s loss to Melbourne.

But in his defence, Ronnie was protecting a young teammate on debut who’d been flattened after kicking the ball.

Craig Fitzgibbon would not have been happy about the binning but he has regularly talked up Mulitalo’s energy and competitiveness and the positive impact he has on his team.

But I will give this piece of advice.

My old coach Bob Fulton liked aggression and intimidation but would hook you if it veered into ill-discipline and cost your side.

It’s just about knowing when to pull it back a touch and playing with controlled aggression, especially with so much on the line during the finals.

Every one of the eight teams left has at least one player with a short fuse.

Their ability to take it to the edge without going over may decide their team’s fate over the next month.

BEFORE I GO

Brisbane will start next season as the team most under the pump after their stunning collapse from premiers to also rans.

And a lot will be expected from Melbourne in what shapes as Craig Bellamy’s final year.

But Canterbury and Canberra shouldn’t escape the heat either.

The Raiders were minor premiers 12 months ago but have hardly landed a blow this year.

The Dogs were a top four team in 2025 yet played more like a bottom four team in 2026.

I expect all four clubs to improve next year after enduring the off-season from hell.