Panthers centre Izack Tago says he’s still in contact with ex-teammates Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva – even catching up in person with the flying Fijian for coffee on a regular basis.
Luai and Turuva moved to the Wests Tigers this year on rich multi-year contracts. While the pair said privately they never wanted to leave the Panthers, the money on offer to switch clubs was far too good for them to pass up.
Speaking ahead of this Sunday’s Battle of the Cats at CommBank Stadium, Tago said it’ll be exciting to play against the duo for the first time.
“Romey is a big personality – he was like that here too, so it will be interesting to see what he’s like on the weekend,” Tago said.
Along with a big financial boost to his bank account, Luai was also keen on a new club so he could prove to himself, his former coaches and the rugby league world that he could lead a team to glory without the great Nathan Cleary as his halves partner.
So far, the Tigers are sitting above the Panthers on the premiership ladder with one more win to their name. Tago said Luai has nothing to prove to anyone as his resume speaks for itself.
“His career is polished… I don’t really think he has anything to prove,” Tago said.
“He’s a great player and he was that for us too. We’re all expecting him to be at his best.”
At Wests Tigers training on Wednesday morning, former Panther Sunia Turuva revealed that fellow winger Brian To’o sledged him as soon as he exited the field following Penrith’s 18-10 win over the Eels last Sunday.
“He’s been messaging me each day,” Turuva said.
“He’s already trying to play mind games, trying to send photos from last year of me in the Panthers jersey. He’s trying to tell me not to forget where I came from.
“Yesterday, he said if they score on me, he’s going to bring me into their celebration. Hopefully Jeral (Skelton) can score on him, and I can bring him into ours.”
While it’s all just playful banter right now, on the field will be a very different story.
The Panthers are desperate to get on a roll to save their season, while the Tigers are equally as desperate to avoid a fourth straight wooden spoon at the end of the year.
“I think earlier this year we had a slow start, but the boys never really lost confidence… maybe on the field we did a bit, but there was still always that faith that we could come back and turn it around,” Tago said.
“I think little by little we are starting to do that. It’s just about finding consistency now.”
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.