Luai, Moses and the Neverending Story

There have been more than 40 halves pairings since the scrum base of Sterling and Kenny. This is just the latest one.

The signing of Jarome Luai for the 2027 season enters the Samoan international and former Blues half into the history books of yet another half pairing for the Parramatta Eels.

The glory days of the 1980s, of Sterling and Kenny are so far in the rear view mirror they’re actually as old as Bruce Springsteen’s Glory Days.

And now we are set to embark on yet another chapter in this, Parramatta’s neverending quest to return to the summit of rugby league.

Unlike virtually every other half recruited for this purpose (save his transit lounge partner Jonah Pezet), Luai arrives for a single season before heading to Papua New Guinea.

I am sure Jarome is heading north because the Chiefs’ offer sincerely moved him and not just because it is delivering him a bigger house.

His 12 month stop over at Parramatta though throws up a curious conundrum.

Where do Blue and Gold expectations sit for 2027?

Coming into 2026, spirits were high. A tough 2025 finished on a high note, the juniors brought through were now wiser.

Then came the Lomax saga. In the end, the Eels stood their ground but it meant they lost a bona fide star.

They failed to replace the $14 million man in Dylan Brown.

And then an injury crisis hit that was so severe half the salary cap was sitting on the sidelines.

Luai brings incredibly valuable experience to an Eels spine that so heavily relies on Mitchell Moses that his presence (or lack thereof) can swing the betting odds in such a way that only Andrew Johns’ final years at Newcastle could be compared with it.

As head coach Jason Ryles has repeatedly said though, the only way to get 50 games of experience is to play 50 games.

Isaiah Iongi, were it not for injuries, would be about to pass that mark, meanwhile Tallyn da Silva is set to reach the mark in 2 weeks.

But the ultimate issue since Brown signed for Newcastle has been the partner of Mitchell Moses.

The Eels have cycled through Joash Papalii, Ronald Volkman, Dean Hawkins and Jonah Pezet.

Which brings us now to Luai.

Moses only recently broke the 250 game barrier and should he remain fit, will cross 200 games for the Eels next year.

Only one other halfback has done that for Parramatta - Peter Sterling.

Luai himself arrives with over 160 games of experience.

Funnily enough, he’s not the first experienced half to sign with the Eels for a single season.

Jason Taylor ended his career at Parramatta, playing just the one year.

Putting the length of deal to the side for a moment though and looking at this move from a pure playmaking lense and a halves pairing of Luai-Moses makes sense.

The pair formed a strong combination during the 2024 State of Origin series where they both played important roles in wrestling the shield from Queensland in the furnace of Suncorp.

A feat repeated only a week ago by NSW with Moses also in the halves.

Moses has played his best football alongside a five-eighth willing to run the ball and exploit an opportunity without wanting to run the side.

Zooming out, it’s also when Luai has been at his best.

While he wished to be Batman instead of Cleary’s Robin, there’s no denying that Luai is in better form when he gets to play what he sees and isn’t being asked to marshal a side.

The long range kicking game of Moses takes that duty off Luai while still providing the Eels with a decent second choice general play kicker.

Without Moses in recent seasons, the Eels have looked completely directionless at times. At least with Luai for a season, they won’t be asking a rookie to command a side around the park.

At stages this year the Eels have fielded a spine of Iongi, Papalii, Volkman and Da Silva. Between them fewer than 100 games.

While some commentators have claimed the Eels are desperate and serving themselves up as a transit lounge, there’s a different view. And one seemingly not considered by those outside the Blue and Gold tent.

That’s the next layer of juniors coming through the grades. Five-eighth Lorenzo Talataina, who won 2025 SG Ball Player of the Year made his NSW Cup debut last year.

He has remained in Cup since. His SG Ball halves partner, Lincoln Fletcher, debuted in NSW Cup last week. Were it not for injuries that debut would likely have come sooner.

Parramatta, at its best, is a development club that uses its junior base to fill out its squad. It then recruits players for a specific need.

In the last 2 seasons juniors, who perhaps weren’t quite ready, were thrust into the NRL out of necessity.

Anyone who has watched Talataina this year will tell you he is a talent. He digs into the line well, he positions his backrowers into gaps and he plays nice and square.

But asking him to jump into first grade next year would likely do his development a disservice. And Ryles has been clear that players like him won’t be thrown to the wolves.

For now though, all we have is speculation and a crystal ball.

At the end of 2027 we will have the full picture and as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

For next year, Luai gets to write his chapter of the neverending story. And he gets his chance to write his name into the history books for Parramatta.