The private jet that flew Jarome Luai to Port Moresby was paid for by the Papua New Guinea government – not the NRL or the Chiefs – and quickly reminded rival clubs how much they will struggle to compete financially with the team that will enter the league in 2028.
The development comes as the Chiefs signed their first player, South Sydney winger Alex Johnston. The record-breaking Rabbitoh was contracted to the club until the end of next year, but a clause in his deal allowed him to negotiate with the Chiefs at any time of his choosing.
The NRL’s highest try-scorer, who has represented Papua New Guinea at international level, has agreed to a one-year deal with the incoming franchise. Johnston informed his teammates of the decision on Tuesday morning.
“I’m really happy for him,” South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett said.
Luai, meanwhile, must decide in the next 48 hours whether to accept a lucrative $1.2 million-per-year, tax-free deal with the Chiefs. He has an option for 2027 with the Tigers for the same money which he needs to enact by Thursday.
The Chiefs went all out in selling their dream to Luai over the weekend, hosting him at a domestic game in Port Moresby, a meet-and-greet with Prime Minister James Marape and other government officials, and transporting him, his wife and one of his three children in a luxurious private jet that costs upwards of $10,000 an hour.
Sources with knowledge of the situation, not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed the jet had already been booked by the PNG government for a number of their ministers.
When the Chiefs learned there were spare seats on the jet, they asked officials if they could use the flight for Luai. Marape was eager to meet their potential first marquee signing.
NRL clubs have to include travel and accommodation costs related to signing players in their football department spend, which is a “soft” cap set at $5 million. The Chiefs do not have to abide by any cap rules because they have yet to enter the competition.
Either way, rival clubs were reminded that the government backing of the Chiefs was a trump card they would never be able to play.
“This has given us a glimpse of how hard it is going to be for the other clubs to compete with PNG on a level playing field,” one club official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday.
“The frightening thing is they don’t even have to include the cost of that private jet because they are not even in the competition yet.
“They already have a phenomenal leg-up over the others. The availability of third-party deals is also a huge worry.”
The NRL agreed to pay the existing 17 clubs a sum of $4 million over five years to ensure they supported the expansion of the game into PNG.
Another club CEO said the sight of Luai being wooed on a private charter jet being paid by the PNG government “didn’t pass the pub test”, but clubs had also lost the right to complain after sharing the spoils of a $68 million handout from head office.
“The optics don’t look good … but we took the money,” the experienced administrator said. He added that there was also scepticism among the clubs about whether the vaunted tax-free status offered to players would come to pass. “I’d be making sure I got that in writing if I was a player.”
The Tigers were staying tight-lipped for a second straight day, brushing questions on the playmaker’s future. The players trained indoors, with Luai one of the first to leave their Concord base just after 12.30pm.
Information from flight tracking site FlightRadar24 shows the aircraft Luai travelled on was a French-built Dassault Falcon 900C jet chartered through Lloyd Aviation Jet Charter.
It had flown from Sydney to Port Moresby on Sunday before taking off from the PNG capital on Monday afternoon for the three-and-a-half-hour return flight to Sydney, joined by Chiefs chief executive Lorna McPherson and general manager Michael Chammas.
The aircraft seats 12 passengers in an executive seating configuration.
Jets of such cabin size typically cost between $10,000 and $15,000 per hour to hire and are priced by aircraft, not by the number of people on board, according to Sydney charter company Flight Charter.
Luai, who was joined in Port Moresby by his wife, son and his agent Warrick Wright, watched a local game of football alongside Marape.
Donning a bucket hat, he was also greeted by Australian government officials.
“A pleasure to meet with Samoa international and four-time premiership winner Jarome Luai and his family this morning to share perspectives on living in this beautiful country,” Australian high commissioner to PNG Ewen McDonald posted on social media above a photo of the Tigers captain and his entourage, as well as McPherson and Chammas.
“Thank you for visiting and taking the time to learn more about PNG.”
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.