Honestly, rugby league may be the greatest game of all, but some of its fans need to have their heads examined.
The Jarome Luai saga is a perfect example of that.
Sky’s going to fall in, according to some, and not all of them Wests Tigers fans.
And that’s another thing you will see on social media: fans of other teams really stirring the pot, predicting the announcement that Luai will be joining the PNG Chiefs in 2028, that’s right, three seasons from now, will destabilise Benji Marshall’s high flying team.
Some Tigers fans take the bait and it’s on for young and old.
There are, it is true, some moderate rugby league voices on social media, but they are the few cautioning against extreme reaction.
No doubt these are fans who understand that in rugby league anything is possible, from the weirdest to the incredible.
Especially, I submit Your Honour, when it comes to player movements.
Especially when it comes to mighty players at the end of their great careers.
History shows us that either they were pushed out or left in pursuit of a few extra bob.
And their numbers are legion; you’d have a list as long as your arm if you attempted to name them all since 1908.
But history, and facts, don’t stop some people angling for a few clicks on social media.
Luai’s coach himself left to play rugby at first, and when that was a flop Benji quickly returned to the greatest game of all, having stints at St George and Brisbane.
He finally returned to the Tigers where he played three seasons before leaving for the second time to finish his career at Souths in 2021.
If anyone had predicted that would have been his career trajectory they would have been locked up for being crazy.
Here’s our Top 5 crazy movements in rugby league:
Number 1. Wally Lewis being forced out of the Broncos. Some of us are still shocked.
Number 2. Cooper Cronk, leaving the Storm to play for the Roosters over two seasons – and win two premierships!
Number 3. Super League, the biggest greedy grab for cash of all time, and yet the mighty game survived and thrived.
Number 4. Mark the Magpie retiring from the mascot business. He was the greatest of them all, and I for one still miss him.
Number 5. Jarome Luai leaving the Panthers after winning four straight premierships to join the team that got the wooden spoon three seasons in a row!