Luai’s private jet was paid for by PNG government; Chiefs sign Alex Johnston

The private jet that flew Jarome Luai to Port Moresby and sealed his signing for the Chiefs was paid for by the Papua New Guinea government, quickly reminding rival clubs how much they will struggle to compete financially with the team that will enter the league in 2028.

The Wests Tigers co-captain on Tuesday accepted a $1.2 million-per-season, tax-free contract with the Chiefs that stands to make him the highest-paid player in the competition.

The deal was completed less than 24 hours after he returned from the PNG capital and on a day in which the NRL’s record try-scorer Alex Johnston also agreed to join the Chiefs in 2028.

The Chiefs had gone 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 the man who would soon become their 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. However 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.”

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 agent Warrick Wright, he was also greeted there 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 bucket-hat wearing playmaker and his entourage, as well as McPherson and Chammas.

“Thank you for visiting and taking the time to learn more about PNG.”

The four-time premiership winner will take up an option in his Tigers contract to remain at Concord next season before relocating to PNG for the Chiefs’ inaugural campaign.

Johnston, meanwhile, was contracted to South Sydney 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 31-year-old, 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.