Luani ready to step up for Tigers in NRL

Wests Tigers stand-in Joel Luani concedes he has one of the toughest gigs in the NRL as Robbie Farah’s deputy.

Farah believes his own ability matches that of Melbourne superstar Cameron Smith which, of course, is great news for the Tigers.

However, the sheer dominance of Farah on the football field makes it rather difficult for the team to win when their captain happens to be absent.

Through injury and State of Origin commitments, that’s happened on five occasions this year and the Tigers have won just one of those matches.

By his own admission, Luani is still “raw” as a NRL hooker, having played mostly back-row and focused heavily on his defensive game coming through the grades.

Luani knows he can’t replicate Farah’s off-the-cuff attacking style but, on Sunday against Penrith at Leichhardt Oval, the 22-year-old is determined to stamp his own authority on the side.

In an honest self-appraisal, Luani says his mentality has been too conservative in his previous appearances – simply trying to get through matches without making mistakes.

But Luani says it’s time he stepped up and played like he belonged.

“The whole team realises I’m not Robbie and I don’t play how Robbie does. I’m a little bit more raw and more direct than Robbie plays. But the team moulds around how the hooker plays because the hooker touches the ball the most in the game,” he said.

“I need to take a bit more ownership instead of just giving service to Brooksy (Luke Brooks) and Braith (Anasta). It’s time to step up and put my stamp on.

“When you start out, you tend to think ‘just don’t make any mistakes’.

“But it’s time to start exploiting the defence when I can and hopefully take some half opportunities.”

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