Jarome Luai replacement: Tigers offer Jake Averillo $2.75 million
The Wests Tigers have moved to lock in Jake Averillo on a reported $2.75 million, four-year deal as they line up a replacement for jarome luai. Luai is set to join the PNG Chiefs in 2028, and the Tigers want a back who can cover centre and five-eighth before that shift arrives.
Jake Averillo and Wests Tigers
Averillo has been targeted as a Dolphins centre who can step into the halves when needed, and that flexibility is the clear reason the Tigers pushed hard. He has filled in at five-eighth on a number of occasions, which gives the club a live option if it does not find a cleaner answer for Luai’s departure.
The deal is reported at $2.75 million across four years, a figure that sits inside the $2.7-2.8 million range discussed for the move. Michael Carayannis said the offer from the Wests Tigers blew other clubs out of the water, with the Dragons, Sharks and Manly also interested.
Luai Leaves in 2028
Luai’s exit date gives the Tigers a clear timetable. They are not buying a short-term stopgap here; they are setting up the roster for the point when their current playmaker leaves, and Averillo’s ability to play both centre and five-eighth is the value in the package.
He has added six tries in seven games this season, even while he is currently out injured. That form helped drive the interest, but the Tigers are also paying for positional cover they can use immediately next year at centre and later in the halves if needed.
Knights Keep Dylan Lucas
The same day brought another contract move, with Dylan Lucas telling Newcastle teammates that he had re-signed for another three years. He has scored six tries in 10 games this season, helped the Knights move into fourth on the ladder and earned a call-up into the NSW Blues squad for State of Origin Game 1.
Lucas’ extension adds more certainty for Newcastle, while the Tigers are building toward the opposite problem: replacing a high-profile playmaker before the 2028 handover. Averillo gives them a route into that future without waiting until the last minute, and the size of the offer shows how aggressively they wanted the deal done.
