Jarome Luai KICKS Eels rival Isaiah Papali’i during NRL grand final

The Panthers have been all over Parramatta in a one-sided half of football at Accor Stadium, but Penrith was lucky enough to have 13 players on the pitch after an ugly act by Jarome Luai.

Midway through the reigning Prime Minister’s assault in the NRL’s grand final, the deadlock unnecessarily broke out with Eels rival Isaiah Papali’i as the second row was on the ground after being tackled by a Panthers team-mate.

Eagle-eyed viewers at home saw the angry kick, but neither referee Ashley Klein nor the Bunker – aided by video technology – saw the incident and Luai went unpunished.

Anyway, Eels will have little to complain about after being completely defeated by the Panthers in a nightmare that started 40 minutes before Brad Arthur’s side.

Phil Gould said Parra was ‘brave’ in the first half but ‘completely outclassed’ by their rivals, who played the ‘perfect’ half of football.

“It was probably one of the most impressive and professional 40 minutes of big game football imaginable,” he said in Nine’s coverage.

The Panthers star was spotted in Sydney during the first half with Isaiah Papali’i

“They were on the front foot early on, their kicking game was really good, their ball control was excellent and when the moment came they were able to shove the ball wide out and crack open this Parramatta defence.

“They kept Parramatta on their side of the field for the whole half, giving them little chance to get out.

“They kept the pressure on and Cleary and Luai’s kicking play was excellent and when they had their chances they grabbed them and it was just a relentless, relentless attack on this Parramatta side, which I must say oats. brave but totally outclassed by this Panthers team.

“It was just the perfect 40 minutes of football.”