How Gould’s text to Luai led mountain men to mountain top

Though no longer officially affiliated with the club, a recent revelation has proven that Phil Gould's fingertips have played a key role in another premiership for the Panthers.

Speaking after his side's 14-12 win over South Sydney, stand-off Jarome Luai explained how the 1991 premiership coach had settled him ahead of his side's shot at redemption.

“Gus sent me a message before the game [on Sunday],” the Origin representative was quoted by The Daily Telegraph.

“He said ‘good luck but you don’t have good luck in the game of rugby league you make your own luck’.

“So, I took that into account today, everything is effort out there. It was a good message from Gus.”

As the man who helped guide Luai and several other key cubs to the Panthers during his latest tenure with the club, Gould has long held a working relationship with the men in licorice all sorts jerseys.

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And given the way Penrith disintegrated against Melbourne early on in the 2020 decider, Luai claimed that Gus' simple words were enough to get the ball rolling early against the Bunnies.

“Yeah, we definitely [didn’t make our own luck] and we made a few mistakes. We let it get the best of us,” the 24-year-old said of last season's loss.

“But when things didn’t go our way tonight, we stuck together.

“We stayed in the moment and that something that we took as a theme out of last year. Just stay present in the game. Don’t worry about the clock or what’s to come. Just play every play, and that was pretty good [on Sunday]."

Although not proving unable to cross the line in last weekend's triumph, Luai provided sterling service from the ruck to the left edge right across the 80-minute arm wrestle at Suncorp Stadium.

Already a premiership player, a Blues rep and a Samoan international, it can no longer be said that Luai is a rising star of the competition, as the summits ahead of every league player have now been scaled.

While still incandescent, the next challenge will be for the Mount Druitt local to continue applying the heat to opposition lines next season and to always remember that luck is made and not gifted.