Luai was contracted through to the end of 2027 ahead of his imminent move to new club Papua New Guinea Chiefs when they enter the NRL competition in 2028.
The Wests Tigers sent shockwaves through the competition at the weekend when they revealed that Luai will be let go 12 months early, a decision that Marshall likened to "ripping off a Band-Aid" with a view to spending an additional year building for their post-Luai future.
Speculation intensified throughout the weekend that Marshall and Luai had a fractured relationship that led to the decision to end his time at Leichhardt Oval this year.
Marshall defended both his decision to force Luai to find a one-season bridging club in 2027, saying it "felt like the best thing for our long-term future" and that the decision was accepted by Luai after "four of five weeks of open and honest discussion".
The 41-year-old quickly and robustly dismissed suggestions that his relationship with Luai was strained, describing the reporting as "bulls**t", "made up" and "far from the truth".
"What I will say though is that the fact that people can make up rumours that we’re having a relationship breakdown or a rift between our friendship is absolutely bulls**t," Marshall explained.
“What baffles me is that off a hint of a few things or a situation where people think you should have a rift on it, it’s not right. You can’t make that stuff up.
“I don’t mean this to anyone personally in here, but in the media what we have done is made some s*** up that me and him have a fractured relationship, which is far from the truth.
“So I think what you guys need to do is have a look at why you’re making that up and not put that on us and put that out there so it creates more for us. That’s not true.”
Marshall was pressed further about the relationship when asked to respond to a social media move from Jarome's father Martin, in which Mr Luai appeared to express approval of an Instagram post from Triple M radio reporting on the apparent fallout.
“You guys made that the story,” Marshall replied.
“That wasn’t the case. He’s the dad who in the headline of whatever the post was is making assumptions about his son and my relationship.
“Now what you guys did was turn that into World War 10 and make it something that it’s not, which you’re good at. I think that’s unfair. But I can see why his dad would like a post or comment on a post because he’s a dad who cares about his son.
“I’m a dad, I get it. I’m just not gonna cop the bulls*** rumours that are made up based on nothing or based on what you guys think might be the case and it’s not.”
Now in 13th place after enduring a four-game losing streak that threatens to unravel their season, Marshall and Luai are preparing for a Saturday night encounter with Canterbury.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
