Possible eye-gouging charge overshadows Luai's return for NSW
He's a big-game player who has shown multiple times that he can rise to the occasion.
Indeed, it must have been a tough call for Daley to omit him for the series opener, given that Luai and Moses were the halves when NSW won last year's campaign, under Michael Maguire.
Moses did a slick job in tandem with Cleary for the first time in Origin I, but when the Parramatta skipper was ruled out for game two, Luai seemed a natural fit alongside former Panthers teammates Cleary, Stephen Crichton, Brian To'o, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin.
The night didn't start well for for Luai. He sliced his first kick of the game, at the end of the opening set, into touch on the full, gifting the Maroons precious field position.
A grubber kick in the ninth minute, which bounced opportunely for To'o to pounce and score, was a more accurate indication of Luai's ability.
'That's the mentality of Jarome Luai,' Channel Nine's Andrew Johns said. 'He just goes for it.'
But the Blues' 6-0 lead did not last long.
After conceding a series of penalties and six-agains, NSW allowed the Maroons to pile on the pressure.
In quick succession, Maroons winger Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow had two tries to his name, the first after Queensland created an overlap down Luai's edge.
Then, in the 30th minute, the Maroons kept the ball alive and it ended in the hands of skipper Cameron Munster, who dived through Luai's diving tackle to score.
The Maroons weren't done, and a Kurt Capewell try in the 36th minute left the Blues facing a 26-6 deficit at the break.
Somehow NSW mounted a second-half comeback that took the game right down to the wire, and Luai was heavily involved.
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A second To'o try gave the Blues a glimmer of hope, then in the 63rd minute, Luai launched a wicked clearing kick that forced an error from Tabuai-Fidow. To'o scored his hat-trick soon afterwards.
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