Jarome Luai came to the Wests Tigers hoping to deliver the club’s long-suffering fans a first top-eight berth since 2011.

They didn’t get there last year and the chances of him playing finals football in what is his second and now final season at Concord are fading fast following a 32-6 defeat to the New Zealand Warriors on Friday night.

There has been much attention on the Tigers’ plans beyond this season in the past 48 hours since it emerged that they had given the PNG-bound Luai permission to find another club for 2027.

But Benji Marshall’s team are facing yet another September off this year following a fourth straight loss and seventh in their last nine matches.

Having had such a bright start to the campaign, the Tigers could find themselves six points outside the top eight by the end of this weekend with seven games remaining.

Undone by errors, they were no match for the second-placed Warriors at Campbelltown Stadium, managing their only try from a grubber kick and a mistake from the visitors.

Luai, who won four premierships at Penrith before joining the Tigers last year, tried hard but could not inspire them to get anywhere near a much-needed upset.

Teenager Jared Haywood made an impressive debut, spending much of the evening at hooker for the Tigers, who are without co-captain Api Koroisau for a month with a pectoral strain.

But there wasn’t much else to smile about for Marshall, whose injury problems deepened with centre Starford To’a sustaining a groin injury.

Marshall refused to be drawn on the decision to release Luai.

“When it comes to something being done, we’ll let you know,” he said. “At the moment, nothing is finalised or done.”

Luai also declined to comment as he left the venue, indicating he would address the issue next week.

The Tigers take on Canterbury at Accor Stadium next Saturday and while the playoffs are increasingly a distant possibility they “ain’t going to throw in the towel”, according to Marshall.

“We’ve got a couple of days off now, we’ll just go get away from footy and then come back and have another crack at it,” he said. “I’ve got a group of guys here who ain’t going to give up … we’ll keep fighting to the death.”

The Warriors were able to take care of the Tigers comfortably while missing State of Origin duo Mitch Barnett and Kurt Capewell, who were rested following the third game of the series in Brisbane on Wednesday night.

Winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira posted a double as the Warriors tore the Tigers apart on the edges, running in 28 unanswered points in the second half.

The Tigers were off the pace from the outset and there were ominous signs after only three minutes when Adam Doueihi failed to find touch after a penalty.

Moments later Warriors captain James Fisher-Harris, returning after five weeks out with a calf strain, crashed through disorganised defence to score.

Battling to contain the visitors at 13 a side, the task only became tougher when they lost Bunty Afoa to the sin bin 10 minutes later for a late hit on Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

The Warriors scored twice more in the prop’s absence and only try-saving tackles by Samuela Fainu – back after two months out with a foot injury – and Heamasi Makasini stopped them from streaking further ahead.

Where they might have been blown away, the Tigers lifted, narrowing the margin to eight points when Samuela Fainu dove on Doueihi’s kick.

Aided by three successful captain’s challenges and several set restarts, they would have reeled the Warriors in further if they could have put the finishing touches on a stretch of ad-lib attack that had the crowd of 10,445 on the edge of their seats.

If that gave their supporters reason to believe they could make a match of it, it didn’t last long.

Two Warriors tries in three minutes after the break all but put them out of reach and there was no coming back.

Unwilling to surrender, Luai sprinted clear in the last minute but was dragged down short of the line.

Unless the Tigers can turn things around dramatically, his stint at the Tigers is destined to end as a disappointing one.