New Zealand international rugby league footballer
Issac Luke
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Born
| (
1987-05-29
)
29 May 1987
(age 37)
[1]
H?wera
, New Zealand
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Height
| 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
[1]
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Weight
| 93 kg (14 st 9 lb)
[1]
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Position
| Hooker
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As of 6 May 2021
|
Issac Luke
(born 29 May 1987) is a former New Zealand professional
rugby league
footballer
He previously played for the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
,
New Zealand Warriors
,
St. George Illawarra Dragons
, and the
Brisbane Broncos
in the
National Rugby League
. Issac Luke was a part of the South Sydney squad that won the
2014 NRL Premiership
, however despite being named as starting hooker, was ruled out for the final due to suspension.
[3]
Luke is a member of the
World Cup
-winning New Zealand team that beat Australia in the
2008 Final
.
[2]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Luke was born in
H?wera
, New Zealand, on 29 May 1987.
[2]
Luke's wife Mickayela is a cousin of fellow Kiwi rugby league international
Sonny Bill Williams
,
[4]
with whom he also played in the juniors at the Bulldogs.
[5]
Luke is a cousin of England international
Rangi Chase
.
[4]
He is of Irish and
M?ori
descent.
[6]
Luke's father, George Luke, died in 2023 after the car in which he was travelling between
Rotorua
and
Hastings
via the
Kaweka Range
was hit by a slip during
Cyclone Gabrielle
.
[7]
Playing career
[
edit
]
Prior to making his professional debut, Luke played
Jersey Flegg Cup
for
Canterbury-Bankstown
alongside fellow New Zealander and future Kiwis teammate
Sonny Bill Williams
.
[8]
Luke made his
NRL
debut for the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
in round 12 of the
2007 NRL season
against the
Melbourne Storm
at
Olympic Park Stadium
, coming off the bench. Luke had his first
NRL
start in round 19 Against the
North Queensland Cowboys
, playing at hooker. He scored his first
NRL
try and was awarded the
Brut
Man of the Match award for his efforts. Luke tasted finals football in his debut year, coming off the bench in South Sydney's 30 ? 6 loss to the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
. He was awarded the John Sattler Rookie of the Year at the South Sydney annual Red and Green Ball and presentation night held at the AJC function centre at Randwick Racecourse Sydney. He also was second only to
Israel Folau
in the
Dally M
Rookie of the Year award. His year was capped off by being named in the Train on Squad for the
New Zealand national rugby league team
.
Luke started the 2008 season well but a broken bone in his hand in the round 3 loss to the
Penrith Panthers
sidelined him for 4 weeks. He came back in round 7 against the
Brisbane Broncos
and added some much needed spark to the team but they came up short going down 32 ? 18. His return from injury came just in time for him to make his test debut for the Kiwis for the
ANZAC day
test at the
SCG
.
[9]
He started the game at hooker and had a solid debut. Luke was named at halfback for the round 8 clash against the
North Queensland Cowboys
to accommodate both himself and fellow hooker
George Ndaira
in the starting side. During round 13 against The Warriors, Luke was instrumental for Souths, including setting up a great try to put Souths ahead at half time, and was named Man of the Match. In round 14 against the
Gold Coast
Luke scored his first career double and slotted the match winning penalty for a 24?23 victory.
In August 2008, Luke was named in the
New Zealand training squad
for the
2008 Rugby League World Cup
,
[10]
and in October 2008, he was named in the final 24-man
Kiwi
squad.
[11]
Luke was considered one of the
2008 Rugby League World Cup
tournament's 'Players to Watch' by the NRL Live blog.
[12]
He was then a crucial part of the Kiwi side that lifted the World Cup in 2008, beating Australia 34 ? 20 before over 50,000 spectators at Brisbane's Lang Park.
[13]
Also in 2008, he was named in the
Taranaki Rugby League
Team of the Century.
[14]
Luke made 68 NRL appearances for Souths in the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. In none of those seasons did Souths qualify for the finals series.
[2]
He represented New Zealand in the 2009, 2010 and 2011
Four Nations
tournaments, playing off the substitutes bench for the Kiwis' win of the 2010 edition.
[15]
For the
2010 Anzac Test
, Luke was selected to play for
New Zealand
at hooker in their loss against
Australia
. Luke's
2011 Four Nations
tournament ended in controversy after he was criticised for a series of cynical tackles on opposing players.
[16]
Luke admitted that in a match against England, he had attempted to break the leg of
Rangi Chase
, England's New Zealand-born half-back.
[17]
For the
2013 Anzac Test
, Luke was selected to play for New Zealand at hooker in their loss again Australia.
In the
2014 NRL season
, Luke made 18 appearances as Souths reached their first grand final in 43 years. Luke missed out on playing in the club's first premiership victory in 43 years as he was suspended from playing in the grand final after being found guilty of using a dangerous tackle on
Sydney Roosters
player
Sonny Bill Williams
in the preliminary final.
Luke was initially not allowed by the
NRL
to appear in the club's team photo for the grand final nor take to the field for the lap of honour but they reversed the decision for Luke on this occasion.
[18]
Following the grand final victory, Souths head coach
Michael Maguire
handed his premiership ring to Luke.
[19]
In May 2015, Luke signed with the
New Zealand Warriors
for three seasons, beginning in
2016
.
[20]
He co-captained the
New Zealand national rugby league team
on their
2015 tour of Great Britain
.
On 19 November 2019, it was announced that Luke had signed a one-year deal to join
St. George Illawarra
for the
2020 NRL season
.
[21]
Luke posted a message on his
Twitter
account saying "St George Dragons On way".
[22]
On 13 June 2020 Luke departed St. George for the
Brisbane Broncos
. Luke had played just three games with the club, failing to register a win with the team. There were suggestions that Luke left due to being frustrated with game time but Luke later spoke to the media saying "With support from the club and their understanding they were happy to release me to take an opportunity in Brisbane where my family and I were going to live after footy finished. This has nothing to do with what has been going on here and I advise youse all to wake yourselves up. "I’m doing this for my family.
[23]
Luke played 12 games for Brisbane in the
2020 NRL season
after his mid-season switch from St. George as the Broncos finished with the wooden spoon for the first time in Brisbane's history.
[24]
Luke announced his retirement from the game on 22 September 2021.
[25]
Highlights
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Issac Luke
.
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Bench:
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- Coach: Alan Marshall
- Referee: Graham Church
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