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Luke Keary
Personal information
Born (1992-02-03) 3 February 1992 (age 32)
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Height176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight82 kg (12 st 13 lb)
Playing information
PositionFive-eighth, Halfback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–16 South Sydney 63 12 0 0 48
2017–24 Sydney Roosters 168 36 6 6 162
2025– Catalans Dragons 0 0 0 0 0
Total 231 48 6 6 210
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 Australia 2 0 0 0 0
2020 New South Wales 1 0 0 0 0
2022– Ireland 3 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 3 October 2024

Luke Keary (born 3 February 1992) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth or halfback for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League and Ireland at international level.

Keary previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with whom he won the 2014 NRL Premiership. Keary won the Clive Churchill Medal in 2018 and the 2018 NRL Grand Final and 2019 NRL Grand Final with the Sydney Roosters.

Early career

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Keary was born in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, and is of Irish descent[2] and was raised in the suburb of Raceview and attended St. Mary's Primary School in Ipswich.

He played junior rugby league for Ipswich Brothers. At age 10, Keary moved to Sydney with his family.[3] In Sydney, Keary played junior rugby league for the Kellyville Bushrangers and later Hills District Bulls and attended Oakhill College in Castle Hill.[4] In 2010, Keary represented the Australian Schoolboys rugby union team.[5] That same year he represented the New South Wales Combined Independent Schools (NSWCIS) rugby league team at the Under 18s National Championships.[6][7] In 2011, Keary returned to Queensland, moving to the Gold Coast where he attended Griffith University and played a season with the Burleigh Bears, playing for their FOGS Colts and Queensland Cup teams.[4] At the end of the year he won Burleigh's FOGS Colts Best Back Award.[8]

Growing up, Keary supported the Brisbane Broncos, idolising Allan Langer who also hails from Ipswich, and stated his ambitions of one day representing them before signing with the South Sydney Rabbitohs ahead of the 2012 NRL season.[9] Keary played for the Rabbitohs' NYC team in 2012, captaining the team and playing 24 games, in which he scored 20 tries.[10] At the end of season, he was named on the bench in the 2012 NYC Team of the Year and won South Sydney's NYC Best and Fairest award.[11]

Keary playing for the North Sydney Bears in 2012

Playing career

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2013

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In January 2013, Keary was a member of the Queensland Junior Emerging Origin squad.[12] In Round 12 of the 2013 NRL season, Keary made his NRL debut for the South Sydney Rabbitohs against the Newcastle Knights off the interchange bench in the clubs 25–18 win at ANZ Stadium.[13] In Round 20 against the Gold Coast Titans, Keary scored his first and second tries NRL career tries off the interchange bench in South Sydney's 32–4 win at Cbus Super Stadium.[14] On 22 August 2013, Keary extended his contract with the South Sydney Rabbitohs to the end of the 2015 season.[15] Keary finished his debut year with two tries in 10 matches.

2014

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In February, Keary was selected for the Rabbitohs inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad. Keary was preparing his breakout year but it was ruined early due to a torn pectoral muscle injury in the Nines.[16][17] Keary made his return to the South Sydney team in Round 17 against the Gold Coast Titans, scoring a try in the clubs 14-10 shock loss.[18] On 5 October, in the 2014 NRL Grand Final against Canterbury, Keary played at five-eighth in the 30–6 victory.[19][20] Keary finished the season with 3 tries from 12 matches.

2015

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On 27 January, Keary re-signed with the South Sydney club on a one-year contract.[21] On 23 February, he played for the Rabbitohs in the 2015 World Club Challenge match against 2014 Super League Grand Final premiers St. Helens, playing at five-eighth and scoring a try in the Rabbitohs' 39–0 win at Langtree Park.[22] In April, he was selected for the New South Wales City team for the annual City vs Country Origin match, but withdrew due to a foot injury.[23] He finished off the 2015 season having played in 24 matches and scoring 4 tries for South Sydney.[24]

2016

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In January, Keary was involved in a confrontation with actor and Rabbitohs club co-owner Russell Crowe in a pre-season bonding session at Crowe's farm in Nana Glen, New South Wales. It was revealed that Keary was furious after Crowe berated him, Cameron McInnes and some of the younger players. When Keary defended them, Crowe told him that he was not worth the money of his contract, sending Keary into a rage, first at Crowe and then at senior Souths player Sam Burgess for not sticking up for the younger players. Keary was ordered by Crowe to leave the property, which he did, catching a taxi at about 3:00am.[25][26]

At the start of the year, Keary, who was off contract at season's end, was linked to sign with the Sydney Roosters, the St. George Illawarra Dragons who offered him a contract worth $1.2 million over three-years, or even a shift to Rugby Union for 2017.[27][28] On 21 June, Keary announced that he signed a 2-year contract with the Roosters starting in 2017.[29][30] In Round 21 against the Canberra Raiders, Keary would play his last match for the South Sydney Rabbitohs after he suffered a season ending hamstring injury in the woeful 54–4 loss at ANZ Stadium.[31] Keary finished his last season with the South Sydney club playing in 17 matches and scoring three tries in the 2016 NRL season.

2017

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In Round 1 of the 2017 NRL season, Keary made his club debut for Sydney Roosters against the Gold Coast Titans, having a successful match by scoring 2 tries in the 32–18 win at Cbus Super Stadium.[32] Keary made 26 appearances for Sydney Roosters and was part of the side which made it all the way to the preliminary final before suffering a shock 16–29 defeat by a depleted North Queensland Cowboys team.[33][34]

At season's end, Keary contemplated playing in the World Cup. He later said, "I stuck my hand up to play for Ireland in 2017. It didn’t eventuate, I had a few [injuries] at the back end of the year. I’ve always had a connection there since I was a kid. Dad’s family is still over there. I haven’t been over there but you just feel proud whenever he talked about it. It makes me feel good thinking about it."[35]

2018

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In 2018, Keary suffered a broken jaw at pre season training and missed over a month of training and trial games.[36]

Keary received the Clive Churchill medal in the 2018 Grand Final where his team the Sydney Roosters beat the Melbourne Storm 21–6.

He capped a stellar season by earning selection in the Australian Kangaroos team as starting five-eighth for Test matches against New Zealand and Tonga.[37]

2019

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Keary started the 2019 NRL season in good form as the club won 7 of their first 9 games. Keary's good form meant that he was in line to be selected for New South Wales in the 2019 State of Origin series. In Round 11 against Newcastle, Keary was taken from the field with concussion and was subsequently ruled out for 6 weeks.[38]

On 15 August, Keary was spoken about by Brisbane coach Anthony Seibold comparing him to Darius Boyd saying "I had a look through the competition last weekend, there is an Australian No.6 (Keary) playing for a team in Sydney who only made four metres last week and missed five tackles, Not one thing was said in the media about that. His team won and our team won. For whatever reason because Darius only had one run, he has been crucified all week from what I understand. I just think everyone needs to back off on Darius". Keary spoke to the media in response saying "I don’t really care to be honest. It’s a little bit odd. I don’t know him, I’ve never spoke to him. I don’t care what he says. I don’t care what he thinks".[39]

Keary played at five-eighth for the Sydney Roosters in the 2019 NRL Grand Final in which the club won their second consecutive premiership defeating Canberra 14–8 in the decider. It was Keary's third premiership victory as a player.[40]

On 7 October, Keary was named for the Australian side for the upcoming Oceania Cup fixtures.

2020

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In round 9 of the 2020 NRL season, Keary scored two tries as the Sydney Roosters defeated North Queensland 42–16 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.[41] In August 2020, Keary extended his contract with the Sydney Roosters until the end of the 2024 season. In round 18 against Newcastle, he scored two tries as the Sydney Roosters won the match 42–12 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[42]

The following week, he scored a further two tries in the club's 34–18 victory over Cronulla-Sutherland.[43]

2021

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In round 3 of the 2021 NRL season, Keary suffered a season ending ACL injury in the Sydney Roosters 26–16 loss against archrivals South Sydney.[44]

2022

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Keary made 22 appearances for the Sydney Roosters in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished sixth on the table. Keary played in the Sydney Roosters elimination final loss to arch-rivals South Sydney.[45]

2023

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In round 5 of the 2023 NRL season, Keary scored two tries for the Sydney Roosters in their 28–20 victory over Parramatta.[46] In round 8, Keary kicked the winning field goal in the Sydney Roosters 27–26 victory over St. George Illawarra in the ANZAC Day game.[47] In round 12, Keary scored two tries for the Sydney Roosters in their 24-22 loss against St. George Illawarra at Kogarah Oval.[48] Keary played 26 matches for the Sydney Roosters in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 7th on the table and qualified for the finals. Keary played in both of the clubs finals games as they were eliminated in the second week against Melbourne.[49]

2024

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On 29 April, it was announced that Keary was expected to announce his decision to retire from the NRL at the end of the 2024 season, later in the afternoon Keary announced his official retirement from the game after 12 seasons in the top grade.[50][51] On 17 June, Keary announced he had changed his mind about retirement signing a deal to join the Catalans Dragons in the Super League starting in 2025.[52][53] Keary played a total of 26 games for the Sydney Roosters in the 2024 NRL season as they finished third and qualified for the finals. Keary played in the clubs preliminary final loss against Melbourne.[54]

Representative career

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Keary's State of Origin eligibility was a point of discussion within the media due to his being born and raised, for the first 10 years of his life, in Ipswich, Queensland. He spent the following eight years in Sydney, before returning to Queensland for another two years. In 2014, Keary wrote to then NRL CEO Dave Smith requesting that he be considered a Queenslander for future representative opportunities.[55] The request was denied and the 2012 eligibility rules were upheld.

Keary made his international debut for Australia in 2018 against New Zealand.[56] In 2020, he was selected to make his State of Origin debut for New South Wales in Game 1.[57]

Following New South Wales upset loss in Game 1 of the 2020 State of Origin series against Queensland, Keary was cut from the New South Wales squad for Game 2 and was not selected for Game 3 as the Blues suffered a shock 2–1 series defeat, with his "successor" at South Sydney, Cody Walker playing Games 2 & 3 in the 6 jersey.[58] On 16 October 2022, Keary made his debut for Ireland at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup and earned man of the match honours in their 48–2 victory over Jamaica.[59]

Statistics

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NRL

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[1]
† Denotes seasons in which Keary won an NRL Premiership
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts W L D W-L %
2013 South Sydney Rabbitohs 10 2 0 — 0 8 7 3 0 70.00
2014† 12 3 0 — 0 12 9 3 0 75.00
2015 24 4 0 — 0 16 13 11 0 54.17
2016 17 3 0 — 0 12 4 13 0 23.53
2017 Sydney Roosters 26 8 0 — 1 33 18 8 0 69.23
2018† 23 5 0 — 1 21 17 6 0 73.91
2019† 22 2 0 — 36 17 7 0
2020 20 10 42
2021 3 2
2022 22 2 8
2023 26 5 3 2 8
2024 26 4 3 22
2025 Catalans Dragons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0%
Career totals 231 48 6 — 6 210 84 51 0 60.97

References

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  1. ^ a b "Luke Keary – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Luke Keary in line for World Cup gig with Ireland". Yahoo. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Rabbitohs Half Luke Keary is the Mouse That Roared As South Sydney Brace for Big Test". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b "The Oakhill Drive" (PDF). Oakhill.nsw.edu.au. May 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  5. ^ "RugbyNet – Australian Schools Rugby Union". Austschools.rugbynet.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. ^ "2010–18 Years Burleigh Heads – Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League – FOX SPORTS PULSE". Sportingpulse.com. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. ^ "NSWCIS Rugby League News and heaps of stuff". Ourfootyteam.com.au. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Official Site of the Queensland Rugby League – QRL". qrl.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Keary set to face former beloved Broncos Yahoo!7 Sport". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Luke Keary". Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Toyota Cup Team of the Year". National Rugby League. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  12. ^ "McQueen and Keary Named in Emerging Maroons Squads – The Front Row Forum :: Rugby League". Forums.leagueunlimited.com. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Rabbitohs Beat Knights 25-18 in NRL Round 12". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Rabbitohs Blow Titans Away to Get NRL Premiership Back on Track". Australia: Fox Sports. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Rabbitohs Re-Sign Young Gun Luke Leary Until End of 2015". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  16. ^ "Squads For Auckland Nines". Rugby League Week. 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Rabbitoh Luke Leary to Miss Bulk of 2014 NRL Season Following Surgery". Australia: Fox Sports. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Winning Ugly Just Fine for Desperate Titans As They Beat South Sydney". The Australian. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Rabbitohs Win 2014 NRL Grand Final". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  20. ^ "Rabbitohs Grand Final Player Ratings". National Rugby League. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  21. ^ Brad Walter (27 January 2015). "South Sydney Rabbitohs re-sign Adam Reynolds and Luke Keary". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  22. ^ "Rabbitohs Beat Knights 25-18 in NRL Round 12". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  23. ^ "South Sydney Quite on Injury That Ruled Luke Keary Out of City of Origin Side". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  24. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  25. ^ Hooper, James (14 January 2016). "What Russell Crowe really said to Luke Keary to send him storming out of Rabbitohs team bonding session". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023.
  26. ^ "South Sydney owner Russell Crowe apologises for Luke Keary tirade". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  27. ^ "NRL 2016: Rabbitohs star Luke Keary considers rugby union". 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  28. ^ Chammas, Michael (10 June 2016). "St George Illawarra Dragons weigh up Luke Keary's $1.2 million contract request". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  29. ^ "How Robbo snared Keary from under Dragons". 20 June 2016.
  30. ^ "South Sydney star Luke Keary signs with Sydney Roosters until 2018". 21 June 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  31. ^ "Raiders in top three after 54-4 rout of Rabbitohs". Australia: ABC News. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  32. ^ "NRL scores: Luke Keary, Mitchell Pearce lead Roosters win over Titans". 4 March 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  33. ^ Perry, Sam (23 September 2017). "Cowboys beat Roosters in NRL preliminary final – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  34. ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List – Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  35. ^ Dan Walsh. "Keary to answer Ireland's call as Suaalii targets Kangaroos World Cup berth".
  36. ^ "NRL 2018: Roosters star Luke Keary broken jaw at pre-season training". 31 January 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  37. ^ "New Zealand v Australia team lists: Men's, women's, junior sides". 13 October 2018.
  38. ^ "Luke Keary to miss up to six weeks leaving Sydney Roosters short of halves options". Fox Sports. 2 June 2019.
  39. ^ "Roosters star Luke Keary hits back at Anthony Seibold's bizarre outburst about his form". Fox Sports. 15 August 2019.
  40. ^ "Sydney Roosters beat Canberra Raiders to win NRL Grand Final". BBC Sport.
  41. ^ "Ikuvalu scores five as roosters rout north queensland". National Rugby League. 9 July 2020.
  42. ^ "Tupou scores 100th NRL try as Roosters end Knights' top-four hopes". uk.sports.yahoo.com.
  43. ^ "Sydney Roosters defeat Sharks ahead of NRL finals, Shaun Johnson suffers serious injury". Australia: ABC News. 19 September 2020.
  44. ^ "'Earth-shattering': Legends say Roosters can 'kiss season goodbye' after 'catastrophic' blow". Australia: Fox Sports. 26 March 2021.
  45. ^ "Robbo switch that woke sleeping giant as full extent of cap crunch laid bare: Brutal Review". Australia: Fox Sports. 12 September 2022.
  46. ^ "'Ropeable at the time': Eels flyer slapped with hefty ban for ugly Tedesco hit". Australia: Fox Sports. 30 March 2023.
  47. ^ "Victor Radley learns fate after Rooster enforcer unloads over 's***' Anzac Day sin bin call". Australia: Fox Sports. 25 April 2023.
  48. ^ "Eels upset Rabbitohs 36-16 to snap losing NRL run, Dragons snatch 24-22 victory over Roosters". www.abc.net.au.
  49. ^ "NRL 2023: Sydney Roosters season review". www.sportingnews.com.
  50. ^ Chammas, Michael (29 April 2024). "Roosters star Keary makes shock decision to retire". The Age. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  51. ^ "Luke Keary announces his retirement". Sydney Roosters. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  52. ^ "Exclusive: Keary's double backflip as Roosters playmaker signs with Super League club". www.foxsports.com.au.
  53. ^ "DRAGONS SIGN KEARY FOR 2025". Betfred Super League. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  54. ^ "The Mole's end of season review: Maligned signing suddenly looms as Roosters saviour after exodus, injuries". www.nine.com.au.
  55. ^ "Queensland Rugby League chairman backs Mal Meninga's call for State of Origin eligibility review". ABC. 6 May 2014.
  56. ^ "Keary shakes off concussion to leave Tongans with headache". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 2018.
  57. ^ "'I'm very comfortable with NSW': Keary laughs off Maroons claim". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 October 2020.
  58. ^ Howcroft, Jonathan (18 November 2020). "State of Origin 2020 game 3: Qld Maroons beat NSW Blues – as it happened". The Guardian.
  59. ^ "Rugby League World Cup: Ireland 48-2 Jamaica – Wolfhounds score 10 tries in emphatic win". BBC Sport.
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