Keary may be crowing

Rabbitohs could regret losing fiery star

HOLLYWOOD heavyweight Russell Crowe will be hoping Luke Keary plays more like John Nash than Maximus when the cheeky five-eighth steps out against his former club South Sydney for the first time tonight.

Had it not been for an extraordinary blow-up with Crowe during a boozy pre-season bonding session gone wrong at the end of 2015, Keary may have still been with Souths – not their most hated rivals the Sydney Roosters.

The day Keary shaped up to Crowe was the day his future at Redfern virtually ended.

That famous night at Crowe’s Coffs Harbour property featured the Romper Stomper star telling Keary “you didn’t earn your money last season’’, which Keary did not appreciate.

Keary said at the time: “Looking back now, I was really angry, but Russell never meant anything by it, and he never meant any harm. Sometimes you say things on the piss, and when you’re on the piss you can also take things the wrong way.’’

Crowe has been spending time putting the finishing touches to his next flick, The Mummy, which stars Tom Cruise. But he will cringe if Keary produces a fourth straight Gladiator- like performance for the unbeaten Roosters against his club at ANZ Stadium.

Souths skipper Sam Burgess watched the Keary-Crowe flare-up, but did not want to delve back into details ahead of yet another explosive local derby.

“Luke is a good bloke, that got blown a little bit out of proportion, and you can imagine when Luke Keary and Russell Crowe are involved, you blokes (the media) loved it,’’ he said.

“Luke is a competitor, he turns up every week, and you’d struggle to find a game where he’s not turned up. I’ve got a lot of time for Luke.

“We went through a bit together as teammates on the field, and off the field we helped each other out with a few things. You never forget those times. I’m happy to see him do well.

“This is the week I’d like to see him not do so well, but I’m happy for him, he’s a good bloke. We’re still trying to get a round of golf in, but it’s hard with (my) eight-week-old baby.’’

Damien Cook said Keary had appeared to appreciate the roaming role at the Roosters.