‘I WAS FAT AND FLAT’
Rugby league: Issac Luke opens up about turbulent start to Warriors career
Up until last weekend, Issac Luke was becoming the forgotten member of the Warriors’ fab four.
The team’s star studded spine of Luke, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Shaun Johnson and Kieran Foran, which has to be the envy of the 15 other NRL clubs, was finally out on the field together in the 26-22 win over the Titans.
While most of the attention went towards Foran, those who watched the game would have been most impressed with Luke.
No longer was he the Ringo Starr of the Warriors. He was back to his best, pulling out those sniping runs that made him a star when at the Rabbitohs, earning the reputation as the best attacking hooker in the world.
But it’s been something of a roller coaster ride for Luke since he joined the Warriors at the beginning of last season and he’s only occasionally been able to make the sort of impact he did with the Bunnies.
His performance last weekend was hailed as one of his best in a Warriors jersey and it’s a line of thought Luke doesn’t disagree with.
‘‘Personally I thought it was,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s something I can build on, but my last game isn’t going to mean anything if I don’t back that up over the following weeks.
‘‘My biggest focus has been preparing myself for this weekend [against the Eels], because it’s a big clash.’’
In previous weeks this season, Luke hadn’t held back from admitting to playing badly. It’s an openness too rare from professional sportsmen these days, who are quick to gloss over bad performances when talking to the media. But not so with Luke. ‘‘It’s something that I’ve learnt over time, that I’ve got to be accountable for my actions,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m the first one to put my hand up and acknowledge that I’ve got to fix things.
‘‘For the last four weeks I told Mooks [Stephen Kearney] that I’ve got to play up and be at a standard that’s going to keep me in the team.
‘‘He’s put the challenge to me to do that.’’
Without going into any detail, Luke said he’s changed his thinking about where league fits into his life recently and this is helping with his footy.
‘‘I’ve lifted a bit off my shoulders and been able to focus on what made me who I was overseas,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve found some form, the outside world is mysterious, but I’ve been able to lock everything down for what my job is here.’’
When he arrived at the Warriors last year, he was held up alongside Tuivasa-Sheck as the player who was finally going to turn around the club’s fortunes.
Like Sam Tomkins or Ryan Hoffman had been billed previously, he was regarded as the missing piece in the puzzle. But it didn’t turn out like that.
‘‘Last year when I came here I was fat and that didn’t help,’’ he admitted.
‘‘I gave everyone a target to hit and that was my fault.
‘‘This year I came back in better shape, I was underweight, everything was down but my strength and fitness was still there.
‘‘I was trying to find my feet in the trials and first couple of matches and I was looking to go for 80 minutes, but it’s probably not the best to punch that out straight away.
‘‘In the last couple of games I had to, Mooks has brought Nate [Roach] onto the bench for this game, just to help me out.’’
With Foran and Johnson off contract at the end of the season, 2017 is a year when the stars have aligned for the Warriors and they may never again have a spine as good as this.
Luke feels they’ve got to make the most of this season.
‘‘If we would have gone into the Origin period last year with more wins than we did [four from 11 games], then we would have ended up in the finals.
‘‘If we manage to do that this year and then run into that [Origin period], it’s a purple purple patch for us, it happens all of the time for the Warriors.
‘‘At the moment it’s about putting performances together, preparing well and being consistent. The word out there is that the Warriors aren’t a consistent team, it’s a common theme.
‘‘We hear that and we acknowledge it, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and fix it.’’
Luke appears to have turned the corner at the Warriors and seems more content than ever before at the club.
That’s a great sign for the club not only for this season, but for the future because there isn’t any yearning from him to return to a Sydney club.
‘‘I love it here, other than the traffic,’’ he smiled.
‘‘I’ve got to acknowledge that Sydney was my home for 10 years, but I’m happy I’m here.’’
Last year when I came here I was fat and that didn’t help. Issac Luke