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Panthers coach Ivan Cleary thinks mature-age NRL debutant Soni Luke is not only an inspiration to other players but for people in all walks of life to never give up on your dream.
For most rugby league players dreaming of making it in the NRL, if it hasn’t happened by the age of 26, it won’t happen.
Luke was tipped for stardom seven years ago when he was part of the club’s all-conquering Holden Cup team which beat a Manly team in the grand final that contained a fullback on the rise by the name of Tom Trbojevic.
Luke scored a try in the 34-18 victory alongside a plethora of future NRL graduates in Jarome Luai, James Fisher-Harris, Corey Harawira-Naeara, Moses Leota, Brent Naden, Robert Jennings, Dylan Edwards and Tyrone May.
He was named man of the match for his performance and was part of Penrith’s team which qualified for the grand final the following year but lost to the Roosters.
Luke seemed destined to progress to the top grade but while his contemporaries made the leap into first grade, a succession of injuries, including major shoulder surgery, derailed a promising career.
“There were times where I was deflated with footy, it got really tough with back-to-back-to-back injuries. I left and came back and got injured again. That was probably the toughest time, I didn’t want an injury to finish me,” he said in a feature video posted on the Panthers website.
Soni Luke passes the ball during the 2016 Holden Cup Grand Final. (Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty Images)
After playing in the Ron Massey Cup last year, Luke earned a train and trial deal with the Panthers in the off-season and did enough to secure a contract for 2022 and one last chance to make it.
With the Panthers coming off a premiership, Luke said he knew he had to hit the ground running “to turn a few heads”.
He certainly caught the attention of coach Ivan Cleary, who gave Luke the surprise of his life when he announced at a video session early last week that he would be Panther No.607 when he’d make his debut against Canberra in Round 7.
“He’s always kept the dream alive, he’s had an unbelievable pre-season, he’s been killing it in the NSW Cup,” Cleary said.
The local St Mary’s junior was swamped by his ecstatic teammates. “It was a pretty cool feeling, something I’ll never forget.”
He didn’t have too long to wait on the bench against the Raiders, running out in the 31st minute in front of a full house at BlueBet Stadium containing many elated family and friends.
Just two minutes later he put on a try for co-captain Isaah Yeo to break a 6-6 deadlock, which became the start of a 30-point unanswered Panthers onslaught.
His 26-minute cameo was enough to convince Cleary to keep him on the interchange for Saturday’s Round 8 trip to the Gold Coast as the Panthers look to become the first team in premiership history to win their first eight matches in back-to-back seasons.
(Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty Images)
“Hopefully he hasn’t used up as much nervous energy this week,” Cleary said on Thursday.
“It’s a great story, one of perseverance – he had a dream and he just wasn’t going to let it go. I just think it’s a great story for everyone out there, no matter what field you’re in, getting knocked back or things aren’t working out for you, just keep at it.”
Luke has been given the nod ahead of Penrith’s usual bench hooker Mitch Kenny and if he continues his strong start to his NRL career he could get more opportunities when the Panthers are hit by representative duty during the Origin period.
Longer term, the No.9 jersey will be vacant next year when Api Koroisau heads to the Wests Tigers so Luke has plenty to play for now he’s cracked it in the big league.
“Mitch Kenny certainly didn’t go out of the team because of form and Soni’s form was excellent so I thought it was a good time to bring him in while he’s playing well with a lot of games under his belt,” Cleary said.
Cleary said NSW winger Brian To’o is likely to return from a knee injury next week when the Panthers put their 21-game home winning streak on the line against local rivals Parramatta in a western Sydney blockbuster.
While the unbeaten Panthers are purring, showing no signs of a grand final hangover, Titans coach Justin Holbrook is searching for a turnaround after his team slumped to a third straight loss, a 30-4 shellacking from the Cowboys, to sit in 14th place with a 2-5 record.
He has shaken up his team in the hope of pulling off an upset against the premiers at Cbus Super Stadium, switching AJ Brimson to fullback at the expense of Jamayne Isaako and elevating Will Smith to five-eighth.
Young fullback Jayden Campbell is still another week away from a return from a rib injury. Phil Sami has been ruled out with a knee injury with Corey Thompson earning a recall to the wing.
David Fifita is back in the second row after he was given a try out wide so Patrick Herbert is back in the centres.
The Titans’ spine seems to be lacking the direction of former captain Jamal Fogarty, who was allowed to join Canberra in the off-season as a show of faith in rookie playmaker Toby Sexton.
“I said at the time I wish Jamal had stayed, but I’m not unhappy with Toby,” Holbrook said on Thursday.
“It’s been difficult that AJ didn’t play round one and JC hurt himself at half-time in that Canberra game.
“If he doesn’t hurt himself we probably go on and win that. It hasn’t been ideal to try and get those three working together.
“We’re not in the position we want to be in … we’ve got to get those players out there and in those key positions.”