New South Wales will force Luke Keary to wear blue despite the half being passionate Queenslander
Todd Balym
The Courier-Mail
January 16, 2014 11:00PM
LUKE Keary was born and raised in Ipswich but will be forced against his will to represent NSW in State of Origin.
The South Sydney halfback idolised Allan Langer and Darren Lockyer as a youngster and was a member of Queensland's Emerging Origin squad last year, but will be absent when the young stars gather in Brisbane on Friday because NRL officials have ruled he must play for the Blues.
Keary told The Courier-Mail last year he wanted to play for Queensland, but desperate Blues officials have successfully claimed him as one of their own.
The Blues complained to the ARL Commission who ruled the 21-year-old was a New South Welshman because four of the six eligibility questions came up Blue, with only his place of birth being Maroon.
Keary was born in Ipswich but moved to Sydney when he was 10 and completed the majority of his schooling and junior football down south.
He played for the NSW Combined Independent Schools team in 2010 but he returned to Queensland in 2011 to make his senior football debut with the Burleigh Bears before joining the Rabbitohs.
Keary is such a prodigious talent that Souths extended his deal until the end of 2015 last year. He is likely to secure a permanent first-grade position ahead of Adam Reynolds and John Sutton.
Maroons coach Mal Meninga said Queensland would continue to support Keary's push to have his status returned to the Maroons.
"It's disappointing for Luke and for us,'' Meninga said. "I know Luke wanted to play for Queensland and we won't give up on him.
"Luke is a passionate Queenslander and wants to play for Queensland. He played his junior footy at Ipswich before moving to Sydney with his parents.
"I don't know if there is any way we can appeal it, I guess we will look at it and see where we can take it from here."
Queensland had two eligibility victories, with Manly prop Brenton Lawrence and Penrith hooker James Segeyaro both declared Maroons. They will join Friday's camp, taking the squad to 14.
Segeyaro was born in Papua New Guinea but qualifies for the Maroons after moving to Cairns as a child.
Lawrence was born in Mackay but played all of his junior league in Adelaide.
Even though he moved to Canberra in his late teens, Lawrence failed to register a single answer for NSW under the criteria and therefore remained a Queenslander.
It is an enormous boost for Lawrence, who at 29 is the oldest member of the Emerging squad and continues a remarkable career rise since he joined the Sea Eagles last season after two years battling to make first-grade on the Gold Coast.
"I think he deserves it. His last couple of years have been pretty impressive,'' Meninga said.
"I just want to see him in with the other guys and see how he handles it all.
"He is up there and deserves an opportunity in the Emerging squad.''
Meanwhile, Queensland great Kevin Walters is set to become a fulltime Maroons assistant coach this year, with Meninga seeking board approval to add another staffer to his team in their quest for nine straight titles.
