Maroons set sights on having Keary declared a Queenslander
By Roy Masters
July 18, 2019 — 12.00am
Senior Maroons have not surrendered hope Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary could be re-classified as a Queensland player despite both state league bosses insisting he is eligible to play Origin only for NSW.
Keary, who was born in Ipswich, grew up idolising former Queensland half Allan Langer and QRL chief executive Rob Moore admits Keary wrote to NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg requesting his NSW status be reviewed.
Moore said, “When Luke first came on our radar, the eligibility criteria were in place and we looked at them in terms of his case and agreed he was a NSW player. He wrote to Todd questioning the decision and we looked at the criteria again and reached the conclusion he didn’t meet the criteria
to be a Maroon.”
However, with Keary three years younger than Queensland’s incumbent half and captain, 30-year-old Daly Cherry-Evans, and the Maroons desperate to reclaim the State of Origin shield, coach Kevin Walters requires experienced game managers. Should Walters be involved in any plan to recruit Keary, it would further demonstrate his commitment to Queensland over the Titans.
This year’s Origin series demonstrated the need for both states to have quality halves, with NSW selecting different pairs over the three-game series, while Queensland was forced to shift five-eighth Cameron Munster to fullback for the deciding match following the injury to Kalyn Ponga.
A double premiership player at two NRL clubs (Rabbitohs 2014, Roosters 2018) and an Australian representative, Keary is yet to play Origin.
Claims by senior Maroons to have him re-classified as a Queensland Origin player are based on his dual-state background as an Ipswich junior who moved to Sydney with his family aged 10, played in NSW junior and school competitions, before returning to Queensland for one year where he played State Cup.
Keary was deemed a NSW player under eligibility rules approved by the ARL Commission in December 2012 but senior Maroons argue the decision can be overturned because it was former NRL chief executive Dave Smith who ruled him a NSW player.
In January 2013, Keary attended a Queensland Junior Emerging Origin squad camp, only weeks after the ARLC had approved the new eligibility rules. Smith joined the NRL as chief executive the following month.
The eligibility rules allow for the NRL CEO to make a decision in the event of tied criteria and some Maroons argue Smith ruled for NSW following a split decision in the six-point eligibility test.
However, former NSWRL chief executive Geoff Carr does not recall Smith being required to make the decision, saying, “Luke definitely failed the criteria which would make him a Queenslander".
Carr’s successor, David Trodden, said he was unaware of any bid to have Keary’s status re-classified, pointing out the Clive Churchill medallist attended all three NSW Origin camps last year.
Keary was quoted in the
Heraldin April, 2017 declaring his willingness to play for the Blues, saying, “I’m definitely in their (NSW) boat if they ever need me.”
Under the eligibility rules, Keary appears to fulfil four of the six criteria making him a Blue. NSW is the state where the majority of his year's playing rugby league from Under-6s to Under-18s were spent; it is also the state where the majority of his schooling occurred; where he was first selected in a state-run junior representative competition at Under-15 level, or above (North Sydney Bears Harold Matthews team) and where he represented in a state-based schools competition, being a member of the NSW Independent Schools team which played in the Australian Championships in Burleigh in 2010.
The six-point eligibility test was introduced to provide greater clarity following Greg Inglis’ classification as a Maroon, simply because Queensland was the state where Inglis first played top grade football after the age of 16.
But the banana-benders over time have demonstrated a clever capacity to also twist history to suit their claims and, even if they fail on recruiting Keary, they would be delighted to destabilise NSW by suggesting a Blue wants to defect.
Should Keary play for the Blues next year, he will join three NSW players who were chosen in the 2010 Australian Schoolboys league team to tour England and France: Canberra’s Jack Wighton, who beat him for the five-eighth position, front-rower David Klemmer and fullback James Tedesco.
