Luke Priddis: Made not born

Can you remember your first ever game of footy?

I can. I was 4 years old and it was for my primary school side in Wollongong.

 

What was the best, most memorable game you played in Rams juniors?

Winning the U/17 grand final in 1994 over a very good West Belconnen.

 

Was there a standout kid in your age group?

There were a lot of them. A lot of talented players came through our age group, particularly at West Belconnen, which dominated. Another reason why beating them in that U/17 grand final is so memorable.

 

Was there a junior coach or two who was influential?

There was a coach called Peter Rand when I was out at Wagga Wagga. Then Jeff Davidson pulled me up an age division at the Rams and was actually the person who said I should switch to hooker. That year I made the ACT schoolboys team who won the national carnival for the first time. From there I was picked in the Australian schoolboys.

 Mixing it up in the middle with the Green Machine, former Rams junior, Luke Priddis

Was there some mantra or motto that you carried from juniors into senior footy?

I had two: train hard and be prepared. I knew I had talent and was a decent player but I didn’t ever think I was the most talented player compared to others in the age group. But I did know one thing: you tick all the boxes and you give yourself the best chance. It meant completing every training session in the off-season programs and doing extras that I knew others weren't doing. Do that and you give yourself the best opportunity to make it.

And once you reached NRL? More of the same?

Exactly the same, just more of it. I'd stay up all night icing injuries, doing rehab while others I knew would be asleep or out having a drink. I just made sure I gave myself the best chance to play week in, week out, even with injuries. I never wanted to let my team-mates down nor give the next guy a game in my spot and a chance to force me out. If I was going to lose my spot it would be down to my poor form not letting someone else take it because I didn’t do what I could to perform on the field.

 

Backing up a bit, do you remember your first senior game with the Rams?

I was 18 and in the Raiders U21s squad after finishing Flegg. But I hadn’t had much game time so Craig Bellamy organised with Peter Cox to have me play back down there. It was my one and only game in Rams seniors and I can’t even tell you if we won or lost. But I am sure I played well! [Laughs]

And what was your progression from there? 

So '94 as SG Ball, '95 Jersey Flegg, U19s and U21s. In '96 it was reserves and '97 first grade.

 

Was the great Steve Walters an influence for a young hooker?

He was even though he didn’t stay long at the club. I modelled my game on his because in my eyes he was the best dummy-half in the game even though Ben Elias definitely had more skills. Boxhead was the same mould as me and what he did he did very well. He had great ability to read a game, run at the right time, support his forwards, direct them around. And he was very solid in defence. He didn't kick a lot. But when you had halves like Ricky Stuart and Laurie Daley there wasn't a great need.

The ruck sniper who tormented Willie Mason, Luke Priddis  

Your first game for Raiders - memories of it.

In round 2 of '97 I came off the bench against Penrith at Bruce Stadium [now GIO Stadium]. I scored a try but we lost 33-20. But the game I remember as being my first was the following week when I started at hooker against the Bulldogs. They were a hard and very solid pack of forwards and I certainly came off sore and sorry. Plus we lost that game, too. I remember our coach, Mal Meninga, coming into the sheds afterwards and blowing up a treat then storming out. It was the team's third loss in a row. Then the CEO, Kevin Neil, came in and addressed the team but I will not mention what he said. 

You can tell us later.

No, I cannot.

What’s been your best individual performance?

The obvious one is the 2003 grand final, no doubt. [Priddis won the Clive Churchill Medal in the Panthers 18-6 win over Sydney Roosters]. But I also remember a game against the Bulldogs in '03 at Penrith where I decided I was going to target big Willie Mason when he was at marker. I knew he always tried to pick me out in defence because I was the smallest in our pack. Anyway I had what I thought was one of my best games in attack and defence. I also remember a match against Melbourne I had to play halfback and Ryan Girdler went to five-eighth because Craig Gower went off with a compound fracture of his finger. We had a great win.

How about your 300th game?

It was with Saints in 2010 on the Gold Coast and we won which was awesome. To finally get to 300 games after basically being told to retire by Wayne Bennett the year before. But he wouldn’t pay out my contract for my final year so I stayed at the Dragons willing to play with Shellharbour. Then Nathan Fien broke his ankle in round one so I got another opportunity and played the majority of the season.

Luke Priddis played 20 games for the Dragons in their premiership season of 2020, including his 300th, before Wayne Bennett preferred Nathan Fien in the decider.

What’s been the best team performance you’ve been involved with?

Too many to think about but my first year at Brisbane we had a win and a draw in our first 10 games. Then we went on a winning streak and made the top-8 from nowhere but fell to Parramatta in the finals. But it showed the strength of character in every player in that side. It was gratifying to to keep working hard and to turn our performance as a team around.

Who have been the best players, a forward and back, you played with?

I don’t like to name stand-out "best" players because everyone who plays first grade for a long period has done more than the average guy running around. But at Canberra I was lucky to play with greats like Laurie Daley, Ricky Stuart, Brad Clyde, Brett Mullins, Ruben Wiki, Quentin Pongia, John Lomax and David Furner. At Brisbane it was Allan Langer, Kevin Waters, Steve Renouf, Gorden Tallis, Shane Webke, Wendell Sailor, Darren Lockyer, Petero Civoniceva, Brad Thorn, and you’d be leaving out another 10 top players. And at Penrith there was Craig Gower, Ryan Girdler, Frank Puletua, Luke Lewis, and again I’m leaving out a dozen guys.

What do you reckon is the difference between a good first grader and a great one?

The one thing all great players have is desire to be competitive no matter what the circumstance. Another is that they always do their job, week in week out. Great players are forever working on their game. Look at a guy like Webcke, probably the best front-rower of his generation. He was a bloke with a pretty simple job: run hard and tackle. But he was continually working on running through pads, on tackling drills against forwards and backs. He was always about getting better.

There were more talented players than Luke Priddis who played for Australia - and a lot more who didn't.

What’s been the best individual performance you’ve seen on field, by team-mate or opponent?

Hard to pick one out. There’s been stuff like Cooper Cronk in the Roosters 2018 premiership and Sam Burgess in Souths one in 2014, both guys played with significant injuries. Other games you knew a team-mate was injured or ill right up to the hour before kick-off but they still pulled on the boots and did their job. They’re the things I remember. Blokes dominating games as Johnathan Thurston or Cam Smith have, they speak for themselves.

Who has been your funniest team-mate?

Given I spent most time at Penrith I would say Luke Lewis. He got himself into magic and card tricks, and he loved a practical joke. All sorts of different things would come out of his mouth. Sometimes I don’t think he knew what he was talking about either. And sometimes his common sense wasn’t there. We had a kitchen at Penrith and all the boys used to make breakfast and one day Lewie had English muffins in the toaster and they got stuck so he pulled out a knife to try and get them out. Scott Sattler asked him didn’t his mother ever tell him not to stick a knife in the toaster as could electrocute himself? So Lewie nodded and said, Oh yeah. Put the knife back and grabbed a fork instead.

 Luke Lewis: electric.

Who was your childhood footy hero?

Terry Lamb and Wayne Pearce..

Who’s your current favourite player?

I like to see how each of the hookers play for obvious reasons. But James Tedesco is awesome to watch. I love how he gets himself involved in everything.

Who’s your favourite commentator?

I actually don’t mind listening to Michael Ennis even though he was a bloody grub of a player! [Laughs] No, I love the way he calls a spade a spade and if a player has had a rubbish game he will say so. But he’ll also praise the same player if he’s having a great game the next week. He understands the game as most good hookers do! [Laughs]. No, look, he doesn’t just come out with the same old clichés which is refreshing. Billy Slater is also growing on me as he is moving away from the clichés and seems more comfortable. He also has great read on the game as a super star fullback would.

What other sports do you play?

I would say I play golf but really I try to a hit a golf ball once in a while. I don’t mind a game of lawn bowls a couple of times a year.

What’s the one thing about you most people don’t know?

Couldn't do without a big bowl of spaghetti bolognese night before every game.

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