State of Origin rules denied Luke Keary the chance to play for Queensland

Before his head knock in the loss to Newcastle it looked like Luke Keary was going to be the first playmaker picked, just not for the state he truly loves and that’s a shame, writes GORDEN TALLIS.

Luke Keary is a Queenslander at heart. Image: Phil Hillyard

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If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. And Luke Keary is a Maroon-grown, dinky-di Queensland duck.

Just ask his family, who come from Ipswich.

The same place where the kid started playing junior football and dreamt one day of playing for the Maroons.

He idolised Alfie Langer and wanted to follow in his footsteps. I reckon he still does. And, deep down, the NSW selectors know that.

Luke Keary’s injury was a big blow for NSW. Image: Brett Costello

Before his head knock in the loss to Newcastle it looked like he was going to be the first playmaker picked.

I feel for him that he is now going to miss out on his Origin shot through injury but the selection dilemma remains.

Keary is the latest player to get tangled up by the eligibility rules around representative football that have done more shifting than a removal van.

The line between states and countries has been increasingly blurry for a while. Dangerously so.

It got to a point where the rep sides were almost like glorified club teams and they were actively trying to recruit/steal guys from other states or countries.

Keary (R) joined Blues camp last year. Image: Sam Ruttyn

As much as it would hurt to lose an Origin series, I’d prefer to go down swinging with a team full of Queenslanders than a team featuring a mix of Maroons and some imports.

Now I can already hear the Cockroaches crying, “what about Greg Inglis?”

Well, GI wanted to play for Queensland — just like Keary.

And GI ticked the right boxes — at the time — to be a Maroon because he was going to school up here.

Keary’s family moved to NSW when he was 10 or so and he played representative schoolboy footy down there. But he couldn’t get back over the right side of the Tweed River quick enough.

Yet the current eligibility rules say “no” to him representing the state he wants to play for — Queensland.

To me, that’s madness.

Tevita Pangai Jnr knows where his heart lies. Image: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images

And while the Keary situation is frustrating, the wider game of rugby league had a big win last week when Tevita Pangai Jr told NSW that he was committed to playing rep footy for Tonga.

I was rapt with the news. And not just because he told the Blues where to go.

I was happy because international rugby league needs Tonga to be strong. It’s great that they are assembling a pretty decent side that can challenge the big three of Australia, New Zealand and the Poms.

International football needs to grow and needs to be developed. Playing for your country is still the ultimate honour.

Tallis knows how Origin is fuelled by players’ passion. Image: Phil Hillyard

Every now and then people will raise the issue of opening up State of Origin to include more players from the Pacific Islands.

That’s rubbish. There’s more than enough talent coming out of Queensland and NSW to sustain Origin.

If the next bona fide superstar doesn’t come out of those two states, so what? If they pledge their allegiance to another country, that’s great.

It would be great for the international game and make Test football stronger.

Representative footy is about passion for the jersey and that emblem that sits above your heart. Tevita Pangai Jr gets that wonderful opportunity. It’s a shame that Luke Keary doesn’t.