Luke Keary reveals how Rabbitohs’ drought-breaking premiership went to the players heads

Luke Keary has made a stunning admission ahead of the opening round blockbuster against his former club - revealing how the glory of South Sydney’s drought-breaking 2014 premiership went to the players’ heads.

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Sydney Roosters star five-eighth Luke Keary has made a stunning admission ahead of tonight’s opening-round blockbuster against his former club — revealing how the glory of South Sydney’s drought-breaking 2014 premiership went to the players’ heads.

Keary and Roosters halves partner Cooper Cronk opened up to The Daily Telegraph about the internal motivation now driving the current NRL champs to become the first team in 26 years to claim back-to-back titles.

The match between rugby league’s oldest enemies will have special significance for Keary, who pretty much had his papers marked at Souths after his infamous run-in with Russell Crowe.

But the move to the Roosters has taken his game to another level, with Keary now regarded among the game’s truly elite playmakers on the back of his Clive Churchill Medal winning grand final performance.

Keary won his first premiership with the Rabbitohs in 2014. Picture by Mark Evans.

Keary reflected on his time at the Rabbitohs, and said he won’t be falling into the same trap twice.

“I’m telling you, in this competition, the minute you think you are good or that you are going good it will chop you straight back down,” Keary said.

“I remember at Souths as a kid we obviously won (the premiership).

“You look at our next two years (when the Rabbitohs finished 7th and 12th) and I can look back now at the attitudes and the way we looked at ourselves and who we thought we were.

“The game just went get back down.

“We had a very, very steep fall.”

Keary said the message at the Roosters heading into this season was simple: “You build a foundation, don’t go and waste it.

“Go out and make something of it.

“It is not about back-to-back.

Can Keary and Cronk do it again for the Roosters? Picture by Brett Costello.

“It is about you do everything in your power every game to put yourself in the best position to win, mentally, physically and even spiritually.

“You have to tick every box to give yourself the best chance of winning every week.

“And if you can put yourself in that position obviously the footy gods decide if it is your day or your year.”

Cronk also has plenty of experience to call on, given only four players in rugby league history have played in more grand finals than the 35-year-old, who will be celebrating his 350th milestone NRL match tonight.

But Cronk also knows from past experience, it is one thing to have potential to go back-to-back, it’s another thing to do it.

Cronk has won five of eight grand finals but is yet to defend a title.

The 27-year old is one of the most decorated halves in the league. Picture by Jonathan Ng.

“I am the wrong person to ask because I have tried it and I haven’t done it,” Cronk said.

“The only way I can answer it is that you must have this inner drive to get better and if the individual drives the collective then you will naturally get better.

“I can sit here and say we will improve here and we will improve there.

“But it comes down to individually you must improve.

“You must analyse your game and work on the areas you did well and maintain, and look to get better in the areas you weren’t.”

Keary has no doubt the Roosters have the potential to be an even better team in 2019, especially with their attack.

“I thought we were good but we weren’t great,” Keary said.

“We had to adapt a lot of things obviously with Cooper and Teddy (James Tedesco) coming in.

“With another year together you’d hope we get a little bit better.”