Former Burleigh Bears player Luke Keary in NRL grand final spotlight

LUKE Keary will again be in the grand final spotlight, showing the Titans what they let slip through their fingers when they failed to sign the former Burleigh Bear.

LUKE Keary will again be in the grand final spotlight, showing the Titans what they let slip through their fingers when they failed to sign the former Burleigh Bear.

Keary won a title with South Sydney in 2014 and will be on show again on Sunday night when his Roosters line up against the Melbourne Storm at ANZ Stadium.

The then-teenage playmaker had a handful of games with the then-Queensland Cup club in 2011 and while he trained sporadically with the Titans’ under-20s, there was no room to sign the teen tyro despite recognition he was a talent.

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Sydney Roosters Luke Keary poses for a portrait ahead of the 2018 NRL Grand Final. Picture: Brett Costello

Instead, Keary made his mark for the Bears after heading from Sydney to link with former mentor Paul Bramley’s side, his form eventually attracting attention from the Rabbitohs.

Burleigh chief executive Damian Driscoll remembers the skinny kid that started in the club’s colts side before graduating to the Queensland Cup.

“It’s well documented that the Titans didn’t want him and he ended up at Souths.

“For an 18 or 19-year-old kid to be playing halfback in Queensland Cup is pretty rare, so he certainly had some ability,” Driscoll said.

“I wouldn’t have said he’d be playing NRL and winning premierships but I think that’s like any 18 or 19-year-old that comes here, he didn’t jump out to say he’d be a superstar.

“He certainly had ability and it would have been nice to keep him around a bit longer.

“Within 12 months he was training with the NRL squad – his game went on in leaps and bounds at South Sydney.”

Keary will shoulder plenty of responsibility on Sunday, especially if Cooper Cronk is unable to overcome his shoulder injury and line up for the Roosters against his former club.

Sydney Roosters player Isaac Liu takes part in a training session at Allianz Stadium ahead of the NRL grand final. Photo: AAP

Former Keebra Park student Isaac Liu will also play in the final, as will former Ballina resident Mitchell Aubusson.

Bilambil’s Cheyse Blair missed out on Melbourne’s final squad with fellow outside backs Will Chambers and Suliasi Vunivalu both available, while Gold Coast junior and former Titan Jahrome Hughes was not needed once Billy Slater beat a shoulder charge at the judiciary earlier this week.