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![\"Heilum](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/81082092_lukih-260516_akk_6516_202651617535.jpg\"\/)
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\n Heilum Luki on the charge for the Cowboys in the win against the Roosters.
\n \u00a9Anthony Kourembanas \/ NRL Images
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\n <\/p>\n
Is North Queensland Cowboys second rower Heilum Luki ready for the State of Origin arena?<\/p>\n
\u201cBloody oath\u201d – according to North Queensland Cowboys captain Reuben Cotter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been playing some great footy over the past 10 weeks\u2026 he\u2019s a strong ball runner and keeps working in defence as well\u2026 he\u2019d be hard to handle on the edge, so hopefully he gets that call up,\u201d Cotter said following the Cowboys win over Sydney Roosters.<\/p>\n
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\n Heilum Luki on the charge for the Cowboys in the win against the Roosters.
\n \u00a9Anthony Kourembanas \/ NRL Images
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<\/p>\n
Luki first appeared in an Origin camp in 2024, but has since had \u201crotten luck\u201d, as coach Todd Payten put it, suffering his second ACL injury not long after.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year was tough for him, but you get what you deserve in our game\u2026 if you put in the hard work, things will turn your way, and he\u2019s done all the work,\u201d Payten said.<\/p>\n
Luki, off the back of a stellar team performance against the Roosters where they claimed an 18-12 win , said it was \u201cone of the best wins I\u2019ve ever been part of\u201d.<\/p>\n
One his team hopes throws him into contention for an Origin call-up on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did really well to win that game, especially with the sin bins,\u201d Luki said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought once Reuben went off, we really bit down on the mouthguard and found an extra effort throughout that 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
“We just scrapped really hard and showed a lot of heart throughout the whole game.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the cusp of Origin when he did his second ACL, Luki said he tried not to focus on the negative, he just focused on getting back.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I just took it week-by-week,\u201d Luki said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got stuck into my rehab and didn\u2019t think too much about it.<\/p>\n
“It was my second ACL, so I knew what to expect.<\/p>\n
“Coming back I was a bit nervous, but I\u2019ve just made sure I\u2019ve done my job each week\u2026 kept trying to build each week.<\/p>\n
\u201c(My) goal for this year is to finish the year healthy and another goal is to play representative footy, so I just need to keep working hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luki said a call from Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater \u201cwould mean the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I\u2019ve had a goal to play rep footy for a long time now\u2026 had a bit of a taste as to what it\u2019s like a couple of years ago when I got called into the squad,” Luki said.<\/p>\n
“If anything, that just made me hungrier to get back there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I did get the call, I\u2019d take it with two hands and put my best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luki is spoilt for choice when it comes to looking up to fellow Cowboys who have played Origin; he noted Johnathan Thurston as a stand-out and Cotter.<\/p>\n
\u201cReuben Cotter\u2019s had his share of injuries as well, and it\u2019s a testament to his hard work that he\u2019s come back, put his head down and he\u2019s one of the best players we have in our league,\u201d Luki said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s someone who leads the club and sets a great example for the boys\u2026 definitely someone I look up to.<\/p>\n
“I try to strive to be like him\u2026 he\u2019s such a competitor \u2014 a perfect Origin player. I\u2019m super happy to have him\u2026 he\u2019s such a great player to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Queensland Maroons team will be announced on 9am Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is North Queensland Cowboys second rower Heilum Luki ready for the State of Origin arena? \u201cBloody oath\u201d –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-432118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}