Luke Ricketson (born 5 February 1973) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

international, and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

representative back-row forward, he played his entire club football career for the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

of the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

(NRL).

Early life

Ricketson was born in

Forster, New South Wales Forster is a coastal town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Coast Council LGA, about 308 km north-north-east of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to its twin, Tuncurry, which is the smaller of the two ...

, Australia. Son of former Easts player, Doug Ricketson. He started playing junior rugby league at the age of seven for Bondi United in 1980. He was then graded with

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

as a local junior, debuting in first grade in round 22 of 1991 season.

Playing career

Ricketson started out his First Grade career as a , and gradually moved closer to the action in the middle of the field as his career went on, generally playing in the centres until he was moved into the second row in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. Ricketson played at

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

for the Sydney Roosters in their 2000 NRL Grand Final loss to the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

David Jones Autumn Winter Launch (6880391119)

In 2002, Ricketson broke the record held by Roosters club legend

Kevin Hastings Kevin "Horrie" Hastings (born 5 January 1957) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and during the 1970s and 1980s. Hastings played for the Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), ...

(217) for the most club appearances. In 2014, Ricketson's eventual 301 caps, achieved upon his retirement in 2005 was overtaken by

Anthony Minichiello Anthony Minichiello (born 24 May 1980) is a former professional rugby league footballer who captained the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League, and retired having set records for most games and most tries in the club's history. An Austr ...

(302). This record was subsequently surpassed by

Mitchell Aubusson Mitchell Aubusson (born 1 October 1987) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who played as a and , spending his entire career with the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL). He won three NRL premierships wi ...

(306) in 2020. Ricketson played for the Roosters at lock forward in their 2002 NRL Grand Final victory against the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

. Having won the

2002 NRL Premiership The 2002 NRL season was the 95th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fifth to be run by the National Rugby League. The season was affected by the competition-leading Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' salary cap breach fi ...

, the Roosters traveled to England to play the

2003 World Club Challenge The 2003 World Club Challenge match was contested on Sunday, 16 February by National Rugby League season 2002 premiers, the Sydney Roosters and Super League VII premiers, St. Helens. 19,807 spectators turned out at Bolton's Reebok Stadium for th ...

against

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

champions,

St Helens R.F.C. St Helens R.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside who compete in the Super League, the top tier for rugby league in Great Britain. They are the current Champions, having won the last 4 consecutive titles, and becom ...

Ricketson played at lock forward in Sydney's victory. In the

2003 NRL grand final The 2003 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the 2003 NRL season. In what was a contest of Sydney's east versus west, defending premiers the Sydney Roosters played against minor premiers the Penrith Panthers. The ...

, he played at lock forward for the Roosters in their loss to the Panthers. Ricketson retired from rugby league after the

2005 NRL season The 2005 NRL season was the 98th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the eighth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen teams contesting the 2005 Telst ...

having played 301 games for the Roosters, the last season as captain. He played his 300th (and penultimate) game in round 25, 2005, against the

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

; the Roosters marked the milestone by winning the match 17–10.

Representative career

In 1996, Ricketson was first picked for

City Origin The Sydney Rugby League team, known as the City Rugby League team, or Combined Sydney, or Sydney Firsts, or Sydney Capitals, is a representative rugby league team. From 2021, the men's team is to consist of players selected from the New South Wa ...

. He played again for City in 1997 but had to wait until 1999 to make his

début for

NSW ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, coming off the bench in all three games. He made his international début when he played four games for

at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. Ricketson made his début for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 2003 playing in two tests at

against New Zealand. After that he was selected to go on the 2003 Kangaroo tour, on which he played all three tests against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

as Australia retained

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

winning all three games. Ricketson scored two tries in the last test at the

McAlpine Stadium MacAlpine, McAlpine, MacAlpin or McAlpin is a Scottish surname. It may refer to: People * The Scottish House of Alpin * Its claimed descendants, the Siol Alpin and/or Clan McAlpin(e) * Kenneth MacAlpin, founder of said dynasty * His brother and ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

Post playing

He appeared on the fourth series on the Australian version of

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

Personal life

Ricketson is married to journalist Kate Waterhouse who is the daughter of horse trainer

Gai Waterhouse Gabriel Marie "Gai" Waterhouse (née Smith; born 2 September 1954) is an Australian horse trainer and businesswoman. The daughter of Tommy J. Smith, a leading trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses, Waterhouse was born and raised in Sydney. After ...

. They have 2 children.http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/adorable-arrival-kate-waterhouse-and-luke-ricketson-welcome-gorgeous-new-bub/news-story/07ca8086a935f3737df57e403d41a28d

References

External links

NRL profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricketson, Luke 1973 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian people of Irish descent Australian rugby league players Ireland national rugby league team players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Prime Minister's XIII captains Prime Minister's XIII players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from New South Wales Rugby league second-rows Sydney Roosters players Sydney Roosters captains