Luke Douglas

Luke Douglas
Personal information
Full nameLuke Archibald Douglas[1]
Born (1986-05-12) 12 May 1986 (age 38)
Yamba, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006–11 Cronulla Sharks 146 10 0 0 40
2012–16 Gold Coast Titans 117 4 0 0 16
2017–19 St Helens 59 6 0 0 24
2019(loan) → Leigh Centurions 27 6 0 0 24
Total 349 26 0 0 104
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007–11 Prime Minister's XIII 3 2 0 0 8
2012 NSW Country 1 0 0 0 0
2013–17 Scotland 10 1 0 0 4
Source: [2][3]

Luke Archibald Douglas (born 12 May 1986) is a Scotland international former rugby league footballer who played as a prop.

Douglas played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL from 2006 to 2016. He also played for St Helens in the Super League in 2017 and 2018, and on loan from the St. Helens at the Leigh Centurions in the 2019 Championship, after which he retired from the sport.

Through ancestral eligibility, he represented Scotland at the 2013 World Cup, 2016 Four Nations and the 2017 World Cup.

Early career

Douglas was born in Yamba, New South Wales, Australia to parents Archibald Christopher (Chris) and Patricia (Trish) Douglas. He is of Scottish descent through his paternal grandfather, Archibald, who moved from Glasgow to Maclean, New South Wales.[1][4] Douglas' brother is Australian rugby union representative Kane Douglas.[5]

Douglas played junior rugby league for the Yamba Eagles and Lower Clarence Magpies.

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Douglas made his first-grade debut for Cronulla in its season-opener against the Brisbane Broncos in round 2, 2006.[6]

In 2007, Douglas was selected for Country Origin but withdrew by claiming “injury” at the request of his club coach, Ricky Stuart.[7] Controversially, Douglas then played 24 hours later for Cronulla.

In 2010, he was picked as 18th man for the New South Wales State of Origin team for the third match of the series, but he didn't play. He later played the only domestic representative match of his career for Country Origin in 2012.

Between his first grade debut in round 2, 2006 and round 23, 2014, inclusive, he never missed a first-grade match through injury or suspension. His run of 215 games straight is the NRL record for most consecutive appearances,[8] and the most from debut.[9] He surpassed the previous record of 194, held by Jason Taylor, on 10 March 2014 against his former club, Cronulla. His coach, John Cartwright, said his record was "remarkable, especially playing in the front row - he plays pretty big minutes as well."[9]

On 20 April 2011, it was announced that Douglas had signed a three-year contract with the Gold Coast Titans.[10]

Douglas’s unbroken streak of NRL matches since came to an end in August 2014 when he was one of several past and present Sharks players to accept a year-long ban, backdated to 21 November 2013, as part of ASADA's investigation into the club's controversial supplements program.[11]

Gold Coast Titans

After four turbulent years at the Titans, during which the club failed to qualify for the finals and was rocked by numerous scandals, Douglas departed the Gold Coast and signed a three-year deal with Super League club St Helens R.F.C.[12][13]

St Helens

On 25 January 2019, it was confirmed that St Helens had an agreed a one-month loan deal with Leigh for Douglas.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Robinson, Georgina (16 November 2013). "Kane Douglas embraces life after mum's death". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  2. ^ loverugbyleague
  3. ^ Rugby League Project
  4. ^ Ferrie, Kevin (24 October 2013). "Mum's the word as Douglas seeks happier ending". The Herald (Scotland). Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  5. ^ Tucker, Jim (13 September 2012). "Titans NRL star Luke Douglas cheering on brother Wallaby Kane". Adelaide Now.
  6. ^ White, Tony (18 March 2006). "A Shark is born". Daily Examiner. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  7. ^ Ricketts, Steve (12 January 2012). "Titans recruit Luke Douglas reveals representative jumper angst after fake injury". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014.
  8. ^ "State of No-rigin: the best never picked". NRL.com. 16 May 2014.
  9. ^ a b Dean Ritchie (21 March 2012). "Gold Coast Titans prop Luke Douglas eyes consecutive games record". Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  10. ^ ABC Sport - Titans snap up Douglas
  11. ^ The ASADA ban has ended Gold Coast Titan Luke Douglas’ record run of 215 consecutive NRL games, Gold Coast Bulletin, 22 August 2014
  12. ^ "St Helens sign Gold Coast Titans forward". BBC Sport.
  13. ^ "Gold Coast Titans taken over by NRL, placed in voluntary administration after drugs scandal". ABC News. 24 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Leigh confirm Luke Douglas loan deal". Love Rugby League. 25 January 2019.