NEW Super League signing Luke Keary admits he was “embarrassed” over his decision to retire midway through the 2024 NRL season before backflipping to join Catalans Dragons for 2025.
Keary, just 32, has signed a two-year deal with the French side as head coach Steve McNamara looks to inspire a better 2025 following a seventh-placed finish in 2024.
But, following a series of concussions and injuries, the Ireland international intended to hang up his boots before a conversation with Sydney Roosters boss Trent Robinson changed his and family’s future.
“I remember driving back from Canberra and Robbo [Trent Robinson] pulled me down the front of the bus and said, ‘I wasn’t going to tell you this but I will because I might regret it one day’,” Keary told the Run Home with Joel and Fletch show.
“He said, ‘Steve McNamara called me and asked if there is a chance of going over there?’ It was the first time I ever thought about it and it felt right.
“I don’t know, I just sat on it. I actually sat on it for a few days and told my wife the next week and then the more I thought about it, the opportunity. We were going really well too at the Roosters so I felt like maybe I still had a little bit of this in me.
“But I’m so happy that I did. I was honestly embarrassed like, I’d retired. I was starting to sort out what I was trying to do and all these things, and then all of a sudden I’ve had to kind of backflip. I feel really good about it now, I’m really excited, and the family’s excited.”
Keary joins Tevita Pangai Junior, Oliver Partington, Tommy Makinson and Nick Cotric in making the move to the Stade Gilbert Brutus for 2025.
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