Heilum Luki
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 11 April 2001 Cairns, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 20 September 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heilum Luki (born 11 April 2001) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.
Background
Born in Cairns, Queensland, Luki is of Niuean and Samoan descent and played his junior rugby league for the Cairns Brothers.[2]
He attended Cairns State High School before being signed by the North Queensland Cowboys.[3]
Playing career
Early career
In 2017, Luki represented the Niue under-16 team at the Pasifika Youth Cup in New Zealand.[4]
In 2018 and 2019, Luki played for the Northern Pride in the Mal Meninga Cup.[5][6] In 2019, he moved up to the Pride's Hastings Deering Colts under-20 side.[7] In June 2019, he played for the North Queensland under-18 side in an exhibition game against the Gold Coast under-18s, being named man of the match in North Queensland's 14–6 win.[8]
On 7 October 2020, Luki signed a development contract with the North Queensland club, joining their NRL squad.[9]
2021
Luki began the 2021 NRL season playing for the Pride in the Queensland Cup.[10] In round 11 of the 2021 NRL season, Luki made his NRL debut against Newcastle, scoring a try in North Queensland's 36–20 win.[11]
2022
Luki played 14 matches for North Queensland in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Luki did not feature in the finals series which saw North Queensland lose to Parramatta in the preliminary final.[12]
2023
In round 11 of the 2023 NRL season, Luki scored two tries for North Queensland in their 42-22 victory over St. George Illawarra.[13] Luki played 13 games for North Queensland in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.[14]
2024
In round 20 of the 2024 NRL season, Luki scored two tries for North Queensland in their 20-18 victory over Canterbury.[15] Luki played 19 games for North Queensland in the 2024 NRL season as they finished 5th on the table. Luki played in both finals games for North Queensland as they were eliminated in the second week by Cronulla.[16] On 21 December, Luki tore his ACL during a morning training session with the Cowboys, he was ruled out for the entire 2025 season.[17]
References
- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ "Cairns' Cowboys young gun Heilum Luki named for NRL debut". The Cairns Post. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Queensland Under 15 schoolboys teams". QRL. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Samoa and Maori claim honours in inaugural Pasifika Youth Cup". Asia Pacific RL. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "QRL U18 Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup - 2019 Round 1". LeagueUnlimited. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "QRL U18 Mal Meninga Cup - 2018 Round 7". LeagueUnlimited. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "2019 Hastings Deering Colts Round 15". LeagueUnlimited. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Junior Cowboys too strong on the Gold Coast". NQ Cowboys. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Cowboys promote four young guns to NRL squad for 2021". NQ Cowboys. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "13 Cowboys named for Q-Cup's opening round". NQ Cowboys. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Cowboys team list: Round 11 v Knights". NQ Cowboys. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "'See it in their eyes': The late-season pact and 'massive sacrifice' behind Eels surge". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Raiders beat Parramatta Eels in Canberra, Rabbitohs and Cowboys also win". www.abc.net.au.
- ^ "NRL 2023: North Queensland Cowboys season review". www.sportingnews.com.
- ^ "Cowboys hang on after FIVE lead changes as Bulldogs star survives injury scare: What we learned". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "The Mole: Cowboys show improvement in 2024 but worrying finals stat sparks thorny question". www.nine.com.au.
- ^ "Injury update: Heilum Luki". North Queensland Cowboys. 21 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.