Luke Lewis has admitted to having some fear about what comes next – but also excitement – after retiring from the NRL.
Lewis scored a try in his final match as he captained Cronulla to their 22-6 preliminary final loss to Melbourne on Friday night.
The 35-year-old back-rower finishes his career as a veteran of 324 NRL games where he won two premierships and a Clive Churchill Medal. Lewis also played 17 State of Origin matches for NSW and 16 Tests for Australia.
Lewis has been a firm fan favourite since arriving in the shire from Penrith at the start of the 2013 season for his hard-hitting and at times brutal defence, strong running game and no-nonsense approach.
“To be brutally honest I’m pretty hollow,” Lewis said.
“Obviously I wanted to play next week, it would have been a nice way to finish up your career.
“To think that it’s all over is pretty scary. Something that I’m looking forward to, I suppose what’s next. There’s a bit of fear there. But [also] excitement.
“I’ve been told what to do for so long over the last 18 years. Where to be, what time to be there, where I’ve got to go to physio. Practical jokes all the time, especially by [Shane Flanagan].
“All those little things I just feel like it’s all gone, just like that to be honest.
“But I think when I sit back with a bit of time to myself and reflect I’ll probably have a little bit of a tear. Not in a bad way but probably just more of a sense of accomplishment but at the same time just to reflect and go over everything I’ve had the opportunity to do.
“I suppose there’ll be a lot of phone calls to go out as well, I’d like to thank a lot of people who helped me get to where I am today.”
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan signed Lewis at a time when their only real representative-quality player was captain Paul Gallen.
With his ability as a player on the field and professionalism off it, Lewis helped improve Cronulla’s culture to the point of leading the Sharks to their historic maiden premiership in 2016.
“Luke has been a fantastic player since he came to the club,” Flanagan said.
“What he’s done for me as a coach and the playing group young and old within our roster has been fantastic. Obviously when I first recruited him the plan was to get quality rep players into our club so we would be a top four team.
“And we wanted to make sure we were a top four team so we gave ourselves a chance to win the comp. We did that in ‘16, we did it again this year. We’ve been a top four team, you give yourself a chance.
“We weren’t good enough [against Melbourne] but that shouldn’t reflect on what a career Luke has had. He’s been fantastic for Australia, for NSW, for Penrith and for the Sharks it’s a fantastic career.
“It’s unfortunate he had to go out today but that’s not going to put a shadow over what a fantastic career he’s had.”
