It may have been Luke Lewis’s 17th season in the NRL but there were few signs of him slowing down or of the wear and tear involved with playing over 300 games, with the veteran of his team’s most consistent performers in 2017.
Reached the 300-game milestone late in the year, about the same time he was running like a teenager, taking 90-metre intercepts and having a huge impact on the Sharks results.
Amongst the fittest players in the squad, Lewis rarely missed a training session and was absent with injury for just two games, making it little surprise that the Sharks chose to extend his career into an 18th year.
Very few players can run the lines Lewis does in attack, or hit harder in defence as an edge defender, which all adds up to him being an extremely valuable member of the Sharks team.
And more of the same can be expected next year, with Lewis to again lead the way for the Sharks in 2018.
Season highlight: There were many memorable moments for Lewis in 2017, with picking highlights somewhat difficult. Two remarkable touches however stand out and they came in consecutive matches. If a 90-metre intercept try in the game against Manly in round 16 wasn’t enough, Lewis repeated the dose when he pounced on a Jake Friend cut-out in the win over the Roosters the following week, again showing that there is still plenty of life left in those legs when he sprinted over 80-metres to again touchdown. Two standout highlights for a player who seems to be getting better with age.
2017 Stats: Luke Lewis
Games played: 23
Tries: 6
Runs: 186
Run Metres: 1913
Hit ups: 146
Line breaks: 7
Off loads: 10
Tackles: 612
