Luke Ricketson

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Luke Ricketson
fullname = Luke Ricketson
nickname = Ricko


caption =
country =
position = Lock
currentclub =
dateofbirth = birth date|1973|2|5|mf=y
placeofbirth = Forster
countryofbirth = Australia
height =
weight =
club1 = Eastern Suburbs
year1start = 1991
year1end = 2005
appearances1 = 301
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 = 162
teamA = City Origin
yearAstart = 1996
yearAend = 1997
appearancesA = 2
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA = 2
teamB = New South Wales
yearBstart = 1999
yearBend = 2003
appearancesB = 10
triesB =
goalsB =
fieldgoalsB =
pointsB = 8
teamC = Ireland
yearCstart = 2000
yearCend =
appearancesC = 4
triesC =
goalsC =
fieldgoalsC =
pointsC = 4
teamD = Australia
yearDstart = 2003
yearDend =
appearancesD = 4
triesD =
goalsD =
fieldgoalsD =
pointsD = 4
updated =
source =
new = yes

Luke Ricketson is a former Australian rugby league player who played for the Sydney Roosters. Some of former Easts player, Doug Ricketson, "Ricko" as he was known, became, over the course of his career, one of the most respected players to pull on the Red White and Blue of the Bondi club. He was known mostly for his tireless work in defence, where he set a benchmark for effort. Ricketson was not a typical Lock forward, in that his main asset wasn't his ability to run the ball, and pass it.

Ricketson started out his First Grade career as a winger or centre, and gradually moved closer to the action in the middle of the field as his career went on. He was picked in representative teams (NSW and Australia) due to his reading of the opposition attack, and his ability to be in the right place to make tackles, and to stop the big opposition forwards from making too much ground. In the latter stages of his career, he began to run the ball more often, and take the pressure off some of his bigger teammates.

One interesting fact about the early part of Ricketson's career is that his debut game of first grade for the Roosters coincided with the final game of two of the great players of the 80's and early 90's, Kiwi International Hugh McGahan, and Manly, Queensland and Kangaroo legend Paul "Fatty" Vautin, who played out his last two seasons of first grade with the Roosters.

He appeared on the fourth series on the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars.

References

[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/22/1058853076248.html Like father like son] "The Sydney Morning Herald" [http://groups.msn.com/SydneyRoostersFansGroup/lukerickerston.msnw]

External links

* [http://www.stateoforigin.com.au/SOOgame/PlayerDetails.aspx?Pid=233 State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/static/in_depth/rugby_league/2000/world_cup/team_profiles/ireland.stm Ireland squad]
* [http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rleague/08/02/03/RUGBYL_Ireland.html Ricketson - helped Ireland reach last eight in 2000]