Born: 9 November, 1981 – Goondiwindi, Australia Test record: 1 Test (2007) – 0 points
Born in Goondiwindi, Queensland, to an Australian mother and New Zealand father (Bruce, who hails from Gisborne), one-Test Kiwi Luke Covell was raised in Murwillumbah, a town in NSW’s Tweed Shire.
Covell was straight out of the Daryl Halligan mould on the wing – steady and reliable, rather than spectacular, but possessing great football sense and outstanding goalkicking ability. He made his NRL debut with Wests Tigers as a 21-year-old, scoring 130 points in his 2003 rookie year and representing Country Origin after joining Cronulla two years later.
A prolific pointscorer for the Sharks who crossed for his fair share of tries, Covell received a shock call-up from the New Zealand selectors at the end of 2007, but his sole appearance came to an end after just six minutes as the Kiwis suffered a record 58-0 loss to the Kangaroos in Wellington. The dislocated elbow setback ruled him out of the subsequent tour of Britain and France.
Though further Kiwis honours eluded him, Covell was the NRL’s top pointscorer in 2008 – scoring a career-high 15 tries among a season tally of 206 points – and played on with the Sharks until 2010, passing 150-game and 1,000-point milestones in first grade.
Covell returned home and played in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League competition for Murwillumbah Mustangs. He later represented the NSW Tertiary team in 2014 while studying at TAFE as part of a plumbing apprenticeship.
