{"id":335759,"date":"2023-10-02T21:34:38","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T21:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=335759"},"modified":"2023-10-03T00:02:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T00:02:27","slug":"family-tragedy-on-stars-long-path-to-grand-final-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=335759","title":{"rendered":"Family tragedy on star's long path to grand final glory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout the Penrith Panthers<\/a> side, there are players now wearing three premiership rings. With the majority at a young age, their time in the NRL has been surrounded by success.<\/p>\n

However, Luke Garner<\/a>'s journey to his maiden premiership hasn't been so simple.<\/p>\n

The passing of his father from a heart attack in 2019 was a major shock for the hard-working footballer who was born in Dubbo, but grew up in Nyngan before relocating to the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Kangaroos bolter 'impossible to deny' as skipper faces axe\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Rugby Australia spills on 'bitterly disappointing' World Cup<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> Australian Open makes big change after 4.05am finish<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Before that tragic event, Garner toiled for his NRL debut.<\/p>\n

Stints at Manly and the Roosters led to many under 20s and reserve-grade appearances. \ufeff<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bx1qyixFPzf\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2018, his coach Ivan Cleary handed him his debut at Wests Tigers. Six appearances followed that season before Michael Maguire took over from Cleary the next year.<\/p>\n

Garner's father Mark died in May, and despite admitting previously that his form struggled, the second-rower's career kicked on as he became a regular at the Tigers before being reunited with Cleary at the Panthers this year.<\/p>\n

Now he's a premiership winner<\/a>, and \ufeffthe 28-year-old has no doubt his father would be beaming with pride.<\/p>\n

"He'd be f—ing proud, he'd be super stoked," Garner told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

"Just very happy, very happy."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the Panthers sheds post-game, the euphoria around a phenomenal comeback win was clear.<\/p>\n

"Firstly, I want to thank everybody in this room and anyone who has ever supported us," coach Cleary said.<\/p>\n

"It's been a long journey. I know this year's team has been an incredible team, that's one thing, but this is also part of three in a row.<\/p>\n

"There are people here who have done so much for this team and club \u2013 players, coaches, staff members, they're all a part of this three-peat.<\/p>\n

"This group, man, I love you guys so much."<\/p>\n

\"Cleary's<\/p>\n

Garner was one of many players surrounded by family and friends \ufeffand it was a moment he'll savour for a long time.<\/p>\n

"It means the world, there's no one else I'd rather be here," he said.<\/p>\n

"They mean the world to me, they're a big part of the reason why I'm here and they've all come on the journey with me."<\/p>\n

With six years in the NRL, the length of time it took to reach the pinnacle of the sport wasn't lost on the second-rower, reflecting on \ufeffhis journey from the bush to the big time.<\/p>\n

\"2023<\/p>\n

"I think (a premiership is) what every young NRL player dreams of, \ufeffor even a young footy player when you're first starting out," he said.<\/p>\n

"It took me a fair few years now but I've finally got there."<\/p>\n

With the premiership ring on his finger, the achievement was a full-circle moment for Garner who went from a wooden spoon at the Tigers last year to grand final victory.<\/p>\n

\ufeffFor him, the best part of joining the Panthers has come from the culture created by Cleary and his players.<\/p>\n

"Sometimes you think about footy a bit like work sometimes, you sort of get humbled in pre-season and stuff like that, but they create a really fun environment," he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout the Penrith Panthers side, there are players now wearing three premiership rings. With the majority at a young age, their time in the NRL […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":335761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=335759"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335763,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335759\/revisions\/335763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/335761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=335759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=335759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=335759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}