For every Blayke Brailey, who on Saturday celebrates his almost-uninterrupted passage to 150 NRL games, there are 100 stories of pain and heartache to remind Cronulla’s hooker never to take his dream run for granted.
Brailey’s elder brother Jayden has a few such tales to tell, after tearing two ACLs and rupturing an Achilles tendon during his six seasons with Newcastle.
So too does a former teammate who will return to Shark Park on Saturday after emerging, somewhat belatedly, as one of the hottest prospects in the NRL, Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf.
Brailey and Metcalf were born less than six months apart, but a cruel run of injuries has left the latter 111 games in arrears, restricting him to 38 top-grade appearances since he debuted for Cronulla, alongside Brailey, in 2021.
Brailey is the current ironman of the NRL, having strung together 115 consecutive appearances. The closest current player to him is Canberra centre Matt Timoko with 95.
Meanwhile, a knee reconstruction, a broken leg and recurring hamstring issues, which prompted him to seek treatment from American reconditioning specialist Bill Knowles, all conspired to keep Metcalf sidelined for long stretches.
Luke Metcalf’s impressive form this season had him leading the race for the Dally M gold medal.Credit: Getty Images
But as the 26-year-old showed when he set sail from dummy-half against South Sydney last week and raced 80 metres to score, he’s now physically capable of realising the potential that he first showcased in 2017 with a hat-trick of tries for NSW under-18s against Queensland.
The Coffs Harbour product was leading the Dally M polling when it went behind closed doors and has steered the third-placed Warriors to nine wins from 12 games in 2025.
“That’s been the story of my career so far, so it’s been pretty cool to actually get some consistent game time,” Metcalf said of his injury battles.
“It’s a new challenge in itself, just playing week in, week out. It’s the first season I’ve been able to do that, and I’m loving it.
Luke Metcalf during his time at Cronulla.Credit: Getty Images
“There’s something every week that I can work on. Stuff I can get better at. I’m just loving the challenge of being a halfback in the NRL.
“There’s always something you can do better. I just love trying to chase that feeling of perfection. Obviously you probably never get there, but you’ve got to keep trying.”
Far from being overawed by the responsibility of replacing club legend Shaun Johnson, who retired at the end of last season, Metcalf has embraced the challenge.
“You think about the guys who have worn the [Warriors] No.7 jersey – ‘Brandy’ [Greg] Alexander, Stacey Jones, Shaun Johnson – it’s a privilege to be able to wear it on my back,” he said.
I’m just loving the challenge of being a halfback in the NRL.
Luke Metcalf
“And hopefully if I can have a career like those guys, that’d be pretty cool.”
Only one other Warriors player, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in 2018, has won the Dally M medal, and while Metcalf was excited to be in contention, he recognises that such accolades hinge on team success.
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed it,” he said.
“But I’ve just got to keep playing football and helping the Warriors win games. That’s my job, and anything else comes off the back of that.”
Blayke Brailey will play his 150th game for the Sharks on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
Warriors coach Andrew Webster, who predicted earlier this season that Metcalf is “going to be a great player”, said his instinctive try against Souths was just a glimpse of his skill set.
“The funny thing is, by his standards and what Luke wants to be, he knows he’s got a lot of improvement in him,” Webster said.
“But he finds a way to have a moment like that in every game. He saw the marker wasn’t there, and he dummied and took off. That was a big moment and a big play for us …
“Luke’s fast, he sees the moment, and he takes it. I just felt like it was a team try. He’s the guy finishing it off, but I felt like the whole team had a big part in those moments.
“But he’s certainly finding a way to have those.”
Brailey said it was no surprise to see Metcalf’s rise this season.
“Obviously injuries are part of the game, and my brother has had many of them,” Brailey said.
“I’ve seen how he’s coped with that, the ups and downs of the NRL … it’s great to see him [Metcalf] relishing that role.
“He’s leading that team around nicely. Hopefully, he plays well, but not too well against us.”
Sharks prop Addin Fonua-Blake, who played alongside Metcalf at the Warriors, has noted his former teammate’s steady improvement.
“He brings excitement to that team,” he said. “He’s a level head. He’s been playing out of his skin this year.
“The boys on the edge have a lot of hard work on their hands trying to contain him, but I back the boys to get their job done.”
Brailey, meanwhile, has time on his side and a chance to eventually double his career games tally and join the NRL’s exclusive “300 club”, and maybe challenge Paul Gallen’s club record.
“That would be unbelievable, to get there,” he said.
“Obviously, not many players get to reach 300. I feel like I’m still young, I’m in good form, my body is feeling good. I know ‘Gal’ has 348, so I might try to run him down.”
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
