Shorty gets sporty LUKE'S LUCKY FLUKE ​​​​​​​

Aussie Rules was in his past and now it’s in his future too

These days, he’s a big star on New Zealand’s top-rating soap, but Shortland Street’s Luke Patrick might never have gone into acting if it wasn’t for a broken bone.

The die-hard Aussie Rules fan had been prepped for a professional career playing for the Australian Football League until an opponent kicked him in the shin, snapping his tibia and putting paid to his days of sporting heroics at the age of 17.

“I was pretty much born with a football in my hands,” says Luke, 32, who plays bad-boy triplet Frank Connelly on the hit TVNZ 2 drama. “It was so much a part of me, I felt lost without it. My dream was gone and I didn’t walk properly for over a year. I’m still recovering, to be honest.”