Issac Luke's bid to become an 80 minute player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs Isaac Luke and the Rabbitohs celebrate his try in the 2012 Preliminary Final against the Bulldogs. Picture: Rohan Kelly Source: The Daily Telegraph RABBITOHS ace Issac Luke has thanked coach Michael Maguire for showing him tough love, describing last season's dumping as the "kick up the arse I needed." Of all the change he generated last season, Maguire's call to axe the Kiwi ace on finals eve best illustrated the cultural and disciplinary transformation at Redfern. Luke was dropped for lapsing on and off the field, but returned a changed player who ran amok through the ruck in South Sydney's semi-final win over Canberra. The 25-year-old rake also returned to pre-season training last November a week earlier than required in a bid to become an 80-minute player this season. Speaking for the first time about last season's sacking, Luke yesterday accepted full responsibility for dropping his standards below what is now expected under Maguire. Breaking curfew and getting into a training stoush might not be the most severe breaches, but Luke has learned the hard way they won't be tolerated. "I didn't do anything that bad, but I was naughty," he said. Madge changed the club around and had everyone on the same page. I didn't go off the rails or anything like that. But I did put expectations on myself at the start of last year and I broke my own rules. It was my awakening. It was the kick up the arse I needed. We've all got to grow up some day and you can't be 21 every year. I have to put ownership on myself and I take full responsibility for the consequences. The maturation of Luke, already a father in his early 20s, took another step when he married after last October's Trans-Tasman Test in Townsville. But the newlyweds have postponed their honeymoon until the conclusion of this year's World Cup in November, with Luke grabbing the rare opportunity to complete a full pre-season. After sharing hooking duties with Nathan Peats last year, Luke is determined to make the spot his own. "I came back a week early with all the other boys, because I've not really had a full pre-season since 2008," Luke said. I've always managed to make the Kiwis team, and usually those boys don't start serious training until early in the New Year. Hopefully it will help me out at the end of this season. I want to try and get fitter and stay out there as long as I can. I can't run like I do for 80 minutes if I don't do the extra work. That's my goal, but Peatsy is there too and he's a quality player. He's always pushing me and keeping me on my toes. Luke's other goal is to erase the pain of coming so close to his first grand final berth. Souths bowed out to Canterbury on the penultimate weekend after losing halfback Adam Reynolds late in the first half. Luke took over at No.7 but conceded he was not ready to make the switch in such a high stakes game. "I thought if that little punk arse (Reynolds) didn't get injured, we were a chance," he said. I went to the halves and I didn't know what was happening. They threw everything at me and there were a lot of linebreaks up the middle. I don't want to take anything away from the Bulldogs, but it would've been a good game if he stayed on. I would rather lose in the grand final than that game. It has given us a lot of hunger to get back there as a team. And in my dreams we can go even better.