Luke Bateman on surviving a gambling addiction and the magic of his mum’s love

The former Canberra Raiders player on hiding his fantasy reading habits as a kid in Western Queensland, the joy of doing hard things, and how books brought him back from the brink. Warning: Discussion of suicide. Luke was a sensitive kid, growing up on a cattle station in Western Queensland.  He loved being transported by fantasy novels — following the quests, battles and magic they offered him. Luke found release in these books, beyond the hard work and zipped lips of the strong men he saw around him. Luke didn’t fit into that mould, though he did plenty of work on the farm and loved playing footy.  The sport helped him find a place to belong in his world. As a young man, he scored a place in the Canberra Raiders NRL team, and was introduced to the world of gambling. This quickly spiralled into an addiction, and Luke abused drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of this period. Despite being at the height of his young life, and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars each yea...