Bully, bully, bully, can't you see? Sometimes your runs just hypnotize me.

Being one of two high profile recruits was always going to put Issac Luke in a tricky spot. Each summer, NZ Warriors fans talk up their team's NRL chances and with Luke and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck making the move back to Aotearoa from the the Roosters and Rabbitohs, expectations soared through the roof.

It's hard not to argue as Tuivasa-Sheck was joining the Warriors hot off a record-breaking season with the Chooks and Luke had long been among the top-three hookers in the NRL, often not too far behind Cameron Smith in terms of the NRL's best. Tuivasa-Sheck suffered the worst case scenario and is out for the season while Luke has been left to deal with the disappointment of fans and pundits around Aotearoa. If it weren't for Shaun Johnson, Luke would be public enemy number one and for much of the early stages of the season it was Luke who was a major scapegoat for the Warriors poor form.

Much of the expectations around Luke came from his work with the Rabbitohs and many thought Luke would pick up where he had left off with the Bunnies in Auckland. It ended up being the opposite with Luke apparently showing up overweight and generally lacking the same oomph that gave the Rabbitohs a dynamic presence from dummy half. This line of thinking completely ignored Luke's off-season schedule, having traveled to England as co-captain of the Kiwis and Luke, like many internationals involved in this series, wouldn't have joined their NRL teams in full training until at least late December, if not mid-January.

Of course, Luke is a professional and many other internationals started the season in good form. Luke was joining a new club and it was always going to take time for him to truly settle into combinations with his new Warriors comrades, not to mention dealing with the extraordinary expectations us kiwis place on the Warriors ... led by pretty weird scrutiny from rugby-loving media.

Luke certainly started the season slowly, running the footy 3 times for 22m and 4 times for 22m in the first two games. Luke is a runner, that's his bread and butter so for him to not do what makes him a great dummy half was strange but we can consider this the adjustment period and, as expected, Luke has since settled into his work with the Warriors. It was just going to take some time.

Since round four, Luke has only had less than 7 runs/57m once. This came against the Panthers when he had 5 runs/46m and that round 10 game was the only game of Luke's past four outings in which he had less than 10 runs. Luke has actually been busy out of dummy half in every game since the round two loss to Brisbane...

vs Knights: 9 runs/60m.
vs Roosters: 14 runs/127m.
vs Sea Eagles: 8 runs/71m.
vs Bulldogs: 9 runs/74m.
vs Storm: 7 runs/57m.
vs Dragons: 12 runs/109m.
vs Panthers: 5 runs/46m.
vs Raiders: 12 runs/76m.
vs Broncos: 10 runs/61m.

Comparing Luke's running game to that of other hookers in the NRL also makes for pretty good reading as he and Mitch Rein average the most runs of any hookers (5.3 runs-per-game). Rein and Luke share this title, but Luke puts Rein in the shade in terms of average run metres with Luke averaging 65.9m and Rein averaging 58.6m.

So Luke averages the most runs and the most metres among the NRL's best hookers, as well as being second to only Robbie Farah in average offloads per game. Luke averages 0.9 offloads, Farah leads the NRL in averaging 1 offload a game. A further look into this though puts Luke ahead of Farah as Luke has offloaded in every game since round four vs Newcastle while Farah has played fewer games this season and only has three games in which he has put up an offload (1, 4, 2). Farah's last three games have not included an offload, Luke's had 4 offloads in his last three games.

Luke has given the Warriors great value with his minutes as well as he hasn't played less than 50 minutes in a game this season. Luke has played the full 80 minutes five times this season, but his best work tends to come when Luke is hovering around 55-60 minutes and in the last four games, Luke's played 59mins, 54mins, 65mins and 51mins. I loved the work of Jazz Tevaga as he is capable of playing alongside Luke, giving Luke a break from his dummy half duties with Tevaga also defending in the middle but it appears as though the best rotation includes Nathaniel Roache.

Roache more similar to Luke than Tevaga is. Tevaga is a rugged middle forward capable of doing a nice job at dummy half whereas Roache offers a more dynamic running threat. This ensures that Luke does get a brief spell on the sidelines which benefits Luke as he's more potent when he does not play 80 minutes and the Warriors don't lose too much for 10-15 minutes when Roache is on the park. Roache has a simple job and this is designed to get the best out of Luke.

As the Warriors start to nail down their impact through the middle - which starts with the likes of Manu Vatuvei, Solomone Kata, David Fusitua and Tuimoala Lolohea taking the early carries of a set coming out of their own territory - we can expect Luke to play a more prominent role. I've come to view Luke as the key benefactor of a quick play-the-ball instead of Luke sparking the go-forward; Luke is far more dangerous scooting out of dummy half against a slightly scrambled defensive line or markers who aren't set.

It was always going to take a bit of time for Tuivasa-Sheck and Luke to really establish combinations with their new Warriors comrades. Tuivasa-Sheck's out for the season and the proof is in the pudding with regards to Luke as he's clearly enjoyed more individual success with more experience in the Warriors' jersey this season.

The key thing for me though is that Luke is at his best when his team is rolling forward and he can then pounce on those opportunities. Luke is far less influential when his team is struggling as he must try conjure something from nothing and as the Warriors settle into having a similar team each week, expect Luke's influence to only increase.