The son of a Kiwi rugby league legend is paying attention to his dad

Director Luke Graham didn’t have to look far for the subject of his latest documentary. He turned his attention to his father: Kiwi rugby league legend Mark Graham.

Mark’s distinguished playing career included 29 Tests for the Kiwis between 1977 and 1988, including 18 as captain. He also made 150 appearances for North Sydney and was the Dally M second rower in 1981 and 1982.

He was First Kiwi inducted into NRL Hall of Fame and in 2007 was named New Zealand’s player of the century.

Luke’s documentary about his father, Sharkofeatures interviews with some of the greatest players of the era and some incredible footage from training and games in which Mark played.

“Dad was going to come home to come back here to Auckland for the reunion of the 1977 Auckland team that beat France, England and Australia (back then) they were all just amateurs and a lot of these gentlemen who were in the team went on to be great Kiwi,” says Luke Nine to noon.

“I came with him on the trip and my dad tried to push me to do a story, a documentary about this team. Through all those experiences with my dad and spending time together, what I really wanted to tell was my father’s story.

“He’s my idol and to this day he’s the person I look up to and I love rugby more than any other sport. So it was very easy for me to pass it on to my dad.”

As he rose through the ranks, Mark’s skills made him a prime target for rival players, with documentary footage showing the legendary but modest player getting knocked out on several occasions.

“This video was very easy to find, very easy,” Luke says.

“That’s how it was. And you just accepted and you kept doing it,” Mark says, adding that he remembers how even people who didn’t believe in God would ask him to pray before going on the field.

“It was a brutal game at the time and you didn’t know if you could pray after it.”

But the documentary isn’t just about rugby – it delves into the relationship between the duo, who say they’ve always been close, and the family tragedy they endured when his other son, Matthew, took his own life aged 13. .

“A lot of people go through ups and downs, and having someone… like my father, I understand what it takes to be his kid, what it takes to reach the top, the extreme effort and focus even to this day, he’s still “It’s very, very important , to let people know what it takes to be my father and the ups and downs we go through as human beings,” says Luke.

“By showing this story, if we can help someone else, if we can help save other people, if we can help change people’s ideas and help educate them, then I’m happy and I’ve done my job.”

It’s easy to look at successful people and think they have it all, Mark says, but he wants to convey that “we’re all in the same boat.”

“We all often say that we often spend a lot of time in the gutter… and then sometimes you get up and it’s your attitude, your state of mind that gets you off the deck and your will to keep going is something we’ve all got.. .Some people just need to discover it.

Luke says that from a young age he quickly realized what his father meant to other people, and that in order to be the best he had to sacrifice a lot of time away from home, trying to combine a nine-to-five job with sports , which he loved. .

“They (back in the day) had a few jobs and they liked playing football and if they got paid for it, they were lucky,” says Luke.

“I realized what dad had to do to be the best. And I tried to incorporate that into my life and my career as a director as best I could, and making movies is extremely difficult.

“And one of the reasons I chose it was because I thought it would be one of the hardest things in the world. And I wanted to do my best and with such an understanding of what my father went through.”

Sharko debuted in New Zealand at the Doc Edge Film Festival. It opens in theaters nationwide from November 7.