The following year he moved to the Sydney Roosters where he would remain for the rest of his career. His performance for the club at fullback in their 2000 NRL Grand Final loss to the Brisbane Broncos drew glowing praise.[6] The Roosters made the 2002 NRL Grand Final and Phillips played at fullback in the winning side with a shoulder injury that was later operated on in the off-season. Phillips' form at the back saw Roosters coach Ricky Stuart keep Brett Mullins on the wing (Mullins is a former teammate of both Stuart and Phillips at the Raiders in 1996 and was also the first choice fullback for the Australian test team (alongside Stuart who was the test Halfback) on the 1994 Kangaroo tour).[7] However he retired during the first half of the 2003 NRL season after failing to recover.[8]
Refereeing career
At a Sydney Roosters function sometime after his retirement, Luke Phillips was still trying to decide what to in life after football. It was there that former Grand Final and State of Origin winning coach Phil Gould said to him "Why don't you have a go at refereeing? The NRL is looking for players who want to pick up a whistle". Phillips, looking for a way to stay involved in the game, decided to give it a go, though he initially believed he wouldn't enjoy it.
After spending most of 2010 refereeing in the NSW Cup (reserve grade), Luke Phillips made his first grade debut as a referee on 21 August for a Round 24 match of the 2010 NRL season at AAMI Park in Melbourne as the Melbourne Storm defeated Cronulla 24–4. He then made a further three appearances in the 2011 NRL season while mostly officiating in the 2011 NSW Cup. He spent all of 2012 refereeing in the NSW Cup, though he has since become a regular first grade referee in the 2013 NRL season.