"What the hell has got into you?!"
A short while after the Hunters and the Holdens moved in together, Lucas started 'acting up'. At first he became lax about chores and incessantly bickered with Matilda while generally being rude and ill-mannered at every opportunity. With the atmosphere around the house far from pleasant and Lucas not willing to open up about what was really going on, Tony was understandably frustrated and at loss as to what to do. The beginning of the end was when he confronted Lucas after he failed to return home for dinner. Not wanting to sit down with Tony and talk about his problems, Lucas punched his father in the face before later telling him and Beth in no uncertain terms that everything had been stuffed up since the two families moved in together. The next day Tony and Lucas talked again, only for their conversation to turn into a screaming match. With no apology for the previous night's behaviour and no visible understanding of what he'd done, Lucas was grounded and told that he couldn't leave the house unless he was going to school. Of course, there was a party on at the Surf Club that night and he felt he could test the boundaries by escaping through his bedroom window to go. The following day Tony was shocked to find a girl - Lee Morton - in Lucas's bed and told him not to get smart when he said that Tony had never told him he couldn't have friends over. The problems in the household escalated further when Beth found Lucas in the trashed Surf Club with Lee after a night of drinking. Tony was appauled at his son's behaviour and had a search on his hands when Lucas bolted from Noah's and was thought to be in the water. Tony couldn't believe it when it emerged that he was in fact back at home and gave him a stern talking to. But that wasn't the end of it and Lucas's association with troublemakers Hal and Lawrence was again going to put him in the bad books. When Tony discovered paint on Lucas's shirt - after he helped graffiti Barry Hyde's flat with the words "Rot in hell", "Killer" and "Murderer" - it hit home that something had to be done and soon. The plan was to arrest Lucas for what he had done so Sergeant Mcgrath could hopefully scare him into reconsidering his behaviour. The plan didn't work as well as planned to start off with, which angered Tony, but Lucas later opened up to Beth. When he revealed that his recent behaviour was because he was having great difficulty getting used to having a mum and following rules, Tony was much more able to understand his son. After a sincere apology, the two were back on track and Tony was as pleased as punch to have his son back.
"We've always been open with each other, Luc"
When Lee Morton collapsed at school and claimed that she was pregnant with Lucas's child, not only did Lucas probably feel like collapsing, Tony did to by the looks of it. Gobsmacked at the revelation, Tony wondered why he hadn't been open with him and told Lucas that this was the last thing he needed what with being seventeen and having his HSC to do. But when a picture of Lee and her teacher Mr Breyburn fell out of Lee's bag, Matilda soon discovered that things weren't quite as they seemed and that Lucas wasn't the father - Steve Breyburn was. After Mattie told Tony the truth, he confronted an angry Mr Breyburn who was about to shove Lee in his car and made sure he didn't get away. In a heart to heart, Tony later told Lucas that he'd grown up much quicker than many blokes his age and that he was always there to talk to. The two then hugged.
"So here's to my dad and Miss Preston. Cheers!"
The Naomi Preston saga of 2007 was undoubtedly one of the toughest times for Tony and Lucas's relationship, with tensions between them reaching breaking point on more than one occasion. Their fued started when Lucas discovered a letter that his father had written to Naomi after that night. The truth was out and Lucas was disgusted with him, barely letting him get a word in edgeways when he confronted him with the note. It was clear from then on that there were tough times ahead and no less was that the case than when Lucas got drunk on the beach, only to be found by Tony and rushed to hospital to have his stomach pumped. Shortly after this Lucas told him that he was moving out. But Tony wouldn't hear a bar of it and insisted that he would move out instead. With the family in tatters, Tony and Lucas's relationship continued to suffer and any efforts Tony made to bond with his son - including buying a boat for them to do up - were thwarted. As time went on, however, the two managed to work through their differences and get back to some normality.
"Mate, there's something he's never gonna be...and that's my son."
When Geoff joined the footy team and was in Lucas's mind being treated as the best thing since sliced bread, Lucas became jealous of his father's 'favouritism'. Though Tony knew that it was about getting even with Geoff, he insisted on joining the team no matter what. But after numerous scuffles and harsh words, things finally came to a head when Lucas was hurt after a tackle with Geoff. Back home Tony told Lucas that he knew he wasn't into football or boats and that they would have to find something else they both enjoyed doing. He also explained that even though Geoff was a really good player, he would never be his son.
"Come on, mate. You've got to focus on the positives in your life. That's how you move forward."
When Lucas's friend Lisa died in a car smash, he was devastated. The two of them had spent the night together not long before and had 'ganged up' on her ex-boyfriend and driver of the car, Denni. As always Tony was there to support his son and in a scene likened to that of Jack holding Tony back when Beth died, Tony pulled an out of control Lucas from going back into Denni's hospital room to do something he might have regretted. A few days after the tragedy and there was some good news for Lucas - his book was set to be published! Tony knew this called for a celebration and took him and Geoff to the Diner for breakfast before suggesting that they get the Blaxland for the day. They agreed and the three of them along with Jazz, Belle and Drew enjoyed a day of fishing and drinking on the water.
"I love you, Lucas. You got that?"
To say that Lucas's exit was a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment is probably an understatement but at least the Holden boys spent some time together before he left for uni - even if some of it was off-sceen. In Lucas's final few episodes Tony praised him on his writing and the three boys headed down to the beach to enjoy their final surf together - bringing back memories of when they hit the waves when they arrived back in 2005. With Lucas packed and ready to go, Tony made sure his son knew he loved him and was proud of him, before saying goodbye.