The primary reasons for the rise and rise of Darren Lockyer

Part Three of Mike Colman’s series on 100 years of Queensland primary school rugby league reveals how Darren Lockyer made his way from the bush to the pinnacle of the game.

• Part One - Metropolitan North and Peninsula
• Part Two - Metropolitan East and Capricornia

If there is a player who epitomises the Queensland primary schools rugby league system working to its optimum, it is Darren Lockyer.

Lockyer, who is today named in the South West Region team of the century as part of the Queensland Primary Schools Rugby League centenary celebrations, was introduced to rugby league as an eight year old when his family moved to Wandoan, 400kms north west of Brisbane in 1985.

Stars in their eyes ... Darren Lockyer (far left) with teammates from Wandoan.

“At that age the kids used to play barefoot, and they played on bindii patches, dust and, when it rained, mud,” recalled his mother Sharon.

“We used to go all over, Miles, Taroom, Jandowae, Condamine ... there was an under-35kg carnival somewhere and they were calling him the Try Machine. He just kept scoring tries. “We never really thought about where it would take him, we didn’t think that far ahead.”

It was in 1989, when Lockyer played in the Under 12s South West Regional trials at St George, that he was spotted by local teacher and regional sports officer Ray Bruton and the series of events that saw him rise to the top of the game were set in motion.

“People say I was the one who discovered him. It sounds good but it’s not really right,” Bruton said on the occasion of Lockyer’s retirement in 2011. “Blind Freddy could tell he was something special.

“Darren was playing with the Miles and District team and he was just a standout. He made the South West team, went to the Queensland Under 12 trials at Toowoomba and made the state side. It was hard for kids from South West to get into those bigger rep teams. They had fewer kids to choose from, so for a boy from Wandoan to make the state side was a big thing. The next year, the Lockyers moved to Roma. Darren made the South West Under 15s team and went on to the state team that year too.

Darren Lockyer in his Queensland Under-15 jersey at the time he first met Broncos scout Cyril Connell.

“By the time Darren was in the Under 15s, Cyril Connell was talent scout for the Broncos. Cyril had been regional director of education when I was teaching at Roma State School. He said if I ever saw a good kid to let him know.

“When Darren came along I gave Cyril a call and said, ‘I think we’ve got a good one’. I gave Cyril the dates of our trials and he came out for a look and that was how it started.

“So you can see it wasn’t really me who discovered him. The system gave Darren the opportunity to show what he could do and my friendship with Cyril Connell just helped things along.

“I didn’t do a lot, but I suppose if you can say you helped Darren Lockyer, even in a small way, it’s not a bad thing, is it?

The full South West team of the century is:

1 Luke Capewell (St Mary’s Charleville, 2001)

2. Willie Carne (Roma Middle School, 1981)

3. Adrian Vowles (Charleville SS, 1983)

4. Kurt Capewell (St Mary’s Charleville, 2005)

5. Anthony Perkins (Roma Middle School, 1999)

6. Darren Lockyer (Wandoan SS, 1989)

7. Mack Mason (Dunkeld SS, 2008)

8. Ben Condon (St John’s Roma 2012)

9. Shaun Packer (St John’s Roma, 2016)

10. Brett Green (Roma Middle School, 1984)

11. Danny Bourke (St Patrick’s Mitchell, 1990)

12. Kirk Reynoldson (Wandoan SS, 1991)

13. Luke Bateman (Miles SS, 2007)

14. Matt Lockyer (Roma Middle School, 1992)

15. Clayton Mack (Teelba SS, 2012)

16. Shannon Hilt (Thargomindah SS, 1990)

17. Toby Greenup (Jandowae SS, 2009)

Also named in one of the 12 regional teams of the century is Lockyer’s long-time teammate Steve Renouf who earned a spot in the Wide Bay side released today.

Steve Renouf soon after joining the Broncos from Murgon in 1988.

The full Wide Bay team is:

1. Nick Parfitt (Maryborough Central SS, 1996)

2. Ken Nagas (Bundaberg West SS, 1985)

3. Steven Renouf (Murgon SS, 1982)

4. Maurice Blair (Maryborough Central SS, 1996)

5. Dustin Cooper (St Joseph’s PS, Murgon, 1993)

6. Berrick Barnes (Kingaroy SS, 1998)

7. Chris Sandow (Murgon SS, 2001)

8. Troy Hansen (Avoca SS, 1998)

9. Matt Balllin (Kingaroy SS, 1996)

10. Felise Kaufusi (Bundaberg North SS, 2004)

11. Gavin Cooper (St Joseph’s PS, Murgon, 1997)

12. Kris Kahler (St Patrick’s, Gympie, 1995)

13. Esi Tonga (Murgon SS, 2000)

14. Leo Dynevor (St Joseph’s PS, Murgon, 1986)

15. Steve Irwin (Norville SS, 1995)

16. Donald Malone (Murgon SS, 1997)

17. Jon Grieve (Bundaberg South SS, 1999)

Two regional teams of the century will be released online on couriermail.com.au every day this week, culminating in the announcement of the Queensland Primary Schools Rugby League Team of the Century on Sunday.