Steve Renouf lashes old teammate Darren Lockyer over role in demise of the Brisbane Broncos

Former Bronco Steve Renouf has taken aim at his former teammate Darren Lockyer for his role in Brisbane’s horror form slump.

John Plath, Darren Lockyer and Steve Renouf celebrate a Broncos win

Former Bronco Steve Renouf has taken at old teammate Darren Lockyer for his role in Brisbane’s form slump.

Renouf took to Twitter earlier this week, labelling Lockyer a “big part of the problem”.

After his glittering playing career, Lockyer has joined the board and been part of the recruitment committee.

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There have been accusations that Brisbane’s roster is poorly managed and that they have overspent on underperformers.

Lockyer and Renouf won premierships together, but that did nothing to stop Renouf criticising his old teammate.

“I love you mate but you have to share the responsibility here,” Renouf posted on social media.

“You are on the board, part of recruitment and also leadership. You put yourself up as an influential administrator so it makes you a big part of the problem!”

Renouf had also rubbished suggestions that the Broncos needed to rebuild.

@DarrenLockyer I love you mate but you have to share the responsibility here. You are on the board, part of recruitment and also leadership. You put yourself up as an influential administrator so it makes you a big part of the problem! @9NewsQueensland https://t.co/bZWR5cKyC7

— Steven Renouf (@TheRealPearl03) July 1, 2020

He argued in an NRL.com column that the club doesn’t do rebuilds and that Anthony Seibold has a good roster at his disposal.

“The notion that the Brisbane Broncos were going to need a two or three-year rebuild after Wayne Bennett was sacked is complete nonsense,” Renouf wrote.

Darren Lockyer looks on before the start of the round 1 NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos

“The Broncos did not need to be rebuilt 18 months ago.

“After the side were beaten by the Dragons in the 2018 finals series I rang Wayne Bennett and had a conversation about what we both believed was a promising future.

“We shouldn’t forget that it was under Bennett that Payne Haas, Kotoni Staggs and David Fifita were nurtured and given their NRL debuts, and he was excited about developing them further.

“This is where it is ridiculous to say that the club needed a so-called rebuild because under Bennett the Broncos won 64 per cent of their games in his second stint, the same winning ratio he had prior to 2009. My question is: Why wasn’t that recognised?

“Seibold came in and pretty soon the experience was ripped out of the club and the likes of Kodi Nikorima, James Roberts and company departed.

The Broncos hierarchy decided to bring in a coach coming off his rookie season to replace their six-time premiership-winning coach.

“Now it is all starting to unravel. Their recruitment has been poor.”

Read Renouf’s full column here

Originally published as Steve Renouf lashes old teammate Darren Lockyer over role in demise of the Brisbane Broncos