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**Darren Lockyer**
Personal information
Full name	{{{fullname}}}
Date of birth	March 24, 1977 (1977-03-24) (age 31)
Place of birth	Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height	1.78 m^[1]
Weight	85 kg^[1]
Club information
Position(s)	Five-Eighth, Fullback
Current club	Brisbane Broncos
Number	6
Youth clubs
Years	Club
	Roma Cities
Senior clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
1995–present	Brisbane	268 (1,121)^[2]
Representative teams**
1998–2007 1998–2007	Queensland Australia	25 (73)^[3] 36 (164)
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only and correct as of 4 May 2007. ** Representative team caps and points correct as of 20 April 2007.

Darren Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian professional rugby league player and current captain of the Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australian rugby league teams. He currently playes at five-eighth and is widely considered one of the finest players in the modern game and was previousy regarded as the greatest fullback of the modern era.

Lockyer endured heavy criticism after he switched from fullback to five-eighth in 2004 but responded in 2006 with arguably his finest ever season, becoming the first person since Allan Langer, Lockyer's first Broncos captain, to captain winning teams in the National Rugby League premiership, the State of Origin series, and the Tri-Nations series. Lockyer also won the golden boot award for the second time (one of only two players to have done so at the time).

1 Career
- 1.1 Fullback
- 1.2 Five-eighth
2 Honours / Career Highlights
3 References

[edit] Career

As a child Darren Lockyer first began playing Australian rules football in Brisbane before his parents moved west to Roma, Queensland^[4], a rugby league town that had no local Aussie Rules clubs. This would change Lockyer's life as he was forced to start playing rugby league.

[edit] Fullback

Having started his football career in Roma, Queensland, playing for the cities Gladiators, Darren Lockyer made his first grade debut with the Broncos as an eighteen year-old five-eighth in 1995, winning the club's rookie of the year award. Lockyer quickly showed his versatility in the centres and at fullback, proving himself as a creative attacking player, a safe defender under the high ball and a skilled goal-kicker. He was moved permanently to fullback midway through the 1996 season.

In 1997 Lockyer first gained representative honours for Queensland at fullback in their second Super League Tri-series match against New South Wales. The following year he became the regular Queensland Maroons' fullback for the State of Origin. He also played at fullback in the Broncos' premiership-winning teams of 1997, 1998 and 2000.

Lockyer's try-scoring and goal-kicking ability made him the top point-scorer for the club in 1997 and again in 1998 when he broke the Broncos' club record for most points in a season. In 2000, he was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for best and fairest player on the field in the Broncos' Grand Final win. Also that year he received the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.^[5]

Along with Lote Tuqiri and Chris Walker, Lockyer was the Broncos' top try-scorer in the 2002 season and won the club's player of the year award for both the 2002 and 2003 seasons. He also won his first RLIF Golden Boot Award for the world's best international rugby league player in 2003. In addition, with the retirement of Gorden Tallis from representative football that year, Lockyer became the captain of both the Queensland and Australian teams.

Australian national rugby league team captain

Lockyer gained some negative media attention at the start of the 2004 season when he made a careless joke about the Bulldogs gang rape allegation at a Queensland sports function [1]. Being the Australian Captain, Lockyer was rebuked by national officials and quickly apologised for the comment.

[edit] Five-eighth

In 2004, Broncos' coach Wayne Bennett moved Lockyer from fullback to five-eighth. This move saw mixed results for Lockyer. Initially, it was described as a masterstroke since, at the time, he was considered one of the world's best playmakers. Later, however, criticism developed that the defensive workload required at five-eighth was too large for him and that he should move back to his old position of fullback. In spite of this, Lockyer was adamant that his fullback days were behind him^{[citation needed]}.

Experienced rugby league commentators continued questioning Lockyer's abilities as a five-eighth during representative matches. After a poor start to the 2006 season following a 36-4 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium in Round 1, several critics argued that he should either switch to fullback or lose his spot on both the Australian and Queensland squad. There were also rumours that Johnathan Thurston would be chosen as the Queensland five-eighth, with Scott Prince at halfback.

However, after the ANZAC Test, in which Lockyer scored two tries in Australia's 50-12 defeat of New Zealand, the critics eased off. Lockyer's performances in the five-eighth position improved greatly in the weeks leading up to Origin, resulting in his selection as five-eighth and Captain for Origin 1.

More pressure and criticism came onto Lockyer when the Maroons lost to the Blues 17-16 after a poor first half. Lockyer's position was again debated, but strong performances against the Bulldogs and the Warriors resulted in his retention in the Queensland side. Queensland then made an impressive comeback in Origin 2, thumping the Blues 30-6. Lockyer stood out in a Man of the Match performance. He later reinforced his importance to the Queensland team, scoring the series winning try in the series-deciding third State of Origin match, receiving the Wally Lewis Medal for man of the series.

Immediately following Queensland's State of Origin success, the Broncos entered a 5-game losing streak but recovered under Lockyer, bouncing back to comfortably win their final three premiership games of the season. All three games were won easily by the Broncos: 30-0 over the Canterbury Bulldogs, 23-0 over the Parramatta Eels and 36-12 over the New Zealand Warriors.

Lockyer was named man of the match in the preliminary final against the Bulldogs after leading the side to a miraculous comeback win, 37-20, despite trailing 20-6 at half-time.^[6] He then steered his team to win the 2006 Grand Final 15-8, setting up both tries and then kicking a winning field goal in the 73rd minute.^[7] This was Lockyer's fourth premiership, and the Broncos' sixth. Lockyer was also the Broncos' top try-scorer (together with Tame Tupou) for the 2006 season.

Lockyer then captained Australia to an extra-time victory in the Tri-nations Final against New Zealand, scoring the match-winning try in Australia's 16-12 victory. He also became the top try-scorer in Tri-Nations history with a tally of 9 tries.

In the week leading to the final, Lockyer won the RLIF Golden Boot Award for the second time. Lockyer was also named Dally M five-eighth and representative player of the year, the Broncos' best back, and people's choice player of the year, as well as being a finalist in the Queensland Sports Star of the Year award.

The Broncos, under Lockyer lost the 2007 World Club Challenge to St. Helens RFC. This is the only major trophy that has eluded Lockyer since 1997.

In 2007, Lockyer injured his right ankle in Round One and was initially ruled out for 6 weeks. But a fortnight later in Round 3, Lockyer made a surprise comeback for the Broncos against the Penrith Panthers Lockyer injured his ankle again in Round 9 against the Sharks. However, he again recovered to play in State of Origin 1.

Lockyer is contracted to the Broncos until the end of 2009.^[8]

[edit] Honours / Career Highlights

[edit] Brisbane Broncos

First Grade Debut v Eels 1995
Club Rookie of the Year 1995
Member of the 1997 Super League World Club Challenge winning Broncos side.
Member of the 3rd Broncos Premiership Winning Team in 1997
Most points in one season: 272 in 1998
Member of the 4th Broncos Premiership Winning Team in 1998
Member of the 5th Broncos Premiership Winning Team in 2000
Clive Churchill Medal Winner 2000
Club Player of the Year 2002,2003
Changed Position from Fullback to Five-Eighth at start of 2004 at request of Wayne Bennett
Captain 2005-present
Dally M. Medal Five-Eighth of the Year 2006
Dally M. Medal Representitive Player of the Year 2006
Highest Ever Point-Scorer with 1,077 Club Points (as of 1 October 2006)
Club Best Back Award 2001,2002,2003,2006
Member of the 6th Broncos Premiership Winning Team in 2006 and also Captain.

Apps	Tries	Goals	F/G	Points	Correct to
267	109	335/496	15	1,117	June 25, 2007

[edit] Queensland Maroons

(Correct to June 13 2007)

Played in 24 State of Origin Games
Man of the Match 3 times
Played 2 Tri-Series Matches for Queensland during the 1997 Super League Season (1 goal; 2 points)
Captained in 10 State of Origin Games
Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series, 2006
6 Tries from 24 Games
22 from 30 Goals from 24 Games
1 Field Goal from 24 Games
69 Points from 24 Games
Part of the Series Winning Sides in 1998
Captain of the Series Winning Sides in 2001, 2006 and 2007

Apps	Tries	Goals	F/G	Points	Correct to
26	7	22/30	1	73	June 13, 2007

[edit] Australian Kangaroos

36 Test Matches for Australia
Played in 4 test matches during the 1997 Super League Season (2 tries; 2 goals; 1 field goal; 13 points)
Australian Kangaroos Captain 2003-present (20 of his 36 games as captain)
27 Tries
2nd Highest Kangaroos try-Scorer behind Ken Irvine (33 tries).
5 World Cup Matches for Australia
2 Tries and 4 Goals in World Cup Matches
Golden Boot Award for International Player of the Year 2003
Golden Boot Award for International Player of the Year 2006

Apps	Tries	Goals	F/G	Points	Correct to
36	27	27	2	164	April 20, 2007

Sporting positions
Preceded by Gorden Tallis 2001–2004	Captain Brisbane Broncos 2005 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Gorden Tallis 2001	Captain Queensland Maroons 2001	Succeeded by Gorden Tallis 2002-2003
Preceded by Gorden Tallis 2001–2004	Captain Queensland Maroons 2004 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Andrew Johns 2002–2003	Captain Australian Kangaroos 2003 – present	Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Brett Kimmorley (Melbourne Storm)	Clive Churchill Medallist 2000	Succeeded by Andrew Johns (Newcastle Knights)