View source for Steve Renouf

{{Short description|Australia international rugby league footballer}}
{{Sources exist|date=November 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name           = Steve Renouf
|fullname       = Steven Renouf
|nickname       = The Pearl
|image          = 
|image_size     = 
|caption =
|birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1970|6|8}}
|birth_place    = [[Murgon|Murgon, Queensland]], Australia
|height         = {{convert|180|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight         =
|position       = {{rlp|CE}}
|club1          = [[Brisbane Broncos]]
|year1start     = 1988
|year1end       = 99
|appearances1   = 183
|tries1         = 142
|goals1         = 0
|fieldgoals1    = 0
|points1        = 568
|club2          = [[Wigan Warriors]]
|year2start     = 2000
|year2end       = 01
|appearances2   = 59
|tries2         = 43
|goals2         = 0
|fieldgoals2    = 0
|points2        = 172
|teamA          = [[Queensland rugby league team|Queensland]]
|yearAstart     = 1991
|yearAend       = 98
|appearancesA   = 11
|triesA         = 2
|goalsA         = 0
|fieldgoalsA    = 0
|pointsA        = 8
|teamB          = [[Super_League_Tri-series#Queensland|Queensland (SL)]]
|yearBstart     = 1997
|yearBend       = 
|appearancesB   = 2
|triesB         = 2
|goalsB         = 0
|fieldgoalsB    = 0
|pointsB        = 8
|teamC          = [[Australian national rugby league team|Australia]]
|yearCstart     = 1992
|yearCend       = 98
|appearancesC   = 10
|triesC         = 11
|goalsC         = 0
|fieldgoalsC    = 0
|pointsC        = 44
|teamD          = [[Super League Test series|Australia (SL)]]
|yearDstart     = 1997
|yearDend       =
|appearancesD   = 1
|triesD         = 1
|goalsD         = 0
|fieldgoalsD    = 0
|pointsD        = 4
|retired        = yes
|source         = <ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.com/players/Steve_Renouf.html RLP]</ref><ref>[http://www.slstats.org/p1573/Steve%20Renouf.html SL Stats]</ref><ref>[http://www.yesterdayshero.com.au/PlayerProfile_Steve-Renouf_11381.aspx Yesterday's Hero]</ref>
| module       = {{infobox person
| embed        = yes
| father       = 
| mother       = 
| spouse       = 
| education    = 
| alma_mater   = 
| relatives    = [[Donald Malone]] (nephew)
}}
}}

'''Steven Renouf''' (born 8 June 1970) is an Australian former professional [[rugby league]] footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Nicknamed 'the Pearl', he was known as one of the sport's greatest {{rlp|ce}}s.<ref>{{cite book 
|title= Great Australian Sporting Moments
|last= Roberts
|first= Michael
|year= 2008
|publisher= The Miegunyah Press
|location= Australia
|isbn= 978-0-522-85547-0
|page= 275
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dvWZHv2l7J0C
|access-date= 12 March 2011}}</ref> Renouf set numerous [[Brisbane Broncos Records|records]] for the [[Brisbane Broncos]] club. After spending eleven years with Brisbane, which yielded four premierships, he left Australia to play for English club [[Wigan Warriors]], where he spent two seasons before retiring. He was named in Australia's Indigenous team of the century (1908–2007).

==Playing career==

===Brisbane Broncos===
Of [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] and European descent, Renouf was born in [[Murgon, Queensland]] on 8 June 1970. A [[Murgon Mustangs]] junior, he developed his game with the [[Brisbane Broncos]] in his teen years. Renouf made his first grade [[NSWRL Premiership]] début in the [[1989 Brisbane Broncos season]]. He scored his first try for the club in [[Brisbane Broncos 1990|1990]], and the following year went on to set a new club record of four tries in a home fixture, and be the Broncos' top try scorer of the [[1991 Brisbane Broncos season]] and [[Brisbane Broncos 1992|1992]] (along with [[Allan Langer]]) seasons. In 1992, the Broncos claimed their first premiership, winning the [[Winfield Cup]] Grand Final against St. George 28–8, which was highlighted by a 98-metre try to Renouf in the second half. After [[Willie Carne]] had somehow managed to avoid being trapped in his in-goal, Broncos captain [[Allan Langer]] passed to Renouf who stepped inside [[Rex Terp]] and took off downfield with [[Michael Hancock (rugby league)|Michael Hancock]] in support no one in front of him after burning Saints fullback [[Michael Potter]] for speed. Veteran Dragons winger [[Ricky Walford]] gave chase and made ground on him as Renouf tired over the final 20 metres, but failed to stop him from scoring.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqyZqF5W1K4 Steve Renouf 1992 Grand Final try]</ref>

In the weeks following the Broncos Grand Final win, Renouf travelled with the [[Australian Kangaroos|Kangaroos]] to England for the [[1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup#World Cup final|1992 World Cup final]] at the famous [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]]. Renouf made his début for Australia in front of an international rugby league record attendance of 73,631 fans,<ref>{{cite news
| last = Hadfield
| first = Dave
| title = Australia rely on family virtues
| work = The Independent
| date = 29 September 1992
| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby-league-australia-rely-on-family-virtues-1554425.html
| access-date = 15 January 2010}}</ref> scoring the only try of the match after running off a pass from Broncos teammate [[Kevin Walters]] in the second half. Australia defeated [[Great Britain Lions|Great Britain]] 10–6 to win their sixth [[Rugby League World Cup]]. A week later, Renouf played for Brisbane in the [[1992 World Club Challenge]] against [[1991–92 Rugby Football League season|1991–92]] [[Rugby Football League|British]] champions [[Wigan Warriors|Wigan]] at [[Central Park (Wigan)|Central Park]] in [[Wigan]]. The Broncos capped their best year by defeating Wigan 22–8 and becoming the first Australian team to win the [[World Club Challenge]] in England.

In [[Brisbane Broncos 1997|1997]], Renouf scored 14 tries, which included a [[hat-trick]] against the [[Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks]] in the [[Brisbane Broncos 1997#Grand final|1997 Super League grand final]] on 20 September at ANZ Stadium in Brisbane's 26–8 victory.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Grand final simply super
| work = [[Illawarra Mercury]]
| pages = 26
| publisher = Fairfax Digital
| date = 21 September 1997
| url = http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news970921_0406_5518
| access-date = 6 October 2009}}</ref> He was therefore named man-of-the-match.<ref>{{cite web|last=D'Souza|first=Miguel|title=Grand Final History|url=http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/league/2009-grand-final/grandFinal_History.swf|work=wwos.ninemsn.com.au|publisher=[[Australian Associated Press|AAP]]|access-date=8 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082626/http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/league/2009-grand-final/grandFinal_History.swf|archive-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> No other player would score 3 tries in a Grand Final until Manly winger [[Michael Robertson (rugby league)|Michael Robertson]] did so in [[2008 NRL Grand Final|2008]].

He played centre for the [[Brisbane Broncos]] in their win at the [[1998 NRL grand final]]. Over a decade after leaving the Broncos he was still the club's all-time leading try scorer, having amassed a total of 142 tries.

===Wigan Warriors===
Renouf's Wigan Warriors début came in round four of the [[Challenge Cup]] against [[Whitehaven R.L.F.C.|Whitehaven]] at [[Central Park, Plymouth|Central Park]]. he scored two tries on début in his side's mammoth 98–4 victory.

In 2000, Renouf was awarded the [[Australian Sports Medal]] for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league. Renouf played for the [[Wigan Warriors]] at centre their [[2000 Super League Grand Final]] loss against [[St Helens R.F.C.]] His final game for the Wigan Warriors and indeed his last game at the highest level was the [[2001 Super League Grand Final]] on 13 October at [[Old Trafford (football)|Old Trafford]] in [[Manchester]]. His side lost to the [[Bradford Bulls]] by 37–6.

Upon his time at Wigan Warriors, Renouf quoted "The two years at Wigan were absolutely brilliant. I would have liked to stay but they didn’t want to retain me"<ref name="Wigan Warriors Profile">[http://www.wiganwarriors.com/SquadMember.asp?teamid=5&id=187 "Wigan Warriors – Steve Renouf" profile], URL retrieved 11 July 2006.</ref>

===Back in Australia===
Following his return to Australia he continued playing football for [[Easts Tigers|Easts]] in the [[Queensland Cup]] alongside former Broncos teammate [[Darren Smith (rugby league)|Darren Smith]], scoring a try in the 2004 grand final loss to Burleigh.
In 2006 Renouf became the 7th former player inducted into the Broncos official Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|title=Broncos Hall of Fame|url=http://www.broncos.com.au/broncos-hall-of-fame|work=broncos.com.au|publisher=[[Brisbane Broncos]]|access-date=31 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126143431/http://www.broncos.com.au/broncos-hall-of-fame|archive-date=26 January 2014}}</ref>
During the 2007 season at the Broncos' 20-year anniversary celebration, the club announced a list of the 20 best players to play for them to date which included Renouf.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dekroo|first=Karl|title=Still the king|work=The Courier-Mail|place=Australia|publisher=Queensland Newspapers|date=9 May 2007|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21701434-10389,00.html|access-date=8 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070512101607/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21701434-10389,00.html|archive-date=12 May 2007}}</ref>

In August 2008, Renouf was named at centre in the ''Indigenous Team of the Century''.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=ABC News|title=Modern stars join greats in Indigenous Team of Century|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/09/2329969.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717235608/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/09/2329969.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 July 2012|access-date=10 August 2008|date=9 August 2008}}</ref>

=== Hall of Fame ===
In August 2024, the [[National Rugby League]] announced that Renouf was an inductee into the [[National Rugby League Hall of Fame]]. Renouf, who was ascribed Hall of Fame number 119, was amongst eleven male players in the 2024 Class.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/08/14/nrl-hall-of-fame-2024-class/|title=NRL Hall of Fame 2024 Class|date=14 Aug 2024|website=NRL|publisher=NRL Media Release|access-date=14 Aug 2024}}</ref>

== Career stats ==

=== Club ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Season
!Team
!Appearances
!Tries
!Goals
!Goal-kicking percentage
!Field Goals
!Points
|-
|[[1989 NSWRL season|1989 NSWRL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|10
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
|-
|[[1990 NSWRL season|1990 NSWRL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|4
|2
| –
| –
| –
|8
|-
|[[1991 NSWRL season|1991 NSWRL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|20
|15
| –
| –
| –
|60
|-
|[[1992 NSWRL season|1992 NSWRL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|23
|12
| –
| –
| –
|48
|-
|[[1993 NSWRL season|1993 NSWRL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|18
|16
| –
| –
| –
|64
|-
|[[1994 NSWRL season|1994 NSWRL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|21
|23
| –
| –
| –
|92
|-
|[[1995 ARL season|1995 ARL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|14
|15
| –
| –
| –
|60
|-
|[[1996 ARL season|1996 ARL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|22
|19
| –
| –
| –
|76
|-
|[[1997 Super League (Australia) season|1997 Super League season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|15
|14
| –
| –
| –
|56
|-
|[[1998 NRL season|1998 NRL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|26
|20
| –
| –
| –
|80
|-
|[[1999 NRL season|1999 NRL Season]]
|[[Brisbane Broncos]]
|10
|6
| –
| –
| –
|24
|-
|[[2000 Challenge Cup]]
|[[Wigan Warriors]]
|3
|3
| –
| –
| –
|12
|-
|[[Super League V|2000 Super League V]]
|[[Wigan Warriors]]
|29
|20
| –
| –
| –
|80
|-
|[[2001 Challenge Cup]]
|[[Wigan Warriors]]
|1
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
|-
|[[Super League VI|2001 Super League VI]]
|[[Wigan Warriors]]
|26
|20
| –
| –
| –
|80
|}
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/steve-renouf/summary.html|title=Steve Renouf – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project|website=www.rugbyleagueproject.org|access-date=26 May 2019}}</ref>

=== Representative ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Years
!Team
!Appearances
!Tries
!Goals
!Goal-kicking percentage
!Field Goals
!Points
|-
|1991–1994,
1996,

1998
|[[Queensland rugby league team|Queensland]]
|11
|2
| –
| –
| –
|8
|-
|1997
|[[Queensland (Super League)]]
|2
|2
| –
| –
| –
|8
|-
|1992–1994,
1998
|[[Australia national rugby league team|Australia]]
|10
|11
| –
| –
| –
|44
|-
|1997
|[[Australia (Super League)]]
|1
| –
| –
| –
| –
| –
|}

==Personal life==
At the age of 23, six years after signing with the Brisbane Broncos, Renouf was diagnosed with [[Diabetes mellitus type 1|type 1 diabetes]]. Renouf remembers that he "had been losing weight quite rapidly, [and] was always going to the toilet and though it was the start of pre-season, [he] had no energy, [he] couldn’t lift anything in the gym".<ref name="Steve Renouf redefines victory">[http://www.diabetesnsw.com.au/about_diabetes/steverenouf.asp "Steve Renouf redefines victory" article], URL retrieved 31 March 2008.</ref> He decided to go to the doctor and found out that he had the disease. According to Renouf "diabetes is not all doom and gloom, you can live with it."<ref name="Steve Renouf redefines victory"/> His advice to young people who have diabetes is "Never think that it can stop you from achieving your goals. Just look after it, and you can achieve anything. I looked after it...I knew I had to if I wanted to keep playing football."<ref name="Steve Renouf redefines victory"/>

Renouf has an apprenticeship as an electrician and has also worked in the industry of sales and marketing.<ref name="Role Models">[http://education.qld.gov.au/students/jnt-venture/atsi/aicapp/html/rm-srenouf.html "Role Models – Steve Renouf" article], URL retrieved 11 July 2006.</ref> He has five children – four sons and one daughter. He is currently working for the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, as an Ambassador for the Deadly Choices preventative health program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deadlychoices.com.au/cms/index.php/ambassadors|title=Ambassadors|last=Dowse|first=Michelle|website=www.deadlychoices.com.au|language=en-gb|access-date=18 October 2017}}</ref>

Since retirement, Renouf has worked as a sideline commentator for [[Triple M]]'s ''Blood, Sweat and Beers'' sports show.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Harms
| first = John
| title = The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story
| publisher = [[University of Queensland]] Press
| year = 2005
| location = Australia
| pages = 3
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OFE2EZ7JyEkC
| isbn = 9780702235368}}
</ref>

In February 2006, a biography of Renouf was released.  Entitled ''The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story'', the book details his career as a professional [[rugby league]] footballer, but it also covers his early life, including his family heritage and his childhood in the Queensland town of Murgon. It also discusses how, as an Aboriginal, he had to overcome prejudices from people around him.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story|last=Harms|first=John|isbn=9780702243912|location=St. Lucia, Qld.|oclc=933526218|date = 9 November 2015}}</ref>

==Sources==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
*{{FOGS player|steve-renouf}}
*[http://www.wiganwarriors.com/SquadMember.asp?teamid=5&id=187 Steve Renouf at wiganwarriors.com]
* ''[http://wigan.rlfans.com/readarticle.php?article_id=851 Steve Renouf Wigan Career Page] on the Wigan RL Fansite''.

{{Navboxes
|title= Brisbane Broncos squads
| bg=#990033
| fg=#ffd700
| bordercolor=#ffd700
|list1  =
{{Brisbane Broncos squad 1992 NSWRL premiership}}
{{Brisbane Broncos - 1992 World Club Challenge Winners}}
{{Brisbane Broncos squad 1993 NSWRL premiership}}
{{Brisbane Broncos squad 1997 Super League premiership}}
{{Brisbane Broncos - 1997 World Club Championship Winners}}
{{Brisbane Broncos squad 1998 NRL premiership}}
}}
{{Australia 1992 Rugby League World Cup final squad}}
{{1994 Kangaroo Tour squad}}
{{Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame}}
{{The Indigenous Australian Rugby League Team of the Century}}
{{National Rugby League top try scorers}}
{{2000 Super League Dream Team}}
{{2001 Super League Dream Team}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renouf, Steve}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australia national rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate rugby league players in England]]
[[Category:Brisbane Broncos players]]
[[Category:Brisbane Tigers players]]
[[Category:Indigenous Australian rugby league players]]
[[Category:People from Murgon]]
[[Category:Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal]]
[[Category:Rugby league centres]]
[[Category:Rugby league players from Queensland]]
[[Category:Wigan Warriors players]]