Steve 'Pearl' Renouf

  • Playing Career

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Nickname(s)
Pearl
Born
Monday, 8th June, 1970
Current Age
53 years and 295 days
Place Of Birth
Murgon, Queensland, Australia

Known Family Links

Cousin
Les Renouf

Biography

A member of the Brisbane reserve grade side that won the premiership in 1990, Renouf blossomed into an international star in two short seasons. Easily recognisable in his trademark headgear, Renouf had incredible acceleration and exuded both confidence and class in the centres. After making his State of Origin debut in 1991, it was his performance in the 1992 grand final (including a sensational length of the field try), that earned him selection in Australia's World Cup squad. Securing his place in the final against Great Britain, Renouf turned the match when he charged onto a Kevin Walters pass and scored the winning try. A week later, Brisbane defeated Wigan to claim the World Club Championship and Renouf had arrived as an international player. Despite his diagnosis as a diabetic, his career continued into overdrive. Renouf made his Test debut in place of suspended Australian captain Mal Meninga on the 1993 tour of NZ but on the eve of Brisbane's semi-final campaign, had his jaw broken in an off field incident while attending a party in his home town of Murgon. Renouf made a timely recovery to take his place in Brisbane's second successive grand final win. Renouf scored 4 tries in a match on a number of occasions during his career and in 1994, set a club record 23 tries in a season. That year, he also scored three tries in Australia's 58-0 thrashing of France at P’matta Stadium as well as Australia's sole try in the disappointing 8-4 First Test loss at Wembley Stadium. Renouf played in each of the three remaining Test wins on tour, finishing a memorable international year with two tries in the record 74-0 thrashing of France. His rep career was then put on hold by the game’s Super League split and a crippling foot injury. In 1997, after his three-try effort in Brisbane’s Telstra Cup grand final win against Cronulla, he made one Test appearance against NZ late in the year but withdrew from Super League’s tour of Great Britain because of injury. Renouf appeared in all three Tests against NZ in the reunified 1998 season and won his fourth first grade premiership with the club. In March 1999, he suffered a broken foot before announcing his retirement from rep football to concentrate on his club duties. Renouf signed a two-year contract to play with Wigan, but his farewell to Australian football came prematurely when he broke his arm towards the end of the season – a low-key finish for one of the most exciting centres the game has produced. Autobiography, Pearl (2003).
- ALAN WHITICKER

Playing Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.

Competitions

Competition   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NRL 183 142 -   - 568 126 53 4 68.85% List
National Panasonic Cup 2 3 -   - 12 2 0 0 100.00% List
Tooheys Challenge Cup 6 12 -   - 48 5 1 0 83.33% List
NRL Finals 17 12 -   - 48 10 7 0 58.82% List
State of Origin 11 2 -   - 8 4 7 0 36.36% List
Tour Matches Australia 14 19 -   - 76 13 1 0 92.86% List
World Cup 1 1 -   - 4 1 0 0 100.00% List
World Club Challenge 2 - -   - - 1 1 0 50.00% List
Test Series 4 2 -   - - 2 1 1 50.00% List
The Ashes 3 2 -   - 16 2 1 0 66.67% List
Anzac Tests 1 1 -   - 4 0 1 0 0.00% List
Challenge Cup 4 3 -   - 12 2 2 0 50.00% List
Super League 55 40 -   - 160 42 11 2 76.36% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1992-94, 1998 11 13 -   - 52 8 2 1 72.73% List
Australia (SL) 1997 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Overall1992-1998 12 13 0   0 52 8 3 1 66.67% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1992 1 1 -   - 4 1 0 0 100.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
QLD 1991-94, 1996, 1998 11 2 -   - 8 4 7 0 36.36% List
QLD (SL) 1997 2 2 -   - 8 0 2 0 0.00% List
Overall1991-1998 13 4 0   0 16 4 9 0 30.77% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Brisbane NSWRL 1989 10 - -   - - 3 7 0 30.00% List
Brisbane NSWRL 1990 4 2 -   - 8 2 2 0 50.00% List
Brisbane NSWRL 1991 20 15 -   - 60 11 9 0 55.00% List
Brisbane NSWRL 1992 23 12 -   - 48 19 4 0 82.61% List
Brisbane NSWRL 1993 18 16 -   - 64 14 4 0 77.78% List
Brisbane NSWRL 1994 21 23 -   - 92 13 7 1 61.90% List
Brisbane ARL 1995 14 15 -   - 60 9 5 0 64.29% List
Brisbane ARL 1996 22 19 -   - 76 17 5 0 77.27% List
Brisbane Super League 1997 15 14 -   - 56 12 2 1 80.00% List
Brisbane NRL 1998 26 20 -   - 80 20 5 1 76.92% List
Brisbane NRL 1999 10 6 -   - 24 6 3 1 60.00% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Brisbane 1989-99 183 142 -   - 568 126 53 4 68.85% List

English Career - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Wigan 2000 32 23 -   - 92 25 6 1 78.13% List
Wigan 2001 27 20 -   - 80 19 7 1 70.37% List

English Career - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Wigan 2000-01 59 43 -   - 172 44 13 2 74.58% List

Your Say

  • Lachlan Cole
    03/12/2013

    You were one of the best players to ever put on a Broncos jersey. You were without a doubt one of the most prolific try scorers that were around in your years.

  • Tim
    18/12/2015

    Speed, agility, class.

  • karl
    09/06/2017

    Thanks stev for the unforgettable images of you running with the ball in your hands . Superior balance total class

  • Fred Renouf
    11/11/2020

    Steve ran like he was running after a big budoo

  • Anonymous
    24/07/2021

    Best in and away that I ever saw...

  • Tihei
    02/05/2023

    The way Steve Renouf played, I feel he raised the bar and created magic once he got started, there was nobody to stop him.

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Contributions: Rugby League Tables, Andrew Ferguson, Paul Carter, Greg Fiveash, AJ Lucantonio, Shawn Dollin, Alan Katzmann, Bill Bates, Terry Liberopoulos, Max Turner, Steven Russo

Sources: ARL Rugby League Yearbook 1997, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 1998, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 1999, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 2000, ARL Rugby League Yearbook 1996, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1989-90, Match Video, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1991-92, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1992-93, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1994, ARL Rugby League Yearbook 1995, Richard Bailey's Rugby League World