EXCLUSIVE: Eagles swansong for Lockyer

EXCLUSIVE: Eagles swansong for Lockyer : Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:38 pm

Rugby league great Darren Lockyer has today revealed plans of a one season swansong with Co-Operative Championship club Sheffield Eagles, RLFans understands.

The Australian stand-off and Brisbane Broncos legend, considered by many as the greatest player of his generation, reveals how he first became aware of the Eagles via Papua New Guinean centre Menzie Yere's charity, "kits2kids".

Lockyer said, "I was approached by Menzie who asked if I would be kind enough to donate some of my old footy shirts to the kids out in PNG."

"I thought the initiative was great and wanted to get involved as much as I could, me and Menzie became good buddies and we had a good meet up in the summer (UK winter) during the Four Nations tournament where he made me more aware of Sheffield Eagles."

"I spoke to Mark Aston over the phone and was really impressed with what he had to say, Sheffield seems like a good club with high aspirations and an outstanding youth setup."

"I've always wanted to play footy over in the UK and see the Eagles as an ideal club to play my final season of rugby league for. I'm not getting any younger and my legs certainly aren't getting any sharper, the hustle and bustle of Super League isn't where I wanted to finish my career, however I will be doing everything in my power to get the Eagles to the grand final and give them the opportunity of an application to return to where they belong."

Lockyer is expected to join the Eagles for the start of the 2012 Northern Rail Cup campaign after positive discussions with coach Mark Aston and the board of directors led to a deal being struck. It will surely be seen as the number one all time coup by a club from outside the Super League.