DeVere back at Broncos
November 20, 2006
TRIPLE-premiership winner Michael DeVere has returned to NRL club Brisbane Broncos ? as a rugby league development officer.
DeVere, 29, today officially announced his retirement as a player following his return to Australia from a stint with English Super League club Huddersfield.
The former NSW Origin and Kangaroos centre was then promptly unveiled as the Broncos' new junior development officer, replacing Paul Green who is now the NRL champions' skills co-ordinator.
Despite admitting he still had a few years left in him as a player, DeVere said the Broncos job was an offer he couldn't refuse.
"I would have loved to have played on and especially with the Broncos again but there comes a time when being a player must come to an end," he said.
"Even though I think I have a couple of good seasons left in me, I have made a decision to start another career and I want to give it the shot best I can.
"I don't believe I could have played and done this job as well, and done either justice."
DeVere won premierships in 1997, 1998 and 2000 with the Broncos and only recently had his Broncos all-time point scoring record broken by skipper Darren Lockyer.
"When I left at the end of season 2004, it was always my intention to return to Brisbane and to the Broncos," he said.
"But obviously a number of factors come in to play and a club like the Broncos simply does not create a job for someone.
"I am keen to follow a career in coaching and I see this as a stepping stone."
Broncos managing director Bruno Cullen said DeVere would work on Brisbane's joint coaching and development program with the Carina Leagues Club in Brisbane's east.