Brenko Lee
{{Short description|Tonga international rugby league footballer (born 1995)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name = Brenko Lee
|fullname =
|image = Brenko Lee Bulldogs.jpg
|imagesize = 290
|caption = Lee in 2017
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1995|10|10}}
|birth_place = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
|height = {{convert|190|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight = {{convert|104|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}
|position = {{rlp|CE|WG}}
|club1 = Canberra Raiders
|year1start = 2014
|year1end = 16
|appearances1 = 15
|tries1 = 12
|goals1 = 0
|fieldgoals1 = 0
|points1 = 48
|club2 = Canterbury Bulldogs
|year2start = 2017
|year2end =
|appearances2 = 18
|tries2 = 3
|goals2 = 0
|fieldgoals2 = 0
|points2 = 12
|club3 = {{nowrap|Gold Coast Titans}}
|year3start = 2018
|year3end = 19
|appearances3 = 20
|tries3 = 5
|goals3 = 0
|fieldgoals3 = 0
|points3 = 20
|club4 = Melbourne Storm
|year4start = 2020
|year4end = 21
|appearances4 = 14
|tries4 = 4
|goals4 = 0
|fieldgoals4 = 0
|points4 = 16
|club5 = Brisbane Broncos
|year5start = 2022
|year5end =
|appearances5 = 8
|tries5 = 1
|goals5 = 0
|fieldgoals5 = 0
|points5 = 4
|club6 = Dolphins
|year6start = 2023
|year6end =
|appearances6 = 13
|tries6 = 0
|goals6 = 0
|fieldgoals6 = 0
|points6 = 0
|teamA = Tonga
|yearAstart = 2017
|yearAend =
|appearancesA = 1
|triesA = 0
|goalsA = 0
|fieldgoalsA = 0
|pointsA = 0
|teamB = Queensland
|yearBstart = 2020
|appearancesB = 1
|triesB = 0
|goalsB = 0
|fieldgoalsB = 0
|pointsB = 0
|retired =
|updated = 3 September 2023
| module = {{infobox person
| embed = yes
| father =
| mother =
| spouse =
| education = Marsden State High School
| alma_mater =
| relatives = Edrick Lee (cousin)
Patty Mills (cousin)
Nathan Jawai (cousin)
Danny Morseu (uncle)
Eddie Mabo (great uncle)
}}
}}
Brenko Lee (born 10 October 1995) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a {{rlp|ce}} and {{rlp|wg}}er in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Lee has played for the Dolphins, Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Melbourne Storm and the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. He has played for Queensland in the State of Origin series, and is notable for being undefeated in the series. He is also a NRL premiership winning player of 2020.
Early life
Lee was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is of Tongan and Indigenous Australian descent. Lee is the cousin of Redcliffe Dolphins rugby league player Edrick Lee, NBA basketball player Patty Mills and NBL basketball player Nathan Jawai. Edrick's uncle is former Olympian basketballer Danny Morseu, the second Indigenous Australian to represent Australia at the Olympics in basketball.{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Sam |date=27 July 2012 |title=Former Boomer remembers Moscow Olympics |url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2012/07/27/3555284.htm|access-date=3 November 2017 |work=ABC.net.au}} Edrick's great uncle is Indigenous land rights activist Eddie Mabo.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/sports/basketball/spurs-patty-mills.html |title=The Better I Got in Sports, the Worse the Racism Got |work=The New York Times |author=Jawai,Nate |date=31 July 2020 |accessdate=12 November 2021}}
Lee attended school at Marsden State High School, Logan City and played his junior rugby league for the Logan Brothers{{cn|date=July 2024}}, before being signed by the Canberra Raiders.
Playing career
=Early career=
From 2013 to 2015, Lee played for the Canberra Raiders' NYC team.{{cite web |url=http://nycdatabase.org/players/l/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616162758/http://nycdatabase.org/players/l/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=16 June 2015 |title=L |publisher=Nyc Database |date=27 December 2012 |accessdate=31 August 2015}}{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.raiders.com.au/news/2015/04/21/nyc_team_list_raider.html |title=NYC Team List: Raiders v Rabbitohs |publisher=Raiders |date=21 April 2015 |accessdate=31 August 2015}} On 20 April 2013, he played for the Queensland under-20s team against the New South Wales under-20s team.{{cite web |url=http://www.nrl.com/under-20s-origin-squads-named/tabid/10874/newsid/71757/default.aspx |title=Under 20's Origin squads named |publisher=NRL.com |date=15 April 2013 |accessdate=8 March 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-2984-0-0-0&sID=176538&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=23199641 |title=Holden U/20s State of Origin: Queensland U/20s v NSW U/20s – NRL Game Development – South East Queensland – FOX SPORTS PULSE |work=SportingPulse |accessdate=22 February 2015}} On 5 December 2013, he re-signed with the Canberra Raiders on a three-year contract.{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.zerotackle.com/nrl/brenko-lee-signs-raiders-contract-extension-11683/#FzcXQbCWR54eWAio.97 |title=Lee re-signs with the Raiders until end of 2016 | NRL |publisher=Zero Tackle |date=5 December 2013 |accessdate=31 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.raiders.com.au/content/raiders/club/news/2013/12/05/brenko-lee-re-signs-with-the-raiders-until-end-of-2016.html |title=Brenko Lee Re-signs with the Raiders Until End of 2016 |publisher=Raiders.com.au |accessdate=7 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924084433/http://www.raiders.com.au/content/raiders/club/news/2013/12/05/brenko-lee-re-signs-with-the-raiders-until-end-of-2016.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/canberra-raiders-brenko-lee-puts-aside-homesick-blues-20131205-2yu0a.html |title=Canberra Raiders' Brenko Lee puts aside homesick blues |work=Canberra Times |accessdate=22 February 2015}}
=2014=
On 3 May, Lee again played for the Queensland Under-20s team against the New South Wales under-20s team.{{cite web |url=http://www.nrl.com/queensland-name-under-20s-origin-team/tabid/10874/newsid/78002/default.aspx |title=Queensland name Under-20s Origin team |publisher=NRL.com |date=28 April 2014 |accessdate=8 March 2015}} In Round 15 of the 2014 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Raiders against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on the wing in the Raiders' 22–14 loss at Canberra Stadium.{{cite web |url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-2014/round-15/canberra-vs-canterbury/summary.html |title=NRL 2014 – Round 15 |publisher=Rugby League Project |date= |accessdate=31 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.raiders.com.au/news/2014/06/20/late_mail_nrl_raiders_v_bulldogs.html |title=Late Mail : Raiders v Bulldogs |date=20 June 2014 |publisher=Raiders.com.au |accessdate=7 November 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/canterbury-bulldogs-prove-too-strong-for-the-struggling-canberra-raiders/story-fni3gmmu-1226961485439 |title=Canterbury Bulldogs prove too strong for the struggling Canberra Raiders |publisher=Dailytelegaph.com.au |accessdate=3 May 2015}} In the next round, against the Wests Tigers, he scored his first and second tries in the NRL, in Canberra's 19–18 loss at Leichhardt Oval.{{cite web |url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-2014/round-16/wests-tigers-vs-canberra/summary.html |title=NRL 2014 – Round 16 |publisher=Rugby League Project |date= |accessdate=31 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-league/league-match-report/wests-tigers-edge-out-canberra-raiders-in-spiteful-campbelltown-clash-20140628-zspig.html |title=Wests Tigers edge out Canberra Raiders in spiteful Campbelltown clash |work=Canberra Times |accessdate=22 February 2015}} After Round 21, after the Raiders' 54–18 loss to New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium, his year was over as he struggled with a hamstring injury.{{cite web |author=Jon Tuxworth |url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-league/canberra-raiders/raiders-unlikely-to-lobby-nrl-for-salary-cap-relief-20140714-zt6wd.html |title=Raiders unlikely to lobby NRL for salary cap relief |publisher=Canberratimes.com.au |date=14 July 2014 |accessdate=31 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/canberra-raiders-hit-new-low-with-5418-loss-to-new-zealand-warriors-at-gio-stadium/story-fni3gs8m-1227011903502 |title=Canberra Raiders hit new low with 54–18 loss to New Zealand Warriors at GIO Stadium |publisher=Dailytelegaph.com.au |accessdate=3 May 2015}} He finished his debut year in the NRL having played in 4 matches and scoring 3 tries.{{cite web |url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/Mi0xNjQ0LTQtLS0tLS0yMDgzOC0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0= |title=Custom Match List |publisher=Rugby League Project |date=25 August 2015 |accessdate=31 August 2015}}
=2015=
On 2 May, Lee played for the Junior Kangaroos against Junior Kiwis.{{cite web |url=http://www.nrl.com/representative-round-team-lists/tabid/10874/newsid/85557/default.aspx |title=Representative Round team lists |publisher=NRL.com |date=28 April 2015 |accessdate=3 May 2015}} On 11 September, he was named in the 58-man Tonga squad to play the Cook Islands on 17 October.{{cite web |date=11 September 2015 |title=Tonga Squad Announced |url=http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/tonga-squad-announced/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914032644/http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/tonga-squad-announced/|archive-date=14 September 2015 |accessdate=18 September 2015 |publisher=Rugby League Week}}
=2017=
In October 2016, Lee signed a two-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting in 2017.{{cite web |author=Bulldogs.com.au |url=http://www.zerotackle.com/six-new-faces-for-2017-24229/ |title=Bulldogs announce six new faces for 2017 |publisher=Zero Tackle |date=21 August 2016 |accessdate=19 October 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.zerotackle.com/brenko-lee-seeks-opportunity-with-bulldogs-move-23060/#4KAttl5v1FBuT8Rx.97 |title=Brenko Lee seeks opportunity with Bulldogs move |publisher=Zero Tackle |date= |accessdate=28 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730054058/http://www.zerotackle.com/brenko-lee-seeks-opportunity-with-bulldogs-move-23060/#4KAttl5v1FBuT8Rx.97|archive-date=30 July 2016|url-status=dead}}
On 3 March 2017, Lee made his debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the Melbourne Storm at Belmore Sports Ground.{{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2017/03/03/storm-exact-belmore-revenge-in-big-wet/ |title=Storm exact Belmore revenge in big wet |publisher=NRL |date=3 March 2017 |access-date=14 October 2021}}
Lee made his international debut for Mate Ma'a Tonga in the 2017 Pacific Rugby League Tests against Fiji Bati.
In December 2017, Lee signed a one-year contract with the Gold Coast for the 2018 NRL season.
=2018=
Lee made 14 appearances for the Gold Coast in 2018 and scored 3 tries as the club struggled on the field finishing 14th at the end of the season.{{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/09/08/gold-coast-titans-2018-season-review/ |title=Gold Coast Titans 2018 season review |website=NRL.com |date=18 October 2018}}
=2019=
Lee was limited to 6 appearances for the Gold Coast in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured a horror season winning 4 games all year and finished last on the table claiming the wooden spoon.{{cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-2019-melbourne-storm-defeat-gold-coast-titans-after-scare/news-story/8b111ca8f928e7f74c956e68be0394ed/ |title=Melbourne Storm defeat Gold Coast Titans after scare |website=News.com.au}}{{cite web |url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/NzQtMTg4NC00LS0tLS0tMjA4MzgtLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0t/ |title=Brenko Lee 2019 |website=Rugby League Project}}
On 5 December 2019, after failing to be re-signed by the Gold Coast, it was revealed that Lee had signed on with Queensland Cup outfit, the Easts Tigers, for the 2020 season.{{cite web |url=https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2019/12/05/tigers-boost-squad-with-nrl-experienced-signing/ |title=Tigers boost squad with nrl experienced signing |website=www.qrl.com.au |date=4 December 2019}}
=2020=
Lee signed with the Melbourne Storm and he featured in the 2020 NRL Nines hosted at Perth, Australia.
In round 4 of the 2020 season, Lee made his Melbourne Storm debut against the Rabbitohs at AAMI Park. Lee played centre in the Storm's 2020 NRL Grand Final over the Penrith Panthers in a 26–20 win.
He was selected to play for the Queensland Maroons in the third game of the 2020 State of Origin series, debuting alongside his cousin Edrick Lee in a series-clinching victory.
=2021=
On 28 May 2021, Lee signed a two-year contract to join the Brisbane Broncos to start in 2022.{{cite web |title=Origin Centre Brenko Lee Joins Broncos |url=https://www.broncos.com.au/news/2021/05/28/origin-centre-brenko-lee-joins-broncos/ |website=broncos.com.au |access-date=12 July 2021}} Restricted by injuries, Lee only made four appearances for Brisbane Tigers in the 2021 Queensland Cup, not making it back to the Broncos squad.
=2022=
In June, Lee signed a two-year deal to join the newly admitted Dolphins (NRL) team ahead of the 2023 NRL season.{{cite web |url=https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/dolphins-sign-former-origin-centre-brenko-lee-for-2023-nrl-squad-55304/ |title=Dolphins Sign Former Origin Centre Brenko Lee for 2023 NRL Squad |website=www.seriousaboutrl.com |date=30 June 2022}}
=2023=
In round 1 of the 2023 NRL season, Lee made his club debut for the Dolphins in their inaugural game in the national competition, defeating the Sydney Roosters 28–18 at Suncorp Stadium. At the end of the season, Lee's departure from the club was announced.{{cite web|url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2023/01/01/2023-nrl-signings-tracker-latest-signings-news-details-contracts-signings-updates/|title=2023 NRL Signings Tracker: Alamoti, Schneider join Penrith|website=www.nrl.com}}
References
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://www.dolphinsnrl.com.au/teams/nrl-premiership/dolphins/brenko-lee/ Dolphins profile]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170615032632/http://www.bulldogs.com.au/team/profiles/brenko_lee.html Canterbury Bulldogs profile]
{{Dolphins Inaugural Squad}}
{{Melbourne Storm - 2020 NRL premiers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Brenko}}
Category:Australian rugby league players
Category:Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent
Category:Brisbane Broncos players
Category:Canberra Raiders players
Category:Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players
Category:Dolphins (NRL) players
Category:Brisbane Tigers players
Category:Gold Coast Titans players
Category:Indigenous Australian rugby league players
Category:21st-century Indigenous Australian people
Category:Junior Kangaroos players
Category:Melbourne Storm players
Category:Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players
Category:Rugby league players from Brisbane