Fake articles about NRL great Lockyer, stars Cleary and Yeo shared online

By Tom Wark

Broncos legend Darren Lockyer is one of many NRL players featured in bogus claims online. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

What was claimed

Darren Lockyer has been unveiled as the new coach of the Brisbane Broncos.

Our verdict

False. The coach of the Broncos is Michael Maguire.

AAP FACTCHECK - Fake stories about former and current NRL players are being pumped out on dubious sites and spread in rugby fan groups on Facebook.

One post, which has garnered over 3700 likes, claims Brisbane great Darren Lockyer has been revealed as the new Broncos coach.

The post links to an article from a website called USSportUpdate.com with the headline: “Breaking News: fans rejoice as Darren Lockyer has become the Brisbane broncos head coach to take over 2025…”

One of the Facebook posts spreading a false claim. — One post sharing the fake claim about Mr Lockyer has over 3.7K likes.

The article claims that “the announcement” follows weeks of speculation and marks “the beginning of a new era for the Broncos”.

However, there has been no such announcement by the NRL club, which appointed Michael Maguire as coach in September 2024.

Articles featuring the false claim about Lockyer have also been published by sportzpresz.com, which has also published a false claim about Canterbury-Bankstown NRL star Stephen Crichton.

Another post spuriously claimed Penrith star Nathan Cleary had been announced as the Panthers' head coach, replacing his father Ivan Cleary.

One of the Facebook posts spreading a false claim about Nathan Cleary. — Nathan Cleary plays for the Penrith Panthers but he is not the coach, despite fictitious claims.

Another post linked to a fake story about Penrith player Isaah Yeo signing a contract with the Broncos worth $128.5 million, more than ten times the salary cap for an NRL club’s top 30 players.

A link to a fake article about former NFL quarterback Drew Brees taking over as coach of his old team, the New Orleans Saints, was also shared in another Facebook post.

The same website has published near-identical false stories claiming certain sports stars had died in the same manner, with the only difference being the name of the athlete.

In November 2024, USSportUpdate published false headlines about English snooker player Kyren Wilson, French judoka Teddy Riner and Venezuelan baseballer Wilyer Abreu dying in house fires when all three men were alive and well.

The Verdict

False – The claim is inaccurate.

AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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