Darren Smith (rugby league)

Darren Smith (born 8 December 1968) is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He played for the Australian national side and also Queensland in the State of Origin. His club football career was spent with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Brisbane Broncos and St. Helens. He is the brother of fellow Maroon and international, Jason Smith.

Born in Brisbane, Queensland on 8 December 1968, Darren Smith went on to play in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership.

During the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia, Smith was selected at 20 years of age to play for the Brisbane rugby league team against the visiting British. In 1990 he moved from Brisbane's Easts Tigers to Sydney's Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Conspicuous in headgear after suffering a severe concussion in 1991, Smith made his State of Origin debut as a reserve for Queensland in the 1992 series. During the 1993 State of Origin series Smith played from the interchange bench n Games 2 and 3, both losses.

Smith was selected to play on the interchange bench in all three games of the 1994 State of Origin series which was eventually lost by Queensland. He looked certain to press for Australian selection until off-field politics took its toll in the 1994 NSWRL season. Smith's refusal to renew his contract with Canterbury, negotiating with two Brisbane clubs instead, saw him used in the limited role of interchange player. Smith's centre-three-quarter place in Canterbury's grand final side was taken by youngster Steven Hughes who made little impact when brought on to the field as a replacement. Smith revealed that he had signed with the South Queensland Crushers but he then did an about-face and successfully sought a release to play with the Brisbane Broncos in 1995.