By Terry Wilson
HE is a pretty talented young man is the QAFL’s Round 16 Rising Star Award nominee, Surfers Paradise wingman Rene Le Feuvre.
Not only can he play a decent game of Australian rules football, but the Townsville product is also a gifted musician who makes a mean cup of coffee as a part-time barista.
That coffee comes complete with Le Feuvre’s special individual cappuccino artwork that is an elephant’s trunk as the topping design.
As a guitar-playing musician Le Feuvre this year appeared on The Voice where he made it through to the knockout stages.
But footy is what this interview was all about, and it has to be said that Le Feuvre has been doing a good job since he was introduced to the game in a most unusual way.
Growing up in the small sugar milling town of Giru, about 30 minutes south of Townsville, Le Feuvre had rarely seen, let alone actually held, an Aussie rules ball.
“I loved rugby league and I grew up in a league town,” Le Feuvre told aflq.com.au.
“Then one day, they didn’t have enough players to fill a Burdekin under-12s Aussie rules rep side, so I agreed to play.
“It was pretty funny because I didn’t even know the rules. But I got picked to play in the Queensland championships after that.”
From that, Le Feuvre came to the attention of officialdom and it was not too long before he was invited to attend the Gold Coast SUNS academy as a 14-year-old.
The kid from the Hermit Park Tigers juniors played seven NEAFL games for the Suns and since leaving the academy, has become a leading light for Surfers Paradise where he has now played 26 QAFL matches.
Le Feuvre deserves his latest accolade, according to Surfers Paradise coach, Brad Moore.
“I was involved with Rene at the Suns academy,” Moore said. “He has been persistent and has worked hard – his work rate has been fantastic.”
Le Feuvre’s nomination continues to confirm the success of a youth development plan put in place by Surfers Paradise a couple of years ago.
This season, four young Dees have been nominated for the prestigious award with Le Feuvre following on from Harris Newton, Jasper Taylor and Alby Jones.
“That is fantastic for the club and is a flow-on from the program that the club set up,” Moore said.
Le Feuvre’s background is also interesting. His mother Paula is Italian, and his father Peter is French – and the surname is pronounced Le-Fur.
