A product of Campbelltown Warriors junior rugby league club, De Vere spent a year playing with the Appin Dogs in the
Group 6 Junior League, before being graded with the
St. George Dragons in
1995, although he never played first grade for the Dragons.
Brisbane De Vere won the
1997 Brisbane Broncos season's rookie of the year award and also played in their
Super League Grand Final win over the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. In
1998 De Vere, a last-minute inclusion to the side due to a finger injury to former
Kangaroo Tour winger
Michael Hancock, scored the opening try in Brisbane's 38–12
1998 NRL grand final win against the
Canterbury Bulldogs.
Huddersfield De Vere joined the
Huddersfield Giants in 2005. He played for Huddersfield in the
2006 Challenge Cup Final at centre and kicked two goals but the Giants lost 12–42 against
St. Helens. On 20 November 2006, he announced that he would retire from professional football and return to Brisbane. The following season at the Broncos' 20-year anniversary celebration, the club announced a list of the 20 best players to play for them to date which included De Vere. He was set to join the Carina Leagues club as a development/coaching officer in 2007. On 23 January 2009 it was announced that De Vere would return to the Brisbane Broncos for the 2009 season, more than two years after retiring. The
National Rugby League had to approved De Vere's comeback due to concerns over salary cap concessions, given he also worked as a development officer. It was to be De Vere's final playing year in first grade rugby league, and his 10th season with the Brisbane club. De Vere's NRL comeback was short-lived as he only played one game in 2009; he announced his retirement on 7 April 2009. ==References==