Mat Rogers
Encyclopedia
Matthew S. "Mat" Rogers (born 1 February 1976 in Caringbah, New South Wales
) is an Australian former professional rugby league
footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He also played rugby union
at the highest levels, becoming a dual-code international. The son of the late Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks legend and CEO Steve Rogers, Mat played for the Sharks as well. He also played State of Origin
for Queensland (5 times 1999 to 2000), and for the Australian national side (7 Tests 1998 to 2000) before his switch to union in 2001. Rogers played at fly half in his final season for the Waratahs
and started in a number of games for the Wallabies
in various positions in the backline. He returned to rugby league in 2007 with the newly formed Gold Coast Titans
club and retired in 2010. With the Titans beset by injuries and poor form, Rogers announced his comeback to help out the club on-field in 2011, but a serious injury forced him to announce his retirement again just minutes into his first game back.
, a well known rugby union nursery. He played in the Australian Schoolboys representative team, at one point playing opposite a young Jonny Wilkinson
, and future All Blacks
sensation Jonah Lomu
.
.
and later fullback David Peachey
. he was an entertaining ball-running winger during the mid-to-late 90s. He held several point-scoring records with Cronulla being a talented goal kicker and having an ability to score tries from the tightest situations.
Rogers expressed his desire to shift from his position on the wing to either Centre or Fullback. However, a serious injury to his shoulder rotator cuff at the conclusion of the Kangaroo's successful 2000 World Cup Campaign destroyed his chance. Despite this he was the tournament's top point-scorer. After a complete shoulder reconstruction he was restricted to a handful of games during the 2001 season, his final year with the Sharks.
debut with Wendell Sailor
in a Test match against France in June 2002. Collectively at that point they became the 41st and 42nd Australian dual code internationals.
and after an alleged altercation outside a Edinburgh
nightclub with a fan in 2004.
His initial switch was less than smooth after coach Bob Dwyer
revealed that Waratahs and Wallaby stalwart Matthew Burke would be moved from his preferred position of fullback to outside centre in order to accommodate Rogers. His 2004 Super 12 season started brilliantly but a serious ankle injury suffered in South Africa ruled him out of that year's Tri Nations series.
An autobiography Off the Wing, On a Prayer was published in 2002 and written while his father Steve Rogers was still alive and when he was married to Michelle Miller, the mother of his children – Jack and Skyla.
Starting in the 2005 Tri Nations Series, Rogers was shifted from fullback to play at fly-half following the injury of Stephen Larkham
. He continued to play in that position during the 2005 spring tour of Europe and remained there for the Waratahs for most of the new Super 14
competition in 2006.
Coming on late in the second half in the second test against South Africa in the 2006 Tri Nations Series
, Rogers scored a late try which allowed Stirling Mortlock
to kick the winning conversion from the left sideline, for a 20–18 win.
It was reported on 28 August 2006 that Rogers had sustained a knee injury requiring athroscopic surgery and was ruled out of the last test against The Springboks
but was fit for the end of year tour
. "I've had (the injury) for a couple of weeks and I was hoping it would have pulled up a bit better than it has," Rogers said. "I'm disappointed to miss out on the Springboks match because I feel that we've got a great chance of winning a Test on their soil, which hasn't been done for a long time."
The Daily Telegraph
in 2006 sparked the question of how many games Rogers has actually not participated in due to injuries and quoted the following figures:
Rogers has missed 21 out of 61 games for the Waratahs, some due to his father's death at the start of the year. For the Wallabies he has played 41 of 57 matches. Overall he has not played for 37 of 118 games making him a spectator 31% of the time since moving to rugby union.
Rogers was named in the 37-man squad for Australia's tour of Europe. He had been selected to play at fly-half with usual number 10 Larkham playing outside him at inside-centre.
On 14 December 2006, Mat Rogers was released from his contract from the Waratahs and the Australian Rugby Union.
in the National Rugby League. He became their equal top tryscorer for the Titan's inaugural season even after missing a handful of games late in the season due to a cracked patella.
Rogers started the 2008 season with the Gold Coast Titans at five-eighth. Rogers had been suspended for the first time in his NRL career after a dangerous tackle on Parramatta Eels
winger, Luke Burt
, during Round 5 of the NRL Premiership.
Roger announced his retirement from professional sport on 16 August 2010, and played his last NRL game on 24 September, with the Titans losing the preliminary final to the Sydney Roosters
. There was speculation that he would continue to play in 2011, with Rogers hinting that he would register with the NRL in case of an injury crisis, but that did not eventuate
With the Titans playing poorly in 2011, Rogers has agreed to train with the club and was intent on returning to the field.
He returned in Round 18 against the New Zealand Warriors
. However, Rogers broke his foot in the 22-6 loss, effectively ending both his season and his career for a second time. (League News, Gold Coast Titans, Rugby League | Wed 29 Jun 09:50:50 EST 2011)
for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.
He holds the standing record for the most points scored in an Australia-New Zealand
rugby league Test match with 24 (2 tries and 8 goals) scored in the Anzac Test of 2000 in Sydney.
In his five seasons with Waratahs, he became the third highest points scorer with 202 points. He equalled Matthew Burke's record for the most individual conversions in a match with six, achieved in the Waratahs 2004 round two clash against the Sharks at Aussie Stadium
on 28 February 2004.
In the 2003 Rugby World Cup
, he set the Australian record the most points in match. It came in Australia's 142–0 victory over Namibia
where he scored two tries and 16 conversions for 42 points.
on the Gold Coast on 26 October 2008.
Rogers has been committed to raising awareness about the debilitating disease depression, which affects one in six men, since the death of his father Steve in January 2006.
He has signed on to be an ambassador for Movember, an initiative that encourages men to grow a moustache during November to raise funds for research into depression and prostate cancer.
His league legend father battled depression for three years and, while suicide was initially suspected, Steve's death after taking alcohol and prescription drugs was ruled an accident.
Mat has said he fears inheriting a propensity for the mental illness, which affects 1 million Australians. He has made a pact with brother Don always to be honest about their feelings. He encouraged men to talk to family, doctors or mates.
Caringbah, New South Wales
Caringbah is a suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Caringbah is located 24 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Sutherland Shire...
) is an Australian former professional rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He also played rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
at the highest levels, becoming a dual-code international. The son of the late Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks legend and CEO Steve Rogers, Mat played for the Sharks as well. He also played State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
for Queensland (5 times 1999 to 2000), and for the Australian national side (7 Tests 1998 to 2000) before his switch to union in 2001. Rogers played at fly half in his final season for the Waratahs
New South Wales Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...
and started in a number of games for the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in various positions in the backline. He returned to rugby league in 2007 with the newly formed Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans are an Australian professional rugby league football club, based in the Gold Coast, Queensland. The club competes in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership. It is the newest of the sixteen clubs in the league, having commenced its...
club and retired in 2010. With the Titans beset by injuries and poor form, Rogers announced his comeback to help out the club on-field in 2011, but a serious injury forced him to announce his retirement again just minutes into his first game back.
Early career
Playing both forms of the game as a junior, Rogers excelled in union at Queensland's The Southport SchoolThe Southport School
The Southport School , is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in Southport, a suburb on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia....
, a well known rugby union nursery. He played in the Australian Schoolboys representative team, at one point playing opposite a young Jonny Wilkinson
Jonny Wilkinson
Jonathan Peter "Jonny" Wilkinson OBE is an English rugby union player and member of the England national team. Wilkinson rose to acclaim from 2001 to 2003, before and during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was acknowledged as one of the world’s best rugby players...
, and future All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
sensation Jonah Lomu
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game...
.
1995
After deciding that rugby league was his preferred career path, Rogers joined his father's former club, the Cronulla SharksCronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
.
1996–2001
Rogers formed powerful combinations with centre partner Andrew EttingshausenAndrew Ettingshausen
Andrew Ettingshausen is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He played his first grade Australian club football for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, retiring with the record of most games at a single club, with 328...
and later fullback David Peachey
David Peachey
David Peachey is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative fullback, he played the majority of his club football in the National Rugby League for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks...
. he was an entertaining ball-running winger during the mid-to-late 90s. He held several point-scoring records with Cronulla being a talented goal kicker and having an ability to score tries from the tightest situations.
Rogers expressed his desire to shift from his position on the wing to either Centre or Fullback. However, a serious injury to his shoulder rotator cuff at the conclusion of the Kangaroo's successful 2000 World Cup Campaign destroyed his chance. Despite this he was the tournament's top point-scorer. After a complete shoulder reconstruction he was restricted to a handful of games during the 2001 season, his final year with the Sharks.
2002
Following his switch Rogers was an immediate success in rugby union. He made his WallabyAustralia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
debut with Wendell Sailor
Wendell Sailor
Wendell Jermaine Sailor is an Australian former professional rugby football player who represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union – a dual code international. He is an Australian Torres Strait Islander.Sailor's large frame and bullocking style changed the way wingers played rugby...
in a Test match against France in June 2002. Collectively at that point they became the 41st and 42nd Australian dual code internationals.
2003–2006
His transition had not been without controversy. Several times Rogers found himself the focus of media scrutiny after making comments regarding the state of Australian club rugby in comparison to training for the WallabiesAustralia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and after an alleged altercation outside a Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
nightclub with a fan in 2004.
His initial switch was less than smooth after coach Bob Dwyer
Bob Dwyer
Bob Dwyer is an Australian rugby union coach.Educated at Sydney Boys High School, he coached Sydney club Randwick to four Sydney championship wins before becoming Australia's national team coach. He coached Australia from 1982-83, and again from 1988...
revealed that Waratahs and Wallaby stalwart Matthew Burke would be moved from his preferred position of fullback to outside centre in order to accommodate Rogers. His 2004 Super 12 season started brilliantly but a serious ankle injury suffered in South Africa ruled him out of that year's Tri Nations series.
An autobiography Off the Wing, On a Prayer was published in 2002 and written while his father Steve Rogers was still alive and when he was married to Michelle Miller, the mother of his children – Jack and Skyla.
Starting in the 2005 Tri Nations Series, Rogers was shifted from fullback to play at fly-half following the injury of Stephen Larkham
Stephen Larkham
Stephen Larkham is an Australian rugby union footballer currently playing for the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan. He is best known for his career with the Brumbies in Super Rugby, for whom he played from the inception of the professional Super 12 in 1996 through 2007, and his long tenure with the...
. He continued to play in that position during the 2005 spring tour of Europe and remained there for the Waratahs for most of the new Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
competition in 2006.
Coming on late in the second half in the second test against South Africa in the 2006 Tri Nations Series
2006 Tri Nations Series
-Week 2:-Week 3:-Week 4:* All Blacks retain Bledisloe Cup-Week 5:-Week 6:-Week 7:-Week 8:-Week 9:-External links:* * *...
, Rogers scored a late try which allowed Stirling Mortlock
Stirling Mortlock
Stirling Austin Mortlock is an Australian professional rugby union player. He has scored over 1,000 points in Super Rugby, and nearly 500 test points for the Wallabies. Mortlock is a former Wallaby and Brumbies captain, and the current captain of the Melbourne Rebels.-Early life:Mortlock began...
to kick the winning conversion from the left sideline, for a 20–18 win.
It was reported on 28 August 2006 that Rogers had sustained a knee injury requiring athroscopic surgery and was ruled out of the last test against The Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
but was fit for the end of year tour
2006 Wallabies Spring Tour
The 2006 Australian national rugby union team tour to Europe, known in Australia as the 2006 Wallabies Spring Tour, is part of a 2006 end-of-year rugby test series and takes place in November 2006...
. "I've had (the injury) for a couple of weeks and I was hoping it would have pulled up a bit better than it has," Rogers said. "I'm disappointed to miss out on the Springboks match because I feel that we've got a great chance of winning a Test on their soil, which hasn't been done for a long time."
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
in 2006 sparked the question of how many games Rogers has actually not participated in due to injuries and quoted the following figures:
Rogers has missed 21 out of 61 games for the Waratahs, some due to his father's death at the start of the year. For the Wallabies he has played 41 of 57 matches. Overall he has not played for 37 of 118 games making him a spectator 31% of the time since moving to rugby union.
Rogers was named in the 37-man squad for Australia's tour of Europe. He had been selected to play at fly-half with usual number 10 Larkham playing outside him at inside-centre.
On 14 December 2006, Mat Rogers was released from his contract from the Waratahs and the Australian Rugby Union.
Return to League
In 2007, Rogers revived his rugby league career with the new club, Gold Coast TitansGold Coast Titans
Gold Coast Titans are an Australian professional rugby league football club, based in the Gold Coast, Queensland. The club competes in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership. It is the newest of the sixteen clubs in the league, having commenced its...
in the National Rugby League. He became their equal top tryscorer for the Titan's inaugural season even after missing a handful of games late in the season due to a cracked patella.
Rogers started the 2008 season with the Gold Coast Titans at five-eighth. Rogers had been suspended for the first time in his NRL career after a dangerous tackle on Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
winger, Luke Burt
Luke Burt
Luke Kevin Burt is an Australian professional rugby league player for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League competition...
, during Round 5 of the NRL Premiership.
Roger announced his retirement from professional sport on 16 August 2010, and played his last NRL game on 24 September, with the Titans losing the preliminary final to the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
. There was speculation that he would continue to play in 2011, with Rogers hinting that he would register with the NRL in case of an injury crisis, but that did not eventuate
With the Titans playing poorly in 2011, Rogers has agreed to train with the club and was intent on returning to the field.
He returned in Round 18 against the New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
. However, Rogers broke his foot in the 22-6 loss, effectively ending both his season and his career for a second time. (League News, Gold Coast Titans, Rugby League | Wed 29 Jun 09:50:50 EST 2011)
Records & accolades
In 2000, Rogers was awarded the Australian Sports MedalAustralian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal was an award given during 2000 to recognise achievements in Australian sport.Recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, office holders, and people who maintained sporting facilities and services. Over 18,000 Medals were...
for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.
He holds the standing record for the most points scored in an Australia-New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
rugby league Test match with 24 (2 tries and 8 goals) scored in the Anzac Test of 2000 in Sydney.
In his five seasons with Waratahs, he became the third highest points scorer with 202 points. He equalled Matthew Burke's record for the most individual conversions in a match with six, achieved in the Waratahs 2004 round two clash against the Sharks at Aussie Stadium
Aussie Stadium
Sydney Football Stadium is located in Moore Park, in Sydney, New South Wales. It was built in 1988, to be the city's premier "rectangular field" for rugby league, rugby union and football for major matches and domestic competition...
on 28 February 2004.
In the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
, he set the Australian record the most points in match. It came in Australia's 142–0 victory over Namibia
Namibia national rugby union team
The Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...
where he scored two tries and 16 conversions for 42 points.
Personal life
Rogers married model and media personality Chloe MaxwellChloe Maxwell
Chloe Maxwell is an Australian television presenter for The Matty Johns Show and model most famous for as "The Jeans West Girl" in a Jeans West campaign...
on the Gold Coast on 26 October 2008.
Rogers has been committed to raising awareness about the debilitating disease depression, which affects one in six men, since the death of his father Steve in January 2006.
He has signed on to be an ambassador for Movember, an initiative that encourages men to grow a moustache during November to raise funds for research into depression and prostate cancer.
His league legend father battled depression for three years and, while suicide was initially suspected, Steve's death after taking alcohol and prescription drugs was ruled an accident.
Mat has said he fears inheriting a propensity for the mental illness, which affects 1 million Australians. He has made a pact with brother Don always to be honest about their feelings. He encouraged men to talk to family, doctors or mates.
Sources
- Mat Rogers, Off the Wing, On a Prayer (2002), E.S.M Sports Pty. Ltd.
- Centenary Test Game Day Souvenir Program (2008), News Magazines, Surry Hills, Sydney