Brought up on the Gold Coast and a product of the famed sporting academy at The Southport School, Mat Rogers is one of the select band of international footballers capped both by the Kangaroos (rugby league, 11 times) and Wallabies (rugby union, 45 appearances). Dally Messenger was the first such dual international.
Mathew Steve Rogers, son of renowned league player and later coach Steve, was an Australian Schoolboys rugby union representative, before following in his father’s footsteps and making 123 National Rugby League appearances for Cronulla Sharks. In a seven-year stint he established several Cronulla club scoring records, received the Australian Sports Medal for services to the game, and was the tournament top scorer when Australia won the Rugby League World Cup in 2000.
With the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup beckoning, Mat switched codes and for five seasons represented the New South Wales Waratahs, demonstrating his versatility in several positions. His Wallabies debut against France in 2002 was alongside fellow newcomers Nathan Sharpe (another former TSS boy who became a Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Famer in 2015) and Wendell Sailor.
He was a member of the Wallabies team famously pipped by an extra-time Jonny Wilkinson drop kick when England won the World Cup Final 20-17 before an 82,957 crowd at Stadium Australia.
When the Gold Coast Titans came into being in 2007, Mat Rogers returned to league as a foundation signing and represented the club on 77 occasions, the last of which was as an injury stand-in and coincided with his 200th NRL appearance.
In retirement, he has been a prominent presence in media and philanthropic activity in the Gold Coast and wider community.
