Matthew Petersen

Matt Petersen
Personal information
Full name Matthew Andrew Petersen
Born (1980-03-27) 27 March 1980
Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia
Playing information
Height 181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 95 kg (15 st 0 lb, 210 lb)
Position Wing

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2002 North Qld Cowboys 8 2 0 0 8
2002–06 Parramatta Eels 65 38 0 0 152
2007–08 Gold Coast Titans 21 14 0 0 56
2008–09 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 16 4 0 0 16
Total 110 58 0 0 232
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–13 USA 8 2 0 0 8
Source: [1]

Matthew Andrew Petersen (born 27 March 1980) is a former USA international rugby league footballer who played for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League.[2] He also played for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. His position of choice was on the wing.

Background

Petersen was born in Subiaco, Western Australia.

Playing career

After playing for the Belmont Steelers, a Western Australian feeder club for the North Queensland Cowboys, Petersen was called up to the NRL in 2002. Petersen moved from the Cowboys to the Parramatta Eels half way through 2002 and played for the Eels with some success until 2006. Early in his career at the Eels, Petersen was at the centre of a spiteful match against the Brisbane Broncos at Parramatta Stadium after Allan Langer appeared to drop his knees into Petersen, some members of the crowd later throwing bottles at Broncos players.[3]

Petersen equalled the club try-scoring record for one match during the 2003 round 12 clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Scoring four tries in the one game, he was the first Eel to have done so since 1988.[4]

Eels care-taker coach, Jason Taylor, dropped Petersen from the first-grade roster when he took over coaching duties in May, 2006, and demoted the under-performing winger to the Premier League, where he spent the rest of the season.[5]

"Side-Show Bob" joined the Titans in 2007 for their first year in the NRL. He performed well and was well known as "Sideshow Bob" due to his thick, curly hair. He ended the season with the most tries scored, shared with Mat Rogers. At the end of 2007 he played for America. In May, 2008, he was given an immediate release to join Super league side Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.[6][7][8][9]

As of 2012, he currently plays rugby league in Gympie.[10]

Griffith Uni Colleges Knights

Since 2017, Petersen has been a player and specialist backs Coach for the Griffith Uni Colleges Knights Rugby Union Club.

Representative career

In 2004, Petersen played a game for the United States against Australia in an exhibition match in Philadelphia, qualifying for the American side under the parent rule.[11]

In 2007, Petersen was named as captain of the USA team for their 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying match against Samoa. He was awarded Man of the Match for the game, but could not stop the USA falling to defeat.

Petersen made a comeback in 2013, being named as part of the USA squad for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.[12] He scored a try in their opening win over the Cook Islands.

Career highlights

  • First Grade Début: 2002 - Round 1, North Queensland v Brisbane at Dairy Farmers Stadium, 16 March
  • International: 2004 - United States vs Australia, scoring one try

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Rugby League Project
  2. ↑ "2009 NRL Player Movements". NRL Live. 2008-10-04. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  3. ↑ "Match ends in drama as Broncos pelted with bottles" (fee required). AAP Sports News (Australia). 2002-07-26. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  4. ↑ "Petersen equals club record with 4 tries" (fee required). AAP Sports News (Australia). 2003-05-31. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  5. ↑ "Taylor drops "unruly" Eels duo and puts teammates on notice" (fee required). AAP Sports News (Australia). 2006-05-16. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  6. ↑ "Titans release Petersen". Fox Sports News (Australia). 2008-05-04. Archived from the original on 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  7. ↑ "Wildcats snap up Petersen". Sky Sports. 2006-05-04. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  8. ↑ "Petersen joins Wakefield". Sportinglife. 2006-05-23. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  9. ↑ "Wildcats Sign Gold Coast Winger". Wakefield Wildcats. 2006-05-23. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  10. ↑ USA names expanded player pool rleague.com, 29 August 2012
  11. ↑ "Kangaroos' exhibition match almost turns to disaster" (fee required). AAP Sports News (Australia). 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  12. ↑ http://www.rlwc2013.com/player/matthew-petersen/458
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.