Will Matthews (rugby league)

Will Matthews (born 30 March 1988) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer.

Will Matthews
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Matthews
Born (1988-03-30) 30 March 1988
Kyogle, New South Wales, Australia
Height187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–11 Gold Coast Titans 33 1 0 0 4
2012–17 St. George Illawarra 61 4 0 0 16
2018–19 Gold Coast Titans 17 0 0 0 0
Total 111 5 0 0 20
As of 16 July 2019
Source: [1][2]

He played for the Gold Coast Titans and the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League. Matthews was briefly contracted to the Widnes Vikings in the Super League.

Background

Matthews was born in Kyogle, New South Wales, Australia.

He played his junior football for Kyogle Turkeys while attending Palm Beach Currumbin State High School, before being signed by the Gold Coast Titans.

Playing career

He played for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup in 2007 and the Titans' Toyota Cup team in 2008.[3] In round 16 of the 2008 NRL season he made his NRL debut for the Titans against the St. George Illawarra Dragons. In June 2008, Matthews re-signed with the Titans for three years.[4]

On 5 July 2011, Matthews signed a two-year contract with the St. George Illawarra Dragons starting in 2012. Matthews was limited to only five appearances in the 2011 NRL season as the Gold Coast finished last and claimed the wooden spoon. The Gold Coast had the chance to avoid finishing last but lost their final match of the season against Parramatta.[5] [6]

He made his debut for St. George in round 21 of the 2012 NRL season. On 5 September 2013, Matthews re-signed with St. George on a one-year contract.[7]

On 24 October 2014, Matthews again re-signed with St. George on a one-year contract.[8] On 19 June 2015, Matthews re-signed with St. George on a two-year contract.[9] On 8 December 2017, Matthews signed a train and trial contract with NRL club the Gold Coast Titans. Matthews was released by Widnes earlier in the year on compassionate grounds.[10]

At the end of the 2019 NRL season, it was announced that Matthews was retiring from rugby league.[11][12]

Representative career

Matthews played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2006.[13]

References
  1. "Players - Love Rugby League". Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  2. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Will Matthews - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  3. http://www.rleague.com//db/player/m/matthews_will/index.php
  4. "Matthews re-signs with Titans". 25 June 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  5. "Parramatta Eels defeat the Gold Coast Titans to avoid wooden spoon for 2011". Daily Telegraph.
  6. http://www.nrl.com/tabid/10874/newsid/63650/default.aspx
  7. "Dragons re-sign Matthews, sign Groat - Zero Tackle". 5 September 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  8. "Dragons add depth to squad - Zero Tackle". 24 October 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  9. http://www.zerotackle.com/nrl/dragons-re-sign-will-matthews-17876/ On 11 September 2017, Widnes announce the capture of Matthews on a two-year contract from 2018.
  10. "NRL ins and outs 2018: Transfer Centre, contracts, rosters — Rabbitohs sign Vincent Leuluai from Storm". Fox Sports Australia. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  11. "NRL signings and player transfers". NRL.
  12. "Another 4000 games heads out the door with 2019 retirees". NRL.
  13. "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
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