Matt Cooper (rugby league footballer)
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Cooper | |
| Date of birth | April 18, 1979 | |
| Place of birth | Port Kembla, Australia | |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | |
| Nickname | Coops | |
| Position | Centre | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 2000 - 2006 | St George-Illawarra | 118 (252) |
| Representative teams** | ||
| 2003 - 2004 2004 - 2005 2005 - 2006 |
Country New South Wales Australia |
1 4 (4) 7 (24) |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
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Matt Cooper (born April 18, 1979 in Port Kembla, Australia) is a rugby league player for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League competition, he has also appeared for both New South Wales on four occasions to date in his career and for Australia on six. His position of choice is usually at centre, though he can also play on the wing.
Cooper was originally signed on to the Illawarra Steelers club as a teenager prior to their merger with the St. George Dragons, he made his debut for the merged club in 2000 at the age of twenty-one. Since his debut he has gone on to become one of the best centres in the world with his solid defence and attack. Outside of the game of rugby league, Matt has taken up a side career in modelling, becoming one of the several pin-up boys of the NRL and rugby league in general, often posing for several women's and sporting magazines each year along with the annual League of their own rugby league calendar. Matt has also been a regular finalist in the Sexiest Man in League contest, which he won in 2001 and again in 2006, where he garnered 21% of the public vote to narrowly defeat Benji Marshall who was second with 17%.
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[edit] Childhood and early career
He originally gained an interest in rugby league while watching and supporting the Western Suburbs Magpies after his dad was a passionate supporter, he then began his rugby league career at the age of six playing for his local junior rugby league side the Shellharbour Sharks while also enjoying athletics and being actively involved with his local surf club.
After moving to Illawarra in his adolescents, Cooper began supporting the Illawarra Steelers while taking rugby league more seriously after reaching high school and seriously considering a career in rugby league once he was signed on as a junior to the Illawarra side.
[edit] St George Illawarra Dragons
After the merger of the St George Dragons and the Illawarra Steelers clubs in 2000 Cooper was signed onto the new club, quickly impressing club officials and was awarded his first grade debut in the first round of the season against local rivals the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, he had an uneventful debut game without managing to score.
After making his debut Cooper was replaced in the Dragons line-up for the second game of the season and was not re-called until round seven in which he crossed the line for his first try against the New Zealand Warriors, Cooper in total scored two tries in limited appearances in the 2000 season.
The 2001 season was not a happy one for Matt, after picking up an early season injury in a pre-season fixture he was forced to withdraw from the Dragons opening fixture of the season against Newcastle losing his spot in the side to Mark Gasnier. His season failed to get substantially better as he was yet again limited to minor appearances after battling injuries through the majority of the season, eventually making a long awaited return just before the finals scoring his first double in the semi-final victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs.
2002 began a turn around of fortunes for Matt with for the first time in his career he was able to hold down a regular first team spot in the Dragons line-up, continuing to flourish in the side with some impressive performances finishing the season with a total of seven tries for the year.
A new season in 2003 saw a new more try hungry Matt Cooper emerge on the NRL playing fields, he began the season promisingly holding down his spot for the duration of the season with brilliant displays of defence complimenting his attack. In total Cooper scored eleven tries including three doubles during the regular season, he then tasted his first representative honour being selected to play for Country in the annual City and Country Origin. Although the season eventually finished on a low note both for the Dragons and Cooper with another injury yet again forcing him out of the side. Though all was not lost for Matt as he was nominated for the Dragons player of the year, eventually losing out to Ben Hornby while he picked up the Geoff Selby Memorial NRL Coaches Award.
The 2004 season yet again was one of improvement and new opportunity, Cooper began the season well scoring a total of eight tries in six matches for the Dragons including four tries in a single match against the reigning premiers the Penrith Panthers. The season continued well for Matt and with more impressive performances and with his profile on the rise Cooper was called into the New South Wales State of Origin side by coach Ricky Stuart making his debut for the third and final game of the series. At the conclusion of the season he had scored a total of seventeen tries and subsequently impressing the international selectors so much that he gained a spot in the Australian side for the 2004 tour of Great Britain, France and the United States, though he did not play a competitive match on the tour.
By the beginning of the 2005 season Matt Cooper had established himself as one of the best centres in rugby league demonstrating his ability during the first game of the season putting together a good defensive effort along with two tries in against the previous years premiers in the Canterury Bulldogs. His form continued well into the season and he was yet again selected in the New South Wales State of Origin side playing in all three matches of the series and scoring his first try for his state. He finished the season well with thirteen tries from twenty games and yet again was selected to go on the Australian tour of Great Britain.
Injury yet again hit Cooper early on in the 2006 season in the form of a damaged hamstring while playing in the season opening fixture against the Wests Tigers. Cooper was forced to miss both several fixtures for the Dragons and the opening game of the State of Origin series.
He will also be remembered for scoring the only try in the Dragons' 8-1 win over the Parramatta Eels in a rainy Friday night, the first game Oki Jubilee Stadium hosted at night since 1999. There had been no score for 70 minutes.
[edit] New South Wales
During the 2004 season after several solid performances for his club side, Matt was called up for the third and deciding State of Origin match of the series for New South Wales replacing Luke Lewis in the centres after the side had lost the second match 22 to 18. Cooper played well on his debut alongside club centre partner Mark Gasnier but failed to score in a match that New South Wales eventually won 18 to 8.
After having an impressive debut match in the 2004 series Cooper was subsequently re-selected for New South Wales in the 2005 State of Origin, playing in all three matches of the series helping New South Wales to another series win scoring one try along the way in game two.
Cooper was selected in the starting line-up for the 2006 State of Origin series but after failing to recover from a hamstring injury sustained during the round one NRL fixture he was forced to withdraw from the squad being replaced by winger Eric Grothe, Jr. from the Parramatta Eels.
After missing the first game of Origin for New South Wales, Cooper failed to be called up for game two with Grothe retaining his position after a solid performance in game one. On June 11 it was announced that Cooper had been called up as 18th man on stand by for the game.
[edit] Australia
At the conclusion of the 2003 season, many earmarked Matt to be a surprise selection for the end of season Australian tri-nations tour, however coach Chris Anderson preferred to go with the more experienced Ryan Girdler and young Luke Lewis whom Cooper had replaced during the State of Origin series that same year.
After some impressive performances in the 2004 season for the St George side, coach Nathan Brown recommended that he should be selected for the Australian rugby league side to coach Wayne Bennett, though he eventually opted for the usual more experienced international representatives.
With the conclusion of the 2004 National Rugby League season and some impressive performances with both the Dragons and the New South Wales State of Origin side Cooper was selected by Australian Coach Wayne Bennett in the Australian squad for the tri-nations tour of Great Britain, France and the United States but did not make an appearance for the duration of the tour.
At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Cooper was yet again selected to go on to tour of Great Britain with the Australian national side. He appeared in the first three test matches on the tour scoring five tries before failing to score a sole try in the final to the New Zealand side where Australia would eventually lose by 24 points.
Cooper was once again selected to play for Australia in the mid-season test match on May 5, he scored once during a dominating 50 to 12 win over New Zealand.
[edit] Career playing statistics
[edit] Point scoring summary
| Games | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 112 | 60 | - | - | 224 |
[edit] Matches played
| Team | Matches | Years |
|---|---|---|
| St George Illawarra Dragons | 110 | 2000 - present |
| Country | 2 | 2003 - 2004 |
| New South Wales | 4 | 2004 - 2005 |
| Australia | 6 | 2004 - 2005 |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- "Dragons players since 1921, Player profiles", Showroom, retrieved June 13, 2006
- "World of Rugby League Matt Cooper News & Statistics", World of Rugby League, retrieved June 13, 2006
- "Blues call up Cooper", Foxsports, retrieved June 13, 2006
- "Cooper's crossings drive Dragons" by Brad Walter April 19, 2004, Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved June 13, 2006
