Steve Rogers (rugby league footballer)
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steve Rogers | |
| Date of birth | November 29, 1954 | |
| Date of death | January 3, 2006 | |
| Position | Centre | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1973-1982 1983-1984 1985 1986 |
Cronulla St. George Cronulla Widnes |
231 (1253) 29 (121) 1 (0) 1 |
| Representative teams | ||
| 1973-1979 1973-1981 1980-1982 |
New South Wales Australia New South Wales |
17 21 4 (0) |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
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Steve Rogers (November 29, 1954 – January 3, 2006) was an Australian rugby league player. He played for the Cronulla Sharks and St. George Dragons teams in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition and for Widnes in the English competition, usually in the position of centre. Rogers represented New South Wales and Australia captaining the national team once in 1981.
After his retirement, Rogers was named as one of the five "immortals" of the Cronulla club (see[1]).
He became involved in the administration of rugby league , and held the position of Cronulla's CEO at the time of his death (see [2]).
Steve Rogers died after swallowing a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol on January 3, 2006. In April, 2006, the NSW state coroner ruled that the death was accidental, and that Rogers had not intended to commit suicide. He is survived by his sons, Mat and Don, his daughter Melanie, and his second wife Ingrid.
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[edit] Playing career
Rogers began playing first grade rugby league at the age of eighteen for the Cronulla Sharks in 1973. Playing the position of centre, his talent did not go unnoticed. He was described by the club's captain/coach, Tommy Bishop as a "rare, rare talent - the greatest all round centre three-quarters I have seen." In that year, he played in his first grand final, which Cronulla lost to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
Rogers led Cronulla to the grand final as captain, in 1978, once more against the Sea Eagles. The match was a tie, and Cronulla lost a replay in the following week. During that season, he was often switched to lock forward and was surprisingly effective in that role. Indeed, three years later, he won the Dally M Lock Of The Year award!
In 1975 Rogers won the Rothman's Medal for best and fairest player, followed by the Dally M Award in 1981.
Rogers was selected to tour with the Australian national rugby league team on the 1973 Kangaroo Tour. National honours continued to follow when he was selected in the national team for the 1975 Rugby League World Cup, 1977 Rugby League World Cup and 1978 Kangaroo Tour. Rogers would captain the Kangaroos in 1981.
As a result of Cronulla's serious financial difficulties, Rogers signed for 1983 with Cronulla's local rival, the St. George Dragons. He played with them for two seasons, culminating in an appearance in the 1984 reserve grade grand final, which the Dragons lost.
Rogers was to return to Cronulla in 1985, but only played nine minutes in the season after breaking his jaw in his first game of the year against the Canterbury Bulldogs. In 1986 Rogers signed with Widnes in the English competition, but only played for 13 minutes after breaking his leg in his first game of the year against Wigan. This was to be the last game of his career.
[edit] Life after League
After League Rogers remained involved with rugby league coaching. He coached for a time in Queensland, and worked in administrative roles for the Australian Rugby League in Darwin and Perth. After an unsuccessful business venture running a hotel at Lennox Head, Rogers became involved once more with the Cronulla club, becoming the football manager and, later, general manager of the club.
His personal life was marred with some tragedy. After losing his father (Don) and mother (Marj) to cancer, his wife Carol also died from the disease on May 11, 2001. Rogers' brother also committed suicide.[3]
On January 3, 2006 Rogers was found dead outside the door of his Cronulla apartment. Initial reports of a heart attack soon turned to suggestions of suicide as the existence of three letters - apparently suicide notes to his three children - was revealed. His son Mat also confirmed that his father had been suffering from depression: "He was suffering from some depression and, as a person of his stature and a public figure, he found it really hard to talk about it to other people and therefore exacerbated the problem," he said. Police believed that he had swallowed a cocktail of alcohol and prescription drugs. There has been some speculation that Rogers may have attempted to make an emergency telephone call in the moments before his death. This man was a legend and was regarded as Cronulla's best.[4]
[edit] Career playing statistics
[edit] Point scoring summary
| Games | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 311 | 129 | 582 | 10 | 1571 |
[edit] Matches played
| Team | Matches | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Cronulla Sharks | 232 | 1973 - 1982, 1985 |
| St. George Dragons | 29 | 1983, 1984 |
| Widnes[5] | 1 | 1986 |
| New South Wales (residents) | 17 | 1973 - 1979 |
| New South Wales (state of origin) | 4 | 1980 - 1982 |
| Australia (Tests) | 21 | 1973 - 1981 |
| Australia (World Cup) | 3 | 1975, 1977 |
| Australia (tour matches) | 27 | 1973, 1978 |
[edit] Records
- Until 2002, Rogers held the record for the most points scored in a match (26) for the Cronulla club.
- Rogers was one of only twenty Australian internationals to come from the Cronulla club, and only one of two to have captained them.
- Rogers still holds the record for the most points ever scored for the Cronulla club (1253)[6]
[edit] Sources
- ABC Online (April 29, 2006) "Rogers didn't commit suicide
- Australian Associated Press (January 3, 2006) "Football great Rogers found dead", The Australian. Retrieved January 4, 2006
- Cubby, Ben et al (January 5, 2006) "Depressed and unable to talk about it: Mat tells of his father's greatest struggle", Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved January 5, 2006
- Heads, Ian (January 4, 2006) "Vale 'the complete footballer'" The Australian (page 14)
- Kogoy, Peter and McDonald, Annabelle (January 5, 2006) "Legend's fatal drug, alcohol cocktail" The Australian. Retrieved January 5, 2006.
- Magnay, Jacquelin (January 6, 2005) "Phone slip-up may have killed Rogers" Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 January, 2006.
- Watson, Rhett (January 5, 2006) "Depression plagued league star" www.news.com.au. Retrieved January 5, 2005.
- Cronulla Sharks official website (Individual Player Records)
- Widnes Vikings official website (Player Biography)
- World of Rugby League website
