Matt Cooper (born 18 April 1979) is an Australian former professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
State of Origin
A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
and
Australia international representative , he played his entire
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
career for the
St. George Illawarra Dragons, with whom he won the
2010 NRL grand final
The 2010 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2010 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 3 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. It was t ...
.
Background
Cooper was born in
Port Kembla, New South Wales
Port Kembla is a suburb of Wollongong 8 km south of the CBD and part of the Illawarra region of New South Wales. The suburb comprises a seaport, industrial complex (one of the largest in Australia), a small harbour foreshore nature reserve ...
on 18 April 1979. He originally gained an interest in
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
football as a supporter of Sydney's
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...
, the club his father followed. He began playing football at the age of six for his local junior club, the
Shellharbour Sharks
The Shellharbour City Sharks are a Country Rugby League club founded in 1920 located on the South Coast of NSW that compete in the South Coast Group 7 competition.
Club Info History
Shellharbour City RLFC has a 113-year history, originally exis ...
, while also participating in athletics and
surf lifesaving
Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, inc ...
. After moving to
Illawarra
The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...
, Cooper began supporting the
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, they ...
. He signed on to the
Illawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, they ...
club as a teenager prior to their joint-venture with the
St. George at the end of 1998. After the joint-venture of the Dragons and the Steelers clubs prior to the
1999 NRL season
The 1999 NRL season was the 92nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be run by the National Rugby League. With the exclusion of the Adelaide Rams and Gold Coast Chargers, and the joint venture of the St. ...
, Cooper was signed on with the newly formed
St. George Illawarra Dragons team.
Professional playing career
2000s
At the age of twenty-one Cooper made his NRL début for the
St. George Illawarra Dragons in the opening round of the
2000 season against local rivals the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...
. After making his début Cooper was replaced in the
St. George Illawarra 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
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
, Cooper in total scored two tries in limited appearances in the 2000 season.
The
2001 season was not a successful one for Cooper, with minor injuries causing him to miss many games. He returned just before the
finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, scoring two tries in the semi-final victory over
Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...
. In
2002, Cooper was able to retain his position in the team for the majority of the season and finished the year with a total of seven tries from nineteen games.
Cooper held down his spot for the duration of the
2003 season. 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 team. Though all was not lost for Matt as he was nominated for the Dragons player of the year, eventually losing out to
Ben Hornby
Ben Hornby (born 18 February 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative back, he captained the St George Il ...
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 St. George Illawarra including four tries in a single match against the reigning premiers the
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...
. Later Cooper was called up for the third and deciding game of the
2004 State of Origin series
The 2004 State of Origin series was the 23rd time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules.
A pre-se ...
for New South Wales after the team had lost the second match, replacing
Luke Lewis
Luke Lewis (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian rugby league commentator and former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia ...
to partner his clubmate
Mark Gasnier
Mark Gasnier (born 19 July 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A rugby league New South Wales State of Origin and international representative , he played eleven seasons in the N ...
in the centres. At the conclusion of the
2004 St. George Illawarra Dragons season Gasnier had scored the most tries, with a total of seventeen, and the international selectors assigned him a spot in the Australian team for the
2004 Kangaroo tour
The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between 16 October and 27 November of 2004. The format of the competition differed from the previous event in that the teams pl ...
of Great Britain, France and the United States. His club coach
Nathan Brown had recommended that Cooper be selected for the Australian rugby league team under coach
Wayne Bennett, though he eventually opted for the usual more experienced international representatives and Cooper did not play a competitive match on the tour.
After having an impressive début match in the previous series, Cooper was subsequently re-selected for New South Wales in the
2005 State of Origin series
The 2005 State of Origin series saw the 24th time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. The three ma ...
, 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. He finished the NRL season well with thirteen tries from twenty games and was again selected to go on to tour of Great Britain with
Australia. He appeared in the first three
test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
es on the tour, scoring five tries.
Injury yet again hit Cooper early on in the
2006 NRL season
The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen clubs competing for the 2006 ...
in the form of a damaged
hamstring
In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury.
In quadrupe ...
while playing in the season opening fixture against the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
. Cooper was forced to miss several fixtures for St. George Illawarra after failing to recover from a hamstring injury sustained during the round one NRL fixture. However Cooper was once again selected to play for Australia in the mid-season test match on 5 May 2006, he scored once during a dominating 50 to 12 win over New Zealand. This was the last time Cooper has represented Australia. His hamstring injury forced Cooper to withdraw from the starting line-up for the
2006 State of Origin series
The 2006 State of Origin series was the 25th year that the annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams was contested entirely under 'state of origin' sele ...
, being replaced by winger
Eric Grothe, Jr. from the
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...
. 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 11 June it was announced that Cooper had been called up as 18th man on stand by for the game.
In August 2008, Cooper was named in the
preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final ...
.
He was selected for Country in the
City vs Country
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
match on 8 May 2009. However, he did not play in the match after withdrawing with injury.
2010s
In the first round of
the 2010 finals,
St. George Illawarra defeated the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
28–0, with Cooper scoring two tries, surpassing
Nathan Blacklock
Nathan Blacklock (born 4 April 1976) is an Australian former professional rugby league and, briefly, rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australia national rugby league representative , he played for the Sydney City Ro ...
's record of 100 tries to become the Dragons highest try scorer, with 102 tries. In 2010 he got a recall to the Origin team. He played Games 1 and 2 but sustained an injury which kept him out of Game 3. On 3 October 2010, Cooper was a part of the
St. George Illawarra team that beat the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...
32–8 in the
2010 NRL Grand Final
The 2010 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2010 NRL season. Played on Sunday, 3 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. It was t ...
, helping the joint venture club claim its first premiership. This was also Cooper's 100th career win out of a possible 199 NRL games.
The following February Cooper travelled with the
St. George Illawarra to England to play the
Super League champions,
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League.
Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union followin ...
in the
2011 World Club Challenge
The 2011 World Club Challenge (known as the Probiz World Club Challenge due to sponsorship) was contested by Super League XV champions, Wigan Warriors, and 2010 NRL Premiers, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, at Wigan's home ground, DW Stadium. ...
. He scored a try in
St. George Illawarra's victory. Cooper ended the 2011 season as St. George Illawarra's leading tryscorer with 14. Cooper scored six tries in 15 games in the
2012 NRL season
The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...
. He scored two tries in eight games in the
2013 NRL season
The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...
.
After football
Cooper was a participant in the
fourteenth season of ''
Dancing with the Stars''. In 2015, Cooper was a contestant in the
fourth season of ''
The Celebrity Apprentice Australia
''The Celebrity Apprentice Australia'' is an Australian reality television series which aired on the Nine Network. Based on NBC's ''The Apprentice'', it first aired on 24 October 2011 and originally featured Mark Bouris, the founder and chairm ...
''.
In late 2016, he admitted to an addiction to the drug endone, following pain relief required for a bulging disc in his vertebra
In August 2021, Cooper was announced as a contestant on the
Big Brother VIP (Australian TV series), celebrity version of ''
Big Brother Australia''.
In October 2022, Cooper launched an attack on his former club St. George Illawarra saying “There’s no pride in the jersey anymore, From 2001-2011 we only missed the finals twice. Since then, we’ve only made them twice. Obviously it changed when Wayne Bennett left. It all starts from the top… that’s where the culture comes from. There’s no pride in the jersey now, no team-first attitude. You can see that when players are asking to be released – and I’m not blaming them. There’s a reason they want to go elsewhere".
References
Footnotes
"Dragons players since 1921, Player profiles" ''Showroom'', retrieved 13 June 2006
"World of Rugby League Matt Cooper News & Statistics" ''World of Rugby League'', retrieved 13 June 2006
''Foxsports'', retrieved 13 June 2006
by Brad Walter 19 April 2004, ''Sydney Morning Herald'', retrieved 13 June 2006
External links
Matt Cooper at the ''Dragons''Official NRL Player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Matt
1979 births
Australian rugby league players
Australia national rugby league team players
St. George Illawarra Dragons players
Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
NRL All Stars players
Rugby league centres
The Apprentice Australia candidates
Living people