Matthew "Matt" Gidley (born 1 July 1977) 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 112 ...

footballer and administrator. Gidley played for the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

in the ARL Premiership and the

NRL 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 ...

, and St Helens in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

, and for

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 ...

in the

State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

at international level. He is also the former CEO of Football Operations at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Background

Gidley was born in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

. Matt is the older brother of the former

and

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

halfback

Kurt Gidley Kurt Geoffrey Gidley (born 7 June 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative an ...

. Playing as a youngster in the

Newcastle Rugby League The Newcastle Rugby League is a local rugby league football competition in Newcastle, Australia. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1910. A Newcastle representative team was also assembled from players in ...

for the Wests club, While attending Glendale High School, Gidley played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1995.

Playing career

Newcastle

Gidley had played all his junior football in the position, however with

Matthew Johns Matthew James Johns (born 27 July 1971) is an Australian rugby league media personality, commentator and former professional player. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , Johns played his club footbal ...

taking up the position in the Knights line up, he slotted in to right . Gidley was selected for the Australian team to compete in the end of season

1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989–92 World Cup (the 19 ...

tournament. In the final against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

he played at centre in the Kangaroos' 22-20 victory. Gidley played at centre for Newcastle in their 2001 NRL grand final victory against 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 ...

. At the end of the

2001 NRL season The 2001 NRL season was the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fourth run by the National Rugby League. Also called the 2001 Telstra Premiership (due to sponsorship from Telstra Corporation) it was contested b ...

, he went on the 2001 Kangaroo tour. Having won the 2001 NRL Premiership, the Knights traveled to England to play the 2002 World Club Challenge against

champions, the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

. Gidley played at centre and scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in Newcastle's loss. Matt Gidley

Gidley became famous for his wing/centre combination with former Knight

Timana Tahu Timana James Aporo Tahu (born 16 October 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He last played for Denver Stampede in the US PRO Rugby competition. A dual-code international representative three-qua ...

. A common play was for the ball to be sent out to the right side of the field where Gidley would run, draw one or two players in before doing the famous Gidley flick pass to Tahu or placing a grubber kick down the line. This play was used at both club and representative level. 2006 saw a rejuvenation of sorts for Gidley seeing him recapture some of his old magic flick pass play with Knights winger Brian Carney. In 2006 Gidley retired from representative football, aiming to focus on playing well at club level. This move was questionable as it was right before the annual

City vs Country Origin City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sydne ...

clash, where many thought Gidley was going to make the Country side in the centre position. He became only the 4th Newcastle Knight to play more than 200 career games.

St Helens

Gidley joined English club St Helens in the

as a replacement for

Jamie Lyon Jamie Lyon (born 24 January 1982), also known by the nickname of "Killer", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin represen ...

in 2007 when Lyon returned to Australia with 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 ...

. His first match for the English club was their victory in the

2007 World Club Challenge The 2007 Carnegie World Club Challenge was played between Super League XI champions, St. Helens and 2006 National Rugby League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. It was a replay of the 2001 World Club Challenge, and both clubs' fifth WCC appearanc ...

over the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

. He played in the

2007 Challenge Cup Final The 2007 Carnegie Challenge Cup Final was played by the holders St. Helens and Catalans Dragons at the new Wembley Stadium on 25 August 2007. The Dragons were the first French club ever to take part in the competition's final. After a competi ...

victory over the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons ( French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. Gidley was named in the

Super League Dream Team The Super League Dream Team is an annually-selected rugby league All Star Team consisting of the players deemed to have been the best in their respective positions in the Super League competition. The team is selected by a panel of journalists an ...

for 2008's

Super League XIII Engage Super League XIII was the official name, due to sponsorship, for the 2008 Super League season by Engage Mutual. Twelve teams competed for the Minor Premiership over 27 rounds (including Millennium Magic) after which, the top 6 finishing t ...

. He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final defeat by the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

. He played in the

2009 Super League Grand Final The 2009 Super League Grand Final was the 12th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XIV season. It was held on Saturday 10 October 2009, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by defend ...

defeat by the

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. He then put pen to paper on a one-year contract to keep him at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted ...

for 2010.

Administration career

In 2011 Gidley returned to the

as the Business Development Manager before being appointed the CEO of Football Operations in June 2011 by the new owners, Hunter Sports Group. Meanwhile, his younger brother Kurt was club captain. He stepped down as CEO on 1 November 2017.Matt Gidley Leaves Knights
/ref>

References

External links

St Helens profileMatt Gidley NRL profileState of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats2001 Ashes profile

Saints Heritage Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gidley, Matthew 1977 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Newcastle Knights captains Newcastle Knights players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Newcastle, New South Wales St Helens R.F.C. players Western Suburbs Rosellas players