Matty Lees (born 4 February 1998) is an English 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 who plays as a for 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 the

England Knights England Knights (previously known as Emerging England and England A) is considered the feeder team for the England rugby league team. The Knights play a key role in the development of emerging talent, allowing players to gain experience in an i ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at international level. He has spent time on loan from

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

at the

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...

in the

Betfred Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football League, the governing body for the sport in England, ...

Career

Lees made his

and professional début on 7 September 2017 at Belle Vue against

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

. Saints won the game 16-18. In 2018, he played for the

on Dual registration. He played for St Helens in their 8-4

2020 Super League Grand Final The 2020 Super League Grand Final was the 23rd official Grand Final and championship-deciding game of Super League XXV. The game was won 8–4 by St Helens R.F.C., St Helens over their local rivals Wigan Warriors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in ...

victory over Wigan at the Kingston Communications Stadium in Hull. On 17 July 2021, Lees played for St. Helens in their 26-12

2021 Challenge Cup Final The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was the 120th final of rugby league's Challenge Cup knock-out competition. It took place on 17 July 2021 at Wembley Stadium between Castleford Tigers and St Helens. Background The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was ...

victory over Castleford. On 9 October 2021, Lees played for St. Helens in their 12-10 2021 Super League Grand Final victory over

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 ...

. On 24 September 2022, Lees scored the fastest try in Super League Grand Final history after crossing over in the second minute of play during St Helens 24-12 victory over

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in the decider. On 18 February 2023, Lees played in St Helens 13-12 upset victory over Penrith in the 2023 World Club Challenge. Lees played 26 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table. Lees played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which stopped them reaching a fifth successive grand final.

International career

In July 2018 he was selected in the

Performance squad. Later that year he was selected for the

on their tour of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. He played against

at the

PNG Football Stadium PNG Football Stadium (known as ''Lloyd Robson Oval'' until 2015) is a sporting ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It hosted three games for the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup. It has been the home ground for the Papua New Guinea natio ...

and the Oil Search National Football Stadium.

References

External links

St Helens profileSL profileSaints Heritage Society profileEngland profile
1998 births Living people England Knights national rugby league team players England national rugby league team players Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows St Helens R.F.C. players Sheffield Eagles players {{England-rugbyleague-bio-stub