Steven Frederick Rogers (20 November 1954 – 3 January 2006) was an Australian 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 played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for 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 league ...
and
St. George Dragons
The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...
teams in the
New South Wales Rugby League premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...
competition and for
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
in the English
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
, usually in the position of . Rogers represented
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 ...
and Australia captaining the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
once in 1981.
After his retirement, Rogers was named as one of the five "immortals" of the Cronulla club. He became involved in the administration of rugby league, and held the position of Cronulla's
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
at the time of his death.
Rogers died after swallowing a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol on 3 January 2006. In April 2006, the NSW state coroner ruled that the death was suicide, and that Rogers had committed suicide.
Biography
Steve Rogers was born on the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
and played his first senior game for the
Southport Tigers
Initially formed as the Southport Football Club the Southport Tigers compete in both the junior and senior Gold Coast Rugby League competitions. The club is based at Owen Park in Southport, Queensland, Australia.
History
There has been a long ...
.
In the 1972 Gold Coast Group 18 competition 17-year-old centre Steve Rogers helped a
Gold Coast Tigers outfit to victory in the Grand Final against
Tweed Heads Seagulls
The Tweed Heads Seagulls, often referred to simply as Tweed or Seagulls or Tweed Seagulls, is a rugby league club based in Tweed Heads, New South Wales. It is one of only two non-Queensland teams to play in the Queensland Cup, along with the ...
. The following season he moved to Sydney to play in the
NSWRFL Premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sou ...
.
1973
Rogers began playing first grade rugby league at the age of eighteen for the
Cronulla-Sutherland club in 1973. Playing the position of centre, his talent did not go unnoticed. He was described by the club's captain/coach,
Tommy Bishop
Tommy Bishop (born 15 October 1940) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Blackpool Borough, Barrow and St Helens in the English Champion ...
as a "rare, rare talent – the greatest all round centre three-quarter I have seen." In that year, he played in his first
Grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
, which Cronulla lost to 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 ...
and made the first of three
Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...
s.
1974–1982
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 effective in that role. Three years later, he won the Dally M Lock of the Year award.
In 1975 Rogers won the
Rothmans Medal
The Rothmans Medal was the premier individual award in the New South Wales Rugby League and Brisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in the Australian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest ...
for best and fairest player in the NSWRFL. He played 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
1980's first state of origin match. He was named player of the series in the
1981 Tooth Cup
The 1981 Tooth Cup was the 8th edition of the NSWRFL Midweek Cup, a NSWRFL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRFL, the BRL, the CRL, the QRL and the NZRL.
A total ...
tournament and also won that year's Dally M Award.
Rogers was selected to tour with the
Australian national rugby league team
The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian ...
on the 1973
Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...
. National honours continued when he was selected in the Australian squad for the
1975 Rugby League World Cup,
1977 Rugby League World Cup
The 1977 Rugby League World Cup was the eighth Rugby League World Cup tournament and was held in Australasia, with games played during May and June in both Australia and New Zealand. It featured four teams: Great Britain and France in addition t ...
,
1978 Kangaroo tour
The 1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France comprised the Australia national rugby league team's fourteenth tour of Great Britain and ninth tour of France, and took place from September to December 1978. Coached by Frank Stanton and captai ...
, 1980 Tour of New Zealand and was a centre in all three tests against
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and the two tests against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on the 1982
Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...
, as well as playing in the pre-tour test against
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 ...
. Rogers would captain the Kangaroos in the two 1981 home tests against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
1983–1984
As a result of Cronulla's serious financial difficulties, Rogers signed for 1983 with Cronulla's local rival, the
St. George Dragons
The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...
. He played with them for two seasons, culminating in playing five-eighth in the Saints 1984 reserve grade Grand Final (a side which featured others such as
Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor may refer to:
Politicians
* Michael O'Connor (Australian politician) (1865–1940), Australian politician
* Michael O'Connor (Wisconsin politician) (1856–1925), Wisconsin State Assemblyman
* Michael J. O'Connor (politici ...
), which the Dragons lost.
1985–1986
Rogers returned 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
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
, in a tackle from Mark Bugden.
In 1986 Rogers signed with
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
in the English competition, but only played for 13 minutes before breaking his leg in his first game of the year against
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
. This was the last game of his career.
Post playing
After retiring from the playing field Rogers remained involved with rugby league coaching. He coached for a time in Queensland, and worked in administrative roles for the
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...
in
Darwin and
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. After an unsuccessful business venture running a hotel at
Lennox Head
Lennox Head is a seaside village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the stretch of coast between Byron Bay and Ballina in Ballina Shire local government area. It had a population of 7,741 in the 2016 Aus ...
, Rogers became involved once more with the Cronulla club, becoming the football manager and later, Chief Executive Officer of the club.
His personal life was marred by tragedy. After losing his father (Don) and mother (Marj) to cancer, his wife Carol also died from the disease on 11 May 2001. Rogers's brother also committed suicide.
On 3 January 2006, Rogers was found dead outside the door of his Cronulla unit. 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.
Accolades
In February 2008, Rogers was named in the list of Australia's
''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by 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
ARL
ARL may refer to:
Military
* US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship
* Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK
* United States Army Research Laboratory
* ARL 44, a WWII French tank
Organizations
* Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives comp ...
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. While playing football, Rogers also served in the
New South Wales Police Force
The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
and in 2008, rugby league's centennial year in Australia, he was named at five-eighth in a NSW Police team of the century. Also in 2008 Rogers was named in New South Wales' rugby league team of the century.
Open Rugby inaugural World XIII
The
Open Rugby inaugural World XIII was revealed in June 1978, it was;
Graham Eadie
Graham "Wombat" Eadie (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian ...
,
John Atkinson, Steve Rogers,
Jean-Marc Bourret
Green Vigo,
Roger Millward
Roger Millward (16 September 1947 – 2 May 2016) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. A goal-kicking , he gained a high level of prominence in the sport in England by p ...
,
Steve Nash,
Jim Mills,
Keith Elwell
Keith Elwell (12 February 1950), also known by the nicknames of "The Mole", "Chiefy", and "The Ubiquitous Elwell", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level fo ...
,
Steve Pitchford,
Terry Randall
Terry William "Igor" Randall (born 5 February 1951 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played for the Manly-Warringah club in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. He is regularly n ...
,
George Nicholls and
Greg Pierce
Gregory Stuart Pierce (4 March 1950 – 24 June 2016) was an Australian rugby league player, coach and administrator. He played as a for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League competition and for Australia. He captained hi ...
.
Career playing statistics
Point scoring summary
Matches played
Records
*Until 2002, Rogers held the record for the most points scored in a match (26) for the Cronulla club.
*Rogers is one of twenty Australian internationals to come from the Cronulla club, and one of two players (alongside
Greg Pierce
Gregory Stuart Pierce (4 March 1950 – 24 June 2016) was an Australian rugby league player, coach and administrator. He played as a for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League competition and for Australia. He captained hi ...
) to have captained the
national side.
*Rogers holds the standing record for the most points ever scored for the Cronulla club (1253)
Sharks.com
/ref>
Sources
* Australian Associated Press (3 January 2006
''The Australian''. Retrieved 4 January 2006
* Cubby, Ben et al. (5 January 2006
''Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved 5 January 2006
*Heads, Ian (4 January 2006) "Vale 'the complete footballer'" ''The Australian'' (page 14)
*Kogoy, Peter and McDonald, Annabelle (5 January 2006
''The Australian''. Retrieved 5 January 2006.
*Magnay, Jacquelin (6 January 2005
''Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved 9 January 2006.
*Watson, Rhett (5 January 2006
''www.news.com.au''. Retrieved 5 January 2005.
Cronulla Sharks official website (Individual Player Records)
Widnes Vikings official website (Player Biography)
World of Rugby League website
Footnotes
External links
Cronulla Sharks First Grade Juniors
Steve Rogers at stateoforigin.com.au
Rogers v Bugden Supreme Court of NSW
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Steve
1954 births
Australian police officers
Rugby league players from Sydney
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players
Australia national rugby league team players
Australia national rugby league team captains
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains
St. George Dragons players
Widnes Vikings players
Australian chief executives
2006 deaths
Accidental deaths in New South Wales
Drug-related deaths in Australia
People from the Sutherland Shire
Australian rugby league administrators
Tweed Heads Seagulls players
Rugby league centres
Alcohol-related deaths in Australia
Australian expatriate sportspeople in England