Titans: Matt Rogers signs with Titans

[Queenslander]

Mat Rogers signs with the Titans; it will be announced today. It appears that he wont be a Titan until 2008 (after the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup).

photo from www.news.com.au

Rogers gain for Titans
Dean Ritchie and Barry Dick
September 13, 2006 12:00am

WALLABY utility Mat Rogers today will announce plans to quit rugby union and return to rugby league with Gold Coast Titans.

It is understood Rogers will join coach John Cartwright's side after his Australian Rugby Union contract expires at the end of next season.

Rogers will play in the 2007 Rugby World Cup and then transfer back to league.

Gold Coast, the NRL's 16th franchise, has arranged a press conference at 9.30am today at Jupiter's Casino to announce the signing of the dual international.

It is believed Rogers will sign a two-year deal, worth about $600,000.

Rogers, the son of late rugby league legend Steve, moved from rugby league to rugby union in 2002.

His signing is an enormous boost for the new NRL club, which had already snared plenty of big names for its inaugural season next year.

Rogers was rated among the best rugby league backs of the modern era before shocking the game and signing with rugby union.

"Mat felt he had unfinished business in rugby league," said a source close to the Gold Coast.

The Titans last night were trying to keep the signing secret.

The media release announcing today's press conference was headed "Massive Announcement" and the club initially denied it would involve the signing of a player.

Rogers, 30, will bring incredible speed and a wonderful kicking game ? including goalkicking ? to the Titans.

The Titans have recruited well despite a couple of hiccups with Melbourne winger Steve Turner wanting out of his contract and Penrith forward Tony Puletua indicating he wanted to stay in Sydney.

The NRL has totally backed the Gold Coast in the dispute with Turner. The winger may be forced to sit out of the game for three years if he does not play for the Titans.

Before switching to rugby union, Rogers played seven league Tests for Australia (1998-2000), scoring 98 points from five tries and 39 goals.

He also represented Queensland five times at State of Origin level in the 1999 and 2000 series.

He scored 37 points for the Maroons from three tries, 12 goals and a field goal.

The Southport School product had the unique distinction of scoring all Queensland's points in the first two matches of the 1999 series, a 9-8 win and an 8-12 loss.

Rogers and his father are the only father-son combination to have played Origin football for different states.

The Courier Mail

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Rogers to sign for Gold Coast Titans
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 - 11:33 PM

Matt Rogers' flirtation with rugby union will soon be over.

The Wallaby star will announce on Wednesday he is to return to rugby league and join the Gold Coast Titans for a reported deal of $600,000 over two years.

The move will take place once Rogers, the former Cronulla champion, finishes his contract with union at the end of next season, News Limited newspapers reported.

The Titans have planned a press conference at Jupiters Casino to make the announcement.

Rogers, the son of late league legend Steve Rogers, will join the likes of Scott Prince, Preston Campbell, Brian Carney and Steve Turner at the Titans.

Source: AAP

[Queenslander]

Rogers signing Coastal coup
By staff writers
September 13, 2006

GOLD Coast Titans today will announce rugby league's biggest coup for 2006, the re-signing of dual international Mat Rogers.

In one of the most closely guarded secrets in Australian sport, the Titans have slipped under the defences of major rugby union and league powerhouses to nab the brilliant 30-year-old utility back.

The signing will see Rogers return to his roots where he grew up and to the code that first put the Rogers name in lights.

Late last night the Titans refused to confirm Rogers was their man.

However, they let the cat edge from the bag at 4.37pm yesterday when they sent out a media release trumpeting a "massive" announcement at Conrad Jupiters this morning.

Rumours raced through Queensland and New South Wales's major media outlets that the announcement was a key player signing.

Late yesterday, from Sydney, The Bulletin received a strong indication that Rogers was the man.

That speculation intensified with reports leaking out of the gala John Eales medal presentation at Sydney's Westin Hotel last night that rugby was about to lose Rogers back to league.

Despite the Titans' refusal to confirm the speculation, the Rogers scenario fits like a glove.

Rogers is a former Southport School (TSS) student. He has harboured a desire to not only return to the Gold Coast, but to also return to rugby league and Queensland State of Origin football.

Despite proving his class at the international level in rugby union, Rogers has struggled to nail down a long-term position in the Wallabies starting XV.

He has also come through a harrowing period in his personal ife, with the death of his father, league legend Steve Rogers, in January this year.

Mat Rogers is contracted to rugby union through to the end of the Rugby World Cup in France in September next year.

He will continue through with rugby until then, hoping to go one better than Australia's heart-stopping extra-time loss to England in the Rugby World Cup final of 2003.

Unless smarting rugby officials released him earlier, Rogers would then be expected to join the Titans for the 2008 season.

Rogers made headlines when he switched codes from rugby league to union in 2002, leaving NRL club the Sharks for Super 14's New South Wales Waratahs.

But earlier this year he revealed that he would contemplate moving back to rugby league.

"I'd be stupid not to consider it. I'm a footballer ... not a rugby union player," he was quoted as saying.

"The Sharks have always said they would welcome me back if I wanted a swansong. I also have family on the Gold Coast, so you never say never.

"After the World Cup, I reckon I could play a couple more years. At the moment, I'm pretty happy in rugby."

Wallabies coach John Connolly has opted to use Rogers as an impact player off the bench this season and the frustration of not being able to secure a starting position was starting to show.

"I enjoy having an impact off the bench but obviously every player likes to start," Rogers said.

"It does frustrate me at times, but it's a team game. You can't be selfish about it."

Rogers has a lengthy connection to the Gold Coast.

He spent his high school years as a boarder at TSS, where he surprised no one when, in his senior years, he was playing for the school's First XV.

He proved he was well and truly a chip off the old block when, after a strong season with TSS, was selected for the prestigious Australian Schoolboys rugby union team.

He then decided to embrace his roots and embark on a career in rugby league.

Rogers joined the same Sydney club, the Sharks, as his father and would eventually break his dad's long-standing club record of 1281 points. He also matched his dad's record of 26 points in a single match.

Rogers soared through the representative ranks to State of Origin, and then for Australia.

In 2000, Rogers played a starring role in the Kangaroos' victory at the 2000 rugby league World Cup, kicking six goals in the final against New Zealand.

But in 2001, after watching an old tape of himself playing school rugby, he regained the taste for rugby and shocked all by defecting to the "game they play in heaven".

Gold Coast Bulletin

[lonegull]

cant wait maybe rogers plus the major sponsor all in one

[TITAN PETE]

Awesome news to wake up to this morning & i can see Matt playing 5/8 along side Prince , a big strong 5/8 like Barrett,Fittler,Hill etc will always be a threat to the opposing team !
Bring on the TITANS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Darren Lockyer]

cant wait maybe rogers plus the major sponsor all in one

i hope so

[Capital_Shark]

Now just for Lote to come crawling back to league...

I got mixed thought on this. My heart says he should be a Shark, but my head says he's gonna be 32 and has been somewhat injury prone. Hopefully he'll go well and stay injury free. Big risk for the Titans to take in my opinion. Can't really blame him not coming back to the club that p!ssed all over his fathers memory with a pathetic end to the year that they were "doing it for Sludge".

[Darren Lockyer]

it's only a 2 year deal so he'll probably retire after that

[Queenslander]

Rogers to take huge paycut
By Daniel Pace
September 13, 2006

DUAL international Mat Rogers' pay packet will be more than halved when he returns to rugby league with the Gold Coast Titans after the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Rogers, 31, today confirmed he had accepted a two-year deal with the new NRL club for 2008 and 2009.

It's understood Rogers will received $300,000 a year from the Titans - a big drop from the $650,000 the Wallabies utility gets from the Australian Rugby Union.

Rogers said he wanted a fresh challenge and, while he had yet to achieve all his goals since switching to rugby union in 2002, he hoped to do so with a Wallabies win at the Rugby World Cup in France next year.

Rogers hinted the sudden death of his father, former Test rugby league centre Steve Rogers, at the start of the year had been been a factor in his decision.

"It's great opportunity to start afresh," Rogers told a brief press conference on the Gold Coast.

"It's been a tough 18 months for me and this is a great way to kick off a new part of my life."

He was looking forward to returning to live on the Gold Coast with his young family, having spent much of his teenage life there.

"I spent my formative years on the Gold Coast and it was the best days of my life," Rogers said.

However, he remained committed to the cause of achieving triumph for the Wallabies at the World Cup in a year's time, having played on the team which lost the 2003 World Cup final to England in Sydney.

"I'm certainly looking forward to the next 12 months in rugby," said Rogers.

"It'd be good to finish with a bang and I can move on knowing that I have achieved everything. By no means do I feel I have achieved everything in rugby (yet), there's still a lot to go."

Gold Coast chief executive Michael Searle said he wasn't concerned about Rogers being on the wrong side of 30.

"He's an athlete," Searle said.

"He's an absolute freak of a player and it's fantastic to get him back in our game."

AAP

[Steve Dangerous]

awesome news!

although i don't think i can wait until 2008! i was all excited that he was gonna be here next year. but still, at least we know we've got one great signing already lined up for our second year.

i know he'll be on the wrong side of thirty, but on the field he doesn't look it. he'll be able to keep up the pace for sure. plus he's taking a paycut to be here, so it shows he's really commited.

[piXie]

As much as we want to see the titans succeed....leaguies who leave CAN'T come back! If i was the ARU i'd drop him before the world cup!

[lonegull]

great news be interesting to see if they still pick him for the world cup

[Darren Lockyer]

As much as we want to see the titans succeed....leaguies who leave CAN'T come back! If i was the ARU i'd drop him before the world cup!

why not whos stopping them

[Titanium_BD1103]

awesome news!

although i don't think i can wait until 2008! i was all excited that he was gonna be here next year. but still, at least we know we've got one great signing already lined up for our second year.

i know he'll be on the wrong side of thirty, but on the field he doesn't look it. he'll be able to keep up the pace for sure. plus he's taking a paycut to be here, so it shows he's really commited.

I agree.. he will be a massive boost for the Titans and if he's taking a pay cut to do so as that article says, he will be committed for sure...

It will mean a bit of cost cutting at the end of season 2008, as at 300k he is still going to take up a fair bit of the salary cap, not to mention all the top class players who the GC have and if players shine in their first 2 seasons and want payrises when they come off contract...

HOWEVER he is a massive signing and can only be a good thing for the Titans, so I wish him all the best in 2007 and look forward to him playing for the GC in 2008... ... a big win here... :win: :win:


EDIT: He'll still get picked for the World Cup, Knuckles is not the type of coach who will drop a player cause they decided to change codes, and as long as he shows commitment to the Wallabies in 07 and is in form, he will be there along with hopefully Schif to provide great attacking options for our world cup campaign...

[Titanium_BD1103]

Here's an additional part to the article that Queenslander posted up for those wondering about his World Cup prospects....

Extract From: http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/ne...826985788.html

Although Rogers will no longer feature in the Wallabies' long-term plans, Wallabies coach John Connolly today pledged his support for Rogers in whatever decision he made.

"We've spoken to Mat over the last couple of days and the decision that he makes we'll support," Connolly told Sydney's Radio 2KY.

"We've had a good chat ... we discussed his future, what was best for him at times."

Although Rogers switches codes right after the World Cup, Connolly said it wouldn't affect his participation in that tournament in France.

"No, of course not. The team will be picked on merit. He's a wonderful player and probably fair to think, if fit, he'll be at the World Cup," Connolly said.

"At the moment he's been in the 22 whenever fit and an important player off the bench this year but you could probably see him providing more next year," he said.

"He's played very well at 12, he's played 10 for the Waratahs and for Australia, he's also played fullback for Australia and wing, he's a very valuable utility player and there's no doubt we'd like to work him into the team somewhere.

"It's a matter of where."

Rogers, one of three big-name league players recruited by the ARU before the 2003 World Cup, told senior union officials of his plans during a meeting at the InterContinental hotel in Sydney late yesterday.

A winger during his league career with Cronulla, Queensland and Australia, Rogers is likely to play either five-eighth or full-back when he returns.

Lote Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor, the two other major league stars to switch codes, have also expressed a desire to return to the NRL. Sailor, who is serving a two-year ban for cocaine use, last weekend declared he wanted to join St George Illawarra if he succeeded in having the penalty reduced at an upcoming appeals hearing.

Tuqiri has often stated that he would like to return to league after next year's World Cup.

The Sharks' point-scoring whiz Rogers signed with the ARU in 2002 in a five-year deal worth at least $350,000 a season and $10,000 a match in Wallaby payments. At the time he was on $320,000 a season with the Sharks and had played State of Origin for Queensland and for Australia. He grew up on the Gold Coast and represented Queensland in rugby as a schoolboy in 1993.

Rogers has 41 Wallabies Test caps and has played full-back, centre and at flyhalf.

His father Steve, 51, an Australian rugby league representative, was found dead in January on the stairs of the block of flats where he lived in Cronulla with his second wife, Ingrid.

There were no suspicious circumstances but he had been suffering from depression. Rogers's mother Carol died in 2001, after a battle with cancer, which devastated him and his siblings Don and Melanie. Rogers has two children, Jack and Skyla, with his first wife, Michelle.

[Darren Lockyer]

all i can say is it is a good signing