Mind over MAT

Life, fame, controversy and grief have all been part of the mental challenge for international football player, Mat Rogers – now he’s taking on a new test

Speaking with Mat Rogers it’s easy to get the impression that life is just a series of events that don’t bear too much explanation or interpretation. For the Jetstar Gold Coast Titans’ newest team member, however, that series of events has included sporting achievements which many of us dream of and personal challenges most of us dread.

It is for personal reasons that, in 2007, 31-year-old Rogers returns full circle to the Gold Coast to play out his sporting career. He is reverting to the football code he made his name in, as well as the region that launched his career.

Growing up the son of a Rugby League legend, the late Steve Rogers, there were high expectations that Mat would emulate his father’s achievements. Luckily, the young Rogers was never fazed by expectation or family ties.

“Ever since I was a kid, Dad was Dad and everybody wanted to talk about Dad,” Rogers says. “People say to me ‘does it feel weird (to have a famous dad)?’ but I’m just like, ‘That’s life’.”

Rogers quickly lived up to those expectations, however, playing Rugby Union at the Southport School on the Gold Coast, from where he was often selected for underage representative teams. But sticking with Rugby Union beyond school was never an option for Rogers and he showed he was not afraid of a challenge by signing with the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks, the club where his father’s legacy was born.

“I was probably always going to go back and play Rugby League,” Rogers says. “First and foremost, I wasn’t keen on going to university. Rugby Union wasn’t professional and Rugby League was. Plus I got offered a few contracts to go back to Rugby League. And my father was a Rugby League player, so there was never much doubt I was going to play League.”

It was not long before a 19-year-old Rogers made his first grade debut for the Sharks in the opening round of the 1995 season. It was the beginning of Rogers’ formidable career, not only with Cronulla – where he equalled his father’s point-scoring record for one particular match – but also as a representative player for state and country.

Rogers went on to represent Queensland in the State of Origin as well as play an integral role in Australia’s success in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup (complete with platinum-blond bleached hair). He established himself as a successful Rugby League player in his own right and, rather than being a burden, comparisons with his father were seen as a form of praise.

“A lot of people tell me I look exactly like him on the football field. It’s a great compliment I think,” Rogers says. “I watched him play and he was just phenomenal. So many people say, ‘You’re just like your dad’ but I wouldn’t put myself in the same breath as my father.

“Being his son I look up to him as a god and I have never dreamt of being anywhere near as good as him at anything – although I did beat him at golf all the time in the last few years of his life.”

But the early part of the new millennium saw Rogers drawn across to the Rugby Union ranks, which were now not only professional but also able to offer attractive contracts unfettered by salary caps. Rogers’ early Rugby Union experience played greatly in his favour.

“A lot of the players who had gone on and were playing for the Wallabies and Queensland and New South Wales I’d played with: Nathan Grey, Elton Flatley, Joe Roff, Ben Tune,” he says. “I played with all those guys at school level and I saw them achieving and I just wanted to do it… it was just the right time for me.

“When the ARU [Australian Rugby Union] approached me I was as keen as ever to do it and given the opportunity I jumped at it.”

After making the switch to Union, Rogers quickly earned a place in the Australian Wallabies squad, playing for New South Wales in provincial rugby along the way. He initially made an impact as a kind of “super sub” before becoming a vital member of the Wallabies team that narrowly lost the 2003 Rugby World Cup to England in Sydney.

Aside from becoming a dual football international, one of the biggest bonuses of making the transition to Rugby Union was the extensive travel.

“I really enjoyed seeing a lot of the world that I would never have seen had I not played rugby,” Rogers says. “Spending time in Argentina and Brazil, going over to the UK, Japan and South Africa. Even going to the towns in New Zealand; it’s a beautiful country and when you only go to Auckland you don’t really see the beauty of it. Playing rugby, you get to see the whole country; it’s a lovely place. It was great going to such places.”

During his time in union, however, Rogers’ life took several challenging turns: his mother passed away, he separated from his first wife with whom he has two children, and then, at the beginning of 2005, he was rocked by his father’s suicide.

As a result, he was subjected to intense scrutiny during a highly emotional period, as his every action was interpreted against a backdrop of how he was “handling things”.

“People talk rubbish – you read stuff that’s good and you read stuff that’s bad or you hear stuff that’s bad and you hear stuff that’s good. There’s no way in the world you can please everyone,” Rogers says.

“I’ve got a really close group of friends and if one of those people got upset with me then I would really go out of my way to rectify that situation, but there’s no point trying to please everyone because you’re never going do it.”

Instead Rogers prefers to focus on the positive, primarily life with his new partner, TV presenter and model Chloe Maxwell, and their son Max. It’s this new family, rather than the unsuccessful end-of-season tour with the Wallabies, that motivated his decision to return to Rugby League and start afresh with the Titans.

“We (the Wallabies) weren’t as successful as everyone would have liked. We didn’t quite get it together,” Rogers admits. “But it was more the personal reasons in my life that made my mind up to move on and have a fresh start – just had a new baby, and with Chloe and stuff, I thought I needed to break away from Sydney, the Cronulla area in particular, and start anew in Queensland.”

Rogers returns to league with extra playmaking experience thanks to playing fullback, centre and five-eighth in Union. But he won’t be making any demands at the Titans, contrary to a popular rumour that has followed him since his first stint in league.

“People have said I demanded things – never once have I demanded to play in a position,” Rogers says. “I’m a team player and always willing to play wherever the coach puts me. It will be exactly the same at the Titans. It’s certainly not my decision and it can’t be that way.”

And this time around Rogers won’t be putting himself forward for representative football. Instead he will be focusing on making the Titans a success and, above all, enjoying himself.

“I’ve got a four-year contract with the Titans and until the body won’t let me play anymore I’ll keep playing. I love it,” Rogers says. “I really enjoy the game, I enjoy the camaraderie with the players and I’m just looking forward to getting out there and getting back into the NRL (National Rugby League).

“Young players have come of age as stars, superstars even, while I’ve been away. It will be good to see what I’ve got to offer, in a sense, and comparing myself to these young blokes that have come along.”

INSIGHTS

“Travelling the world is sensational and I feel privileged to have been able to visit some amazing places during my sporting career, but I can honestly say the pick of them all is the Gold Coast.

Experiencing different cultures and seeing a new place is always very exciting, but when the plane swings around on approach to the Gold Coast and I look out down at the surf and see the coastline with it’s high rise buildings – which seem to climb higher into the sky each time you return – and the endless beaches, you know deep down that you are living in a great part of the world.

It’s not only a great place to bring your family, but there is always something new and exciting to do.

The other Jetstar destination I like to getaway to when the footy season has finished is Bali. There are few things better than having a quiet drink and taking in a famous Bali sunset. The Balinese are the perfect hosts and it’s just a great place to relax and unwind.

The Bali Holiday Resort in Seminyak (for all your travel needs go to jetstar.com) is a favourite of mine with great rooms and facilities and it’s really close to the best restaurants and shopping areas

PHOTOGRAPHY REMCO JANSEN @ STUDIO ULTRA
MAKEUP RINA OF COUTURE HAIR & MAKE-UP
WORDS HUGH BALDWIN