Mathew Head

For other people named Matthew Head, see Matthew Head (disambiguation).

Mathew Head (born 9 May 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s as a halfback for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Wests Tigers and Hull F.C.

Mathew Head

Personal information
Full name	Mathew Head
Born	(1982-05-09) 9 May 1982 (age 41) Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	78 kg (12 st 4 lb)
Position	Halfback
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2003–07 St. George Illawarra 57 8 95 1 219 2007 Hull F.C. 10 1 0 1 5 2008 Wests Tigers 11 1 0 0 4 2009 St. George Illawarra 10 0 0 0 0 Total 88 10 95 2 228
Source: ^[1]^[2]

Background

Head was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.

Playing career

St. George Illawarra Dragons

Head began his professional rugby league career in 2003, making his first grade debut in round 3 on 29 March 2003. He was the 2004 St. George Illawarra Dragons season's top point-scorer. Head's career has been plagued by recurring knee injuries ^{[citation needed]}, thus leaving the club at the end of the 2007 season.

 

Motu Tony with the ball and Mathew Head in action for Hull

Hull

In 2007, Head signed for Hull F.C. until the end of that season in a bid to help the club reach the Super League play-offs in which they were defeated in the 2nd week of the play-offs to Wigan Warriors.^[3][4]

Wests Tigers

In November 2007, after announcing his desire to return to Australia, Head was signed by the Wests Tigers on a one-year contract.^[5] Fitness levels and injuries again limited his time on field during the 2008 season.

Return to the St. George Illawarra Dragons

In August 2008, Head agreed to a return to the Dragons in 2009.^[6][7] Since being signed by St George Illawarra, Head was generally assigned to play for St George Illawarra's feeder club, the Shellharbour Dragons, in the position of halfback or five-eighth,^[8][9] rather than first grade.^[10] His contract with the Dragons was not renewed and he then returned to his junior team Dapto Canaries and became their captain coach in the 2010 season.

Coaching career

Head was the Balmain Tigers SG Ball head coach between 2013 and 2015, winning the SG Ball in 2013 and the under 20's coach for the St George Illawarra Dragons club in 2016. In 2017, he was the Illawarra RLFC coach in the NSW Cup.^[11][12] In 2019, Head was coach of the St. George Illawarra Dragons Canterbury Cup team that won the minor premiership. In 2021, Head was appointed head coach of the St. George Illawarra Dragons NRLW team in the upcoming 4 week season. In 2022, Head replaced Matthew Elliott as assistant coach of the men's team.^[13]

Year	Team	Wins	Draw	Losses
2013	Balmain Tigers SG Ball	11	0	3
2014	Balmain Tigers SG Ball	8	0	3
2015	Balmain Tigers SG Ball	8	0	3
2016	St George Illawarra Dragons NYC	16	1	9
2017	St George Illawarra Dragons ISP Cup	8	1	9
2018	St George Illawarra Dragons ISP Cup	14	0	8
2019	St George Illawarra Dragons CC Cup	13	3	6

References

1. "Mathew Head – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
2. "Mathew Head". Love Rugby League.
3. "Half-back Head makes Hull switch". BBC News. 25 June 2007. from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
4. Gardiner, Wayne (25 June 2007). . SportingLife. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
5. . Fox Sports. Australia. Australian Associated Press. 5 December 2007. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
6. "2009 NRL Player Movements". NRL Live. 4 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
7. Jackson, Glenn; Stevenson, Andrew (27 August 2008). . LeagueHQ. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
8. Keeble, Tim (25 July 2009). "Luke Priddis, Mathew Head set to ignite Shellharbour". Illawarra Mercury. from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
9. . World of Rugby League. 20 March 2009. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
10. Barrow, Tim (6 April 2009). "Doubts raised over Mathew Head's future". Illawarra Mercury. from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
11. Head, Mat (16 March 2017). "Coaches' Corner – Mat Head". NSW Rugby League. from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
12. Talintyre, Dan (17 April 2014). "Balmain Junior Reps Finals Announced". Wests Tigers. from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
13. "Dragons announce 2022 football department appointments". 21 October 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2024.

External links

• player profile at St. George Illawarra Dragons