Matthew Spence (born 7 April 1976) is a former professional rugby league footballer and coach. His position of preference was in the second row, although he also played as prop occasionally.
Matthew Spence
Personal information
Born
(1976-04-07) 7 April 1976 (age 48) Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Spence then moved to Australia, joining the Parramatta Eels and making his first grade debut in 1995. He impressed many in his rookie season and was awarded the Eric Grothe Rookie of the Year award at Parramatta.[3] However he needed a knee reconstruction in 1997 and this injury plagued his next two seasons at the Eels.[citation needed]
He signed for the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1999 and looked to rebuild his career. However, before the season had started he failed a NRL drug test, testing positive for ecstasy.[4][5][6] He was the first player to be suspended under the NRL's new drug rules and received a seven-week suspension.[7]
With the Magpies merging with Balmain for the 2000 season he was forced to move clubs again and returned home to New Zealand to play for the Auckland Warriors. He was not re-signed by the new owners in 2001 and retired. When not required by the Warriors in 2000, Spence was assigned to play for the Newtown Jets.[8] He played for the Northcote Tigers in the 2002 Bartercard Cup.[citation needed]
Later yearsedit
In 2003 Spence was the player-coach of the new Tihoi club in the Waicoa Bay club competition.[9]
In 2009 and 2010 Spence was the player-coach for the Turangi Dambusters in the Bay of Plenty premier competition, his old junior club.[10]
matthew, spence, born, april, 1976, former, professional, rugby, league, footballer, coach, position, preference, second, although, also, played, prop, occasionally, personal, informationborn, 1976, april, 1976, plenty, zealandplaying, informationheight191, we. Matthew Spence born 7 April 1976 is a former professional rugby league footballer and coach His position of preference was in the second row although he also played as prop occasionally Matthew SpencePersonal informationBorn 1976 04 07 7 April 1976 age 48 Bay of Plenty New ZealandPlaying informationHeight191 cm 6 ft 3 in Weight98 kg 15 st 6 lb PositionSecond rowClub Years Team Pld T G FG P 1995 98 Parramatta Eels 35 4 0 0 16 1999 Western Suburbs 15 1 0 0 4 2000 Auckland Warriors 18 3 0 0 12 Total 68 8 0 0 32Source RLP Contents 1 Early years 2 Playing career 3 Later years 4 References 5 SourcesEarly years editBorn in New Zealand Matthew grew up playing for the Turangi Dambusters in the Bay of Plenty competition 1 Spence also played for the Junior Kiwis 2 Playing career editSpence then moved to Australia joining the Parramatta Eels and making his first grade debut in 1995 He impressed many in his rookie season and was awarded the Eric Grothe Rookie of the Year award at Parramatta 3 However he needed a knee reconstruction in 1997 and this injury plagued his next two seasons at the Eels citation needed He signed for the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1999 and looked to rebuild his career However before the season had started he failed a NRL drug test testing positive for ecstasy 4 5 6 He was the first player to be suspended under the NRL s new drug rules and received a seven week suspension 7 With the Magpies merging with Balmain for the 2000 season he was forced to move clubs again and returned home to New Zealand to play for the Auckland Warriors He was not re signed by the new owners in 2001 and retired When not required by the Warriors in 2000 Spence was assigned to play for the Newtown Jets 8 He played for the Northcote Tigers in the 2002 Bartercard Cup citation needed Later years editIn 2003 Spence was the player coach of the new Tihoi club in the Waicoa Bay club competition 9 In 2009 and 2010 Spence was the player coach for the Turangi Dambusters in the Bay of Plenty premier competition his old junior club 10 References edit Matthew Spence rugbyleague co nz Jessup Peter 28 August 1999 Rugby League Warriors recruit can t wait The New Zealand Herald Retrieved 22 October 2011 Honour Roll Archived 2008 12 21 at the Wayback Machine parraeels com au RL Spence only Wests player to test positive officials AAP Sport 8 February 1999 RL League still waiting for more info from ASDA AAP Sport 9 February 1999 RL NRL awaiting full ASDA report on Spence dead link AAP Sport 9 February 1999 RL Drugs tribunal gives Spence seven week ban dead link AAP Sport 17 March 1999 Backs To The Future by Richard Becht Scoop Sport 16 March 2000 Waicoa Bay Premiership 2003 Season Preview rleague com 11 April 2003 Star Spence in roving Dambusters role The Daily Post 13 July 2009Sources editAlan Whiticker amp Glen Hudson 2007 The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players Wetherill Park New South Wales Gary Allen Pty Ltd ISBN 978 1 877082 93 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Matthew Spence amp oldid 1107966925, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
