Matt Moylan

Matt Moylan

Personal information
Full name	Matthew Moylan
Born	(1991-06-16) 16 June 1991 (age 32) Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Playing information
Position	Stand-off, Fullback
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2013–17 Penrith Panthers 89 26 29 8 170 2018–23 Cronulla Sharks 102 11 4 1 53 2024– Leigh Leopards 4 1 11 0 26 Total 195 38 44 9 249 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2012 NSW Residents 1 1 1 0 6 2014–17 NSW City 3 0 3 0 6 2014–16 Prime Minister's XIII 2 0 5 0 10 2015 NRL All Stars 1 0 0 0 0 2016 New South Wales 3 0 0 0 0 2016 Australia 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1] As of 9 January 2024

Matthew Moylan (born 16 June 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback, or stand-off, for the Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Super League.

He previously played for and captained the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and has played at representative level for the Prime Minister's XIII, NSW City, NRL All Stars and New South Wales in the State of Origin series and Australia at international level, playing as a fullback.

Background

Moylan was born in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia.

He played his junior football for the St Clair Comets and St. Patricks before being signed by the Penrith Panthers.

Playing career

Early career

Moylan played for Penrith's NYC team from 2009 to 2011. ^[2]

2012

Moylan playing for the Windsor Wolves in 2012

Moylan played for the Windsor Wolves, the NSW Cup feeder team to the Panthers.

2013

In round 7, Moylan made his NRL debut for the Penrith club against the Parramatta Eels in a 44–12 victory at Penrith Stadium. ^[3] He became Penrith's first-choice fullback. Moylan scored his first try in round 8 against the Sydney Roosters, losing 30–6 at the SFS. ^[4] He was ruled out of a match in round 13, due to second-tier salary cap issues, ^[5] but was available for selection the next week due to the injury of fullback Wes Naiqama. ^[6] Moylan finished his debut year in the NRL with 13 matches, 3 tries and 2 goals. He was named Penrith's Rookie of the Year.^{[ citation needed ]}

2014

In February 2014, Moylan was selected in Penrith's inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad. ^[7] In round 3, against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Moylan kicked a sideline goal to win the game for Penrith 18–16 at the death when winger Kevin Naiqama scored in the 79th minute to tie the match up at match at 16-all at Penrith Stadium. ^[8] Moylan was selected to play for the NSW City side in the City vs Country Origin match at Dubbo's Apex Oval. Moylan played at fullback in the 26-all draw. ^[9] In round 18, against the Brisbane Broncos at Penrith Stadium, he kicked a field goal in the last minute to win the match for the Penrith side, 35–34. ^[10] In round 23, he repeated the feat by kicking the winning field goal in the 79th minute at Penrith Stadium to beat the North Queensland Cowboys, 23–22. ^[11] On 9 September 2014, Moylan extended his contract with the Penrith outfit from the end of 2015 until the end of 2017. ^[12] On 29 September 2014, Moylan was selected in the Australian train on squad. On the same day, he was named as fullback for the Prime Minister's XIII side to play against Papua New Guinea. ^[13] On 15 October, Moylan was called into the Kangaroos' 2014 Four Nations squad to replace Jarryd Hayne, who had announced that he was leaving rugby league to play American football in the National Football League. ^[14] Moylan didn't play a match in the series.

2015

On 13 February, Moylan played at fullback for the NRL All Stars against the Indigenous All Stars in the 2015 All Stars match at Cbus Super Stadium, the NRL All Stars losing 6-20. ^[15]

Moylan playing for City in 2015

On 3 May, he played for New South Wales City against New South Wales Country, playing at fullback in the 2015 City vs Country Origin match and kicking 3 goals in City's 22–34 loss at Wagga Wagga. ^{[16] [17]} In round 12, against the Parramatta Eels, he suffered a season ending foot injury in Penrith's 20–26 loss at Penrith Stadium. ^{[18] [19]} He finished the 2015 season having played in 11 matches, scoring 2 tries, kicking 20 goals and kicking 2 field goals for the Penrith side. ^[20]

2016

On 13 January, Moylan was named in the emerging New South Wales Blues squad. ^[21] On 27 January, he was named by incoming coach Anthony Griffin as the new captain of the Penrith club for the 2016 NRL season. ^{[22] [23] [24]} In round 5, against the Parramatta Eels, he made his return from injury for the Panthers, making his debut as club captain in the Panthers' last minute 20–18 win at Parramatta Stadium. ^[25] After showing good form in the early rounds, Moylan was leading the race for the fullback spot for New South Wales facing competition from Wests Tigers superstar James Tedesco and Lachlan Coote from the North Queensland Cowboys but eventually beating them to the starting number 1 jersey. ^[26] On 1 June 2016, Moylan made his debut for New South Wales against Queensland, playing at fullback in the 4–6 loss at ANZ Stadium. ^[27] After regaining the fullback spot for game 2, where the Blues lost 16-26 including the 2016 State of Origin series at Suncorp Stadium, Moylan was dropped from the team for James Tedesco. However, halfback Adam Reynolds was ruled out due to a shoulder injury, so Moylan, who performed solidly in the first two matches, was called back into the squad where he started game 3 at five-eighth even though he hadn't played a NRL match in the position. ^{[28] [29]} Moylan featured in all 3 matches for Blues in their 2–1 series loss. On 22 September 2016, Moylan extended his contract with the Penrith side until the end of the 2021 season. ^[30] Moylan finished off the 2016 NRL season with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 4 tries for Penrith. At the end of the year, Moylan was named in the Australia 2016 Four Nations 24-man squad. ^[31] Moylan played in one match in the tournament, in the first round against Scotland where he played at fullback in the 54–12 win at Craven Park, Hull. ^[32]

2017

After Penrith's Round 5 clash against the Melbourne Storm, where they lost 28–6 at AAMI Park, Moylan alongside Waqa Blake and Peta Hiku were dropped to the Panthers NSW Cup team for 1 match after they breached the booze curfew by being out in the Melbourne nightlife into the early hours of the next morning. ^[33] Moylan played the first half the season playing at fullback before switching to five-eighth where he had success in the position. ^[34] After being one of the main influences for Penrith to guide themselves into the top 8 after a 7-game winning streak, Moylan was a shock absentee for Penrith's finals campaign after ruling himself to due to personal issues. ^{[35] [36]} Moylan finished the 2017 NRL season with him playing in 18 matches and scoring 8 tries for the Penrith club. On 9 November 2017, it was confirmed that Moylan was released from his contract with Penrith to join the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in a swap-deal with James Maloney, being signed on for four years. ^{[37] [38]} It was rumoured before the swap that Moylan was "disinterested and restless" and was having a feud with coach Anthony Griffin. ^[39] There is also claims that he didn't turn up to his rehabilitation sessions for his hamstring injury and that he didn't want to captain the team anymore. ^[40]

2018

In round 1 of the 2018 NRL season, Moylan made his club debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against the North Queensland Cowboys, starting at five-eighth in the 20–14 loss at 1300SMILES Stadium. ^[41] Moylan made a total of 24 appearances for Cronulla in his first season with his new side as the club reached the preliminary final before losing to Melbourne 22–6. ^[42]

2019

In round 3, Moylan suffered a hamstring injury in Cronulla's 42–16 win over North Queensland ruling him out for six weeks. ^[43] Moylan returned to the Cronulla side in round 11 for their match against rivals St George which Cronulla won 22–9 at WIN Stadium. ^[44]

2020

On 1 March, Moylan was ruled out of the first 4–6 weeks of the 2020 NRL season after suffering a calf injury in pre-season training. ^[45]

2021

Moylan played 15 games for Cronulla in the 2021 NRL season which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table. ^[46]

2022

Moylan played 24 games in the 2022 NRL season and scored five tries as Cronulla finished second on the table. Moylan played in both finals matches as Cronulla were eliminated in straight sets. ^[47]

2023

Moylan played a total of 20 matches for Cronulla in the 2023 NRL season as Cronulla finished sixth on the table. ^[48] On 20 November, Moylan signed a two-year deal to join English side Leigh. ^[49]

2024

In round 1 of the 2024 Super League season, Moylan made his club debut for Leigh in their 16-8 loss against Huddersfield. ^[50] In round 5, Moylan scored a try and kicked nine goals in Leigh's 54-4 victory over Hull F.C.. ^[51]

Statistics

NRL

Statistics are correct as of the end of 2023 season ^[1]

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2013	Penrith Panthers	13	3	2/3	66.67%	0	16
2014		26	9	7/13	53.85%	3	53
2015		11	2	20/28	71.43%	2	50
2016		21	4	0/3	0.00%	3	19
2017		18	8	0	—	0	32
2018	Cronulla-Sutherland	24	2	0	—	0	8
2019		11	0	0	—	0	0
2020		8	0	4/4	100.00%	0	8
2021		15	2	0	—	0	8
2022		24	5	0	—	1	21
2023		20	2				8
2024
Career totals		191	37	33/51	64.71%	9	223

All Star

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2015	NRL All Stars	1	0	0	—	0	0
Career totals		1	0	0	—	0	0

City vs Country

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2014	NSW City	1	0	0	—	0	0
2015	NSW City	1	0	3/4	75.00%	0	6
2017	NSW City	1	0	0	—	0	0
Career totals		3	0	3/4	75.00%	0	0

State of Origin

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2016	New South Wales	3	0	0	—	0	0
Career totals		3	0	0	—	0	0

International

Season	Team	Matches	T	G	GK %	F/G	Pts
2016	Australia	1	0	0	—	0	0
Career totals		1	0	0	—	0	0

References

1. "Matt Moylan – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
2. "Matthew Moylan player results, scores, news and statistics". Rleague.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
3. Jancetic, Steve (29 April 2013). "Panthers Cruise to 44-12 Victory Over Parramatta Eels". Fox Sports. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
4. "Roosters sink Penrith, two Jennings tries". Sports News Australia. 5 May 2013.
5. "Moylan 'filthy' after salary limit".
6. Tuxworth, Jon (15 June 2013). "Raiders surge past Panthers". The Sydney Morning Herald.
7. "Squads for Auckland Nines". Rugby League Week. 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
8. Encarnacion, Matt (22 March 2014). "Panthers beat Bulldogs after the siren". National Rugby League. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
9. Toohey, Barry (4 May 2014). "Hulking Centre Jamal Idris Stars in Thrilling City/Country Draw in Dubbo". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
10. "Moylan seals dramatic Panthers win". National Rugby League. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
11. "Moylan field goal downs Cowboys". National Rugby League. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
12. Talbert, Kristine (11 September 2014). "Moylan and Cartwright Re-Sign With the Panthers on the Eve of the NRL Finals". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
13. Ritchie, Dan (12 October 2014). "Moylan and Mansour Shine as Prime Minister's XIII Beats PONG 34-16". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
14. "Moylan called into Kangaroos squad". National Rugby League. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
15. "Indigenous All Stars Have Beaten the NRL Stars 20-6". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
16. "Representative Round team lists". National Rugby League. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
17. Brady, Jack (3 May 2015). "Country overcome City in seesawing affair". National Rugby League. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
18. "Brilliant Parramatta Halfback Chris Sandow Nails Wounded Panthers". Courier Mail. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
19. "Matt Moylan Won't Return from Foot Injury in 2015; Sets Sights on 2016 Return". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
20. Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (21 October 2015). "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project.
21. "Daley names 2016 Emerging Blues". National Rugby League. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
22. "New Panthers captain revealed | NRL". Zero Tackle. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
23. "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
24. "Matt Moylan the new Panthers captain". National Rugby League. 27 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
25. Michael Chammas (3 April 2016). "NRL season 2016: Penrith Panthers score two late tries to snatch victory from Parramatta Eels". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
26. "NSW Origin team 2016 announced: Full team list for State of Origin Game 1 | video, live stream". News.com.au. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
27. John Dean (3 June 2016). "State of Origin 2016: Laurie Daley says Matt Moylan will be fullback for Origin 2". Fox Sports . Retrieved 30 March 2017.
28. "NSWs Matt Moylan on His Switch to Five Eighth for Game Three". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
29. "NSW Defeat Queensland 18-14 With Last Gasp Try". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
30. "Matt Moylan and Bryce Cartwrtight Will Stay With Penrith Until End of 2021". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
31. "2016 Kangaroos Four Nations squad". National Rugby League. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
32. "For Nations: Australian fullback Matt Moylan's star continues to rise in the UK". Fox Sports. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
33. "Panthers boss endorses Moylan's axing". dailytelegraph. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
34. "Injury could force Moylan move". dailytelegraph. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
35. "Doctor raised Moylan concern a month ago". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 30 November 2021. (subscription required)
36. NRL Finals 2017: Penrith Panthers confirm Matt Moylan to miss semi-final against Brisbane Broncos
37. "Penrith Panthers confirm release of Matt Moylan to join Cronulla Sharks in James Maloney swap". 9 November 2017.
38. "Matt Moylan will be Cronulla Sharks five-eighth, says coach Shane Flanagan". 9 November 2017.
39. "Clubs circling a 'restless' Moylan". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
40. Matt Moylan split with Penrith Panthers: Details behind Anthony Griffin feud, Phil Gould meeting
41. "Thurston reaches 300 not out in style". Couriermail.com.au. 30 November 2021. (subscription required)
42. NRL preliminary final: Storm sink Sharks – as it happened | Sport | The Guardian
43. "NRL injury update: Matt Moylan, Gareth Widdop, Paul Gallen news". sportingnews.com. 14 August 2021.
44. "Xerri hat-trick sinks Dragons in Wollongong". National Rugby League. 26 May 2019.
45. "Out of their depth: Fresh Matt Moylan injury leaves Sharks in disarray". Australia: Fox Sports. 2 March 2020.
46. "Papenhuyzen back to best as Storm secure minor premiership". National Rugby League. 3 September 2021.
47. "Young gun who can solve Sharks' big problem; masterstroke that can't be overlooked: Brutal Review". Australia: Fox Sports. 19 September 2022.
48. "Sydney Roosters score 'wild' 13-12 NRL elimination final win over Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers beat Warriors". Australian: ABC News.
49. "Leigh Leopards sign former Cronulla Sharks half-back". www.bbc.co.uk.
50. "Super League: Leigh 8-16 Huddersfield - Giants edge Leopards in testy encounter". www.bbc.co.uk.
51. "Super League: Hull FC 4-54 Leigh Leopards - visitors run in nine tries". www.bbc.co.uk.

External links

• Cronula-Sutherland Sharks profile