He is now best known for his work in television alongside his partner Marc Ellis in shows including Game of Two Halves and Marc & Matthew's Rocky Road to….
Rugby union career
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2023)
Rugby league career
Despite never having played a game of rugby league in his life, Ridge was signed by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and their Kiwi coach Graham Lowe to play in the New South Wales Rugby League's Winfield Cup competition from mid-1990 (according to Ridge in a 2024 podcast, he signed for AU$35,000 for his first half year and that would increase to $60,000 from 1991 while getting $2,000 for a win and $1,000 for a loss. At the time he was only on $15 a day and described himself as "poor" and openly said he switched codes for the money).[5] Ridge made his debut at fullback for the Sea Eagles in their Round 10 clash with Cronulla at Manly's home ground, Brookvale Oval. He became the team's first choice goal kicker ahead of captain and dual rugby international Michael O'Connor and part-time kicker Mal Cochrane when he kicked 6/7 in his first game helping 10th placed Manly to a 24–8 win over the third-placed Sharks. Ridge ended the 1990 season as Manly's leading scorer with 94 points (2 tries, 43/57 goals) in 11 games.[6]
Just six games into his rugby league career, Ridge played his first test for New Zealand against the touringGreat Britain Lions.[2] He made his test debut in the 2nd test played at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, displacing Manly team mate Darrell Williams in the No.1 jumper (Williams was moved to the centres). Although the Kiwis lost the match 14–16 and subsequently the series, Ridge established himself as the Kiwis first choice kicker whenever he played, kicking 5/8 on debut. He would kick another 6/7 in the 3rd and last test in Christchurch as the Kiwis salvaged some pride with a 21–18 win.
Ridge's 'defection' from rugby union to rugby league was the subject of a TV documentary, In a Different League. It was hosted and narrated by his friend and former teammate John Kirwan who himself switched to league with the Auckland Warriors in 1995. The documentary, broadcast in 1991, showed Ridge's early days with Manly and his introduction to test football with the New Zealand team, as well as the reaction when All Blacks first choice fullback John Gallagher also switched to league a week after Ridge when he signed for famous English club Leeds.[8]
After an injury-interrupted 1992 season when Ridge regained his place as the Kiwis' fullback for the two tests against the touring Great Britain team, the 1993 season started solidly. However a serious knee injury against Balmain in Round 10 of the season would rule him out out until 1994. This would also see him miss selection in the mid-season tests against Australia as well as the Kiwis end of season tour of Great Britain and France.
Ridge returned to form in 1994, playing 23 games for Manly and scoring 234 points (5 tries, 106/132 goals) for the season. He also regained the Kiwi #1 jumper when he was selected for the two tests against Papua New Guinea in October.[9]
Ridge played and kicked goals in each of the 1995 Trans-Tasman Test series' three games against Australia, though the Kiwis lost the series 0–3 (he kicked 7/8 during the series, only missing his first kick in the 3rd test).[citation needed]
Ridge finished the 1995 ARL season as the league's top point-scorer with a club record 257 points (11 tries, 106 goals and 1 field goal), breaking Graham Eadie's record of 242 points. At the end of the season he played for the Sea Eagles at fullback in their 4–17 Grand final loss against the Sydney Bulldogs. Ridge captained the New Zealand team at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup in England and Wales. The Kiwis finished in third place, losing a hard-fought semi-final 20–30 to Australia after extra-time in Huddersfield.[citation needed]
In 1996, Ridge a prominent supporter of Super League in the dispute which split the sport, sat out nine weeks of the season when the new competition was put on hold.[10] However, Manly won the ARL Grand Final, defeating the Dragons, with Ridge playing a major part. In 1997, Ridge moved to the Auckland Warriors who had switched to the Super League during the Super League war.
In total, Ridge scored 1,093 points in 122 first grade games for Manly between 1990 and 1996 (32 tries, 477/599 goals @ 79.63%, 11 Fg [citation needed]), putting him then third on the all-time Sea Eagles point scorers list behind fullbacks Bob Batty and Graham Eadie. Ridge's total currently sees him in fourth place. Along the way, he set the Sea Eagles' records for single season scoring (257 points in 1995 from 11 tries, 106 goals and 1 field goal), and points in a match – 30 points (2 tries, 11 goals) against Western Suburbs in 1996.
Ridge spent the 1997 Super League season as captain of the Warriors, though injuries kept him to just 9 games. He also captained New Zealand in a Super League test match against Australia in 1997.[citation needed]
In 1998 he wrote an autobiography with Angus Gillies, Take No Prisoners, published by Hodder Moa Beckett. He continued as captain of the Warriors in the 1998 NRL season and the first half of the Warriors' 1999 season. However, in the 1999 season he was sent off and suspended three times, missing twelve weeks, and he retired after the season.[citation needed]
In total he scored 238 points in 37 first grade games for the New Zealand Warriors between 1997 and his retirement in 1999 (8 tries, 103 goals). At the time of his retirement he was the all-time top scorer in international matches for the New Zealand national rugby league team with 168 points (6 tries, 71 goals) from 25 test appearances.
Post-playing career
In 2002, Matthew Ridge was chosen to host the original New Zealand version of television game show The Chair which first broadcast on ABC in January 2002 in the United States hosted by former tennis champion John McEnroe.[11]
Ridge later became a television presenter, working with his partner Marc Ellis in various sports-related shows like 'Game of Two Halves', and 'Marc & Matthew's Rocky Road to ...'.[12] In 2021 he presented a TV series Designing Dreams on six New Zealand architects: Roger Walker, Pip Cheshire, Julie Stout, Nicholas Dalton, Anna Maria Chin and Michael O'Sullivan.[13][14]
He was involved in a car accident in 2009, fracturing his pelvis and hip.[15]
Personal life
Ridge's first wife was Sally Ridge, an interior designer and television presenter for TVNZ's Homefront. In November 2010, Ridge and his then-partner Carly Binding had a son, London Luca Ridge.[16] In December 2017, Ridge and his second wife Chloe Alexa Liggins also had a son.[17]
Ivan Cleary is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a fullback and centre in the 1990s and 2000s.
Graham "Wombat" Eadie, is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative fullback, he played in Australia during Manly-Warringah's dominance of the NSWRFL competition during the 1970s. He won four premierships with them and his 1,917 points in first grade and 2,070 points in all grades were both records at the time of his retirement. Eadie also played in England for Halifax, winning the Challenge Cup Final of 1987 with them. He also won World Cups with Australia and collected awards such as the Rothmans Medal and Lance Todd Trophy.
Michael David O'Connor is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union footballer who represented Australia in both codes. He played for the Wallabies in 13 Tests from 1979 to 1982 and then the Kangaroos in 17 Tests from 1985 to 1990. O'Connor played club football in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons from 1983 until 1986, and later the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles from 1987 until his retirement at the end of 1992, becoming captain of Manly in 1990, as well as winning the 1987 Winfield Cup with the Sea Eagles.
Stephen Matai is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League from 2005 to 2016. A New Zealand national representative centre, he played for Australian club the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. Matai helped the Sea Eagles win the 2008 and 2011 Premierships. He was also part of the New Zealand national squad that won the nation's maiden title at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Known particularly for his uncompromising defence, in 2020, Matai was voted the National Rugby League's hardest hitter over the past 30 years.
Gene Robert Ngamu is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer. He played mainly as a halfback or five-eighth, and is probably best known for his combination with Stacey Jones at the Auckland Warriors and the Kiwis.
The 1996 ARL premiership was the 89th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be administered by the Australian Rugby League (ARL). Twenty teams contested the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, four from Queensland, and one each from New Zealand, the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia. Ultimately two Sydney clubs, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and St. George Dragons contested the grand final.
Desmond Henry White was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. A record-breaking goal-kicking fullback, he was named amongst the country's finest players of the 20th century. His total for points scored in all matches (61) for the Kiwis is a record 467. He won championships with Auckland's Ponsonby club and his total of 794 points is the all-time club record.
Frano Michael Botica is a New Zealand-Croatian rugby union and rugby league coach and former player in both codes, who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He is the head coach of the Philippines sevens team.
Kevin Samuel Locke, also known by the nickname of "Knobby", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Northcote Tigers in the Auckland Rugby League. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League and for the Salford Red Devils and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League. He primarily plays as a fullback and wing.
Darrell Christopher Williams is a New Zealand rugby league selector and NRL Judiciary member and a former footballer and coach. A New Zealand international representative outside back, he played his club football in the Auckland Rugby League for Mt Albert and in Sydney's NSWRFL Premiership for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Parramatta Eels. He later coached the Samoan national team.
Dean Whare pronounced (FAR-dEH) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a Halfback for the Glebe Dirty Reds in the NSWRL Ron Massey Cup, and New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level.
Shaun Johnson, nicknamed "Magic Johnson", is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who last played as a halfback for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is a New Zealand dual-code rugby international footballer who currently plays as a centre for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League, and as a Fullback for Samoa.
The 1991 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 3 July in Melbourne and finished on 31 July in Brisbane, consisted of three test matches, with the third test doubling as a 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup tournament match. New Zealand did not play in any other matches while on tour.
The 1995 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league, three test series played in Australia between the Australian Kangaroos and New Zealand national rugby league team. As the series was played in the middle of the 1995 ARL season and most of the Kiwis selected came from Australian Rugby League (ARL) clubs, New Zealand did not play in any tour matches while in Australia, but prior to the series against Australia they had a two test home series against France.
Dylan Walker is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL), and has played for Australia and the New Zealand Maori at international level.
Shannon Nevin is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Balmain Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and its predecessor the Australian Rugby League (ARL).
Tuimoala Lolohea is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a stand-off or fullback for the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both New Zealand and Tonga at international level.
The 1993 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 20 June in Auckland and finished on 30 June in Brisbane, consisted of three test matches. The three Tests attracted a total of 74,494 fans.
Addin Fonua-Blake is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for both Tonga and New Zealand at international level.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
