Matthew Rieck

Matthew Rieck
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Rieck
Born	8 April 1980 (age 44); Penrith, Australia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb; 12 st 13 lb)
Playing information
Position	Wing
Club
	Source: As of 16 January 2019

Last updated December 30, 2024

Matthew Rieck (born 8 April 1980) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays for the Dapto Canaries in the Tooheys Illawarra Rugby League first grade competition in New South Wales, Australia. He previously played professionally for the Wests Tigers, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League, his position of choice was usually on the wing and for much of his career he was considered one of the fastest professional rugby players in the world.

Background

Rieck was born in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.

Playing career

Rieck originally started out with junior club the St Clair Comets playing 148 games in total for them over several seasons and age groups where he reached the hundred game mark for the club in the 1995 season.

After some impressive performances for the club matched with his impressive pace and skill of continually finding the try line he was signed by the Penrith Panthers.

Penrith Panthers

Rieck made his first grade debut for Penrith in the 1999 season in the round 11 clash against the Newcastle Knights at Penrith Stadium on 16 May. It took him until round 15 that year until he could finally rack up his first points for the club against the New Zealand Warriors where he would eventually score twice.

In total, Rieck played three seasons for Penrith tallying up eight tries in a limited number of opportunities. Rieck's most consistent season at Penrith was his final year at the club in 2001 where he made 14 appearances and scored five tries. Penrith would finish the 2001 NRL season with the Wooden Spoon.^[2]

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

In 2002 with Chris Anderson taking the reins as the new coach at the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, the club quickly signed Rieck from the Penrith.

Rieck made his Cronulla debut in round 1 of 2002 against long-time rivals the St George Illawarra Dragons. Rieck scored once opening his Cronulla try tally and also won the game for the Sharks in the final minutes making him somewhat of a zero turned hero after a below average performance for the majority of the game. Rieck made 16 tries for the season which capped off an impressive start for his new club.

2003 was a year of ups and downs for Rieck; at times he looked brilliant but more often that not simple mistakes and poor ball handling cost him and his team at several times throughout the season. Injuries (particularly with his hamstring) also started to become more frequent for Rieck and he missed several regular-season games. All of this meant Rieck only scored 8 tries for his second season at Cronulla.

The 2004 season become Rieck's last at the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks as Stuart Raper took over from Chris Anderson towards the end of the season. Injuries continued to plague him and somewhat of a mass re-building of the players at the club took place and it was made known Rieck was surplus to Rapers requirements. In total for his last season at Cronulla he scored 10 times in a mere 15 appearances; also racking up a record in reserves scoring five times in a single game.^[3]

Wests Tigers

Rieck was signed by the Wests Tigers at the beginning of the 2005 NRL season and began at his new club by playing in the lower grades before eventually being called up to first grade during the middle of the season for six games in which he would go on to score three times.

A rumoured falling out with Tigers head coach Tim Sheens saw him drop back into the lower grades where he remained for the rest of the season and was eventually released.

Playing statistics

Has scored 168 points made up from 42 career tries
Scored 3 tries in a match on two occasions (v. Knights & Roosters)

Related Research Articles

Brett Firman is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s. He played in the National Rugby League, primarily in the halves, for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters, North Queensland Cowboys, Penrith Panthers, and the Helensburgh Tigers of the Illawarra Rugby League.

Brett Howland is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition. He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks but was forced out due to the salary cap. His position of choice was at wing, although he was also known to play at fullback.

David Simmons is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. He primarily played as a wing, fullback and centre.

Lance Thompson was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for St. George, St. George Illawarra and Cronulla-Sutherland. He primarily played in the second-row, though he also played prop.

Paul Franze is a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League, Gateshead Thunder in the Championship and Pia Donkeys in the Elite One Championship as well as a stint as a rugby union player for the London Irish in the Guinness Premiership. In both codes, Franze primarily played as a centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Fitzgibbon</span> Australian rugby league footballer and coach

Craig Fitzgibbon is an Australian professional rugby league coach and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s and is the current head coach of Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

Luke Lewis is an Australian rugby league commentator and former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.

Bryson Goodwin is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who last played as a goal-kicking centre or winger for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League.

Michael Gordon is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s, he played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Gordon was a New South Wales, Origin and Country representative. He played at wing and fullback and was a noted goal-kicker.

Wade Graham is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a second-row forward and captained the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for Australia at international level.

Matthew Wright is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre, wing and fullback for the Townsville Blackhawks in Hostplus Cup.

Gerard Beale is a New Zealand international rugby league professional footballer who last played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.

Nathan Gardner, also known by the nickname of "Gards", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who has played in the 2000s and 2010s. He has played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, usually as a fullback, but also as a wing. He previously played for the Parramatta Eels Toyota Cup (Under-20s) team and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He made his National Rugby League (NRL) premiership début in the 2010 season against the Penrith Panthers.

Cameron McInnes is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a lock forward for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL.

Fa'amanu Brown is a professional rugby league footballer who last played as a hooker for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and has represented Samoa and New Zealand at international level. He played as a halfback, five-eighth and lock earlier in his career.

Scott Sorensen is a New Zealand international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward and lock for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.

Jack Bird is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre, five-eighth and second-row forward for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Siosifa Talakai is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or second-row forward for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Jesse Ramien is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Ronaldo Mulitalo is a professional rugby league footballer from New Zealand who plays as a winger for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for the United States, Samoa and New Zealand at an international level.

References

↑ "Matthew Rieck - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org.
↑ "Footy Flashbacks: Newcastle 60-18 Penrith (2001)". www.loverugbyleague.com.
↑ "In the stands by your man - footy wives keep the faith". The Sydney Morning Herald.

External links

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.

[1] "Matthew Rieck - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org.

[2] "Footy Flashbacks: Newcastle 60-18 Penrith (2001)". www.loverugbyleague.com.

[3] "In the stands by your man - footy wives keep the faith". The Sydney Morning Herald.

[1]

[2]

[3]