Mathew Head (born 9 May 1982) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s as a for the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George, Sydney, St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since NR ...

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

and

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

Background

Head was born in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, 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 The 2004 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 6th in the joint-venture club's history, and they competed in the 2004 NRL season. Coached by Nathan Brown and captained by Trent Barrett, they finished the 2004 Telstra Premiership 5th (out ...

's top point-scorer. Head's career has been plagued by recurring knee injuries , thus leaving the club at the end of the 2007 season. Head & Tony

Hull

In 2007, Head signed for

until the end of that season in a bid to help the club reach the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of ...

play-offs which they defeated the 2nd week of the playoffs to Wigan Warriors.

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. 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. 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 or , rather than first grade. 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 The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain, New South Wales, Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of ...

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 The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

. In 2019, Head was coach of the

Canterbury Cup team that won the minor premiership. In 2021, Head has recently been appointed head coach of the

NRLW team in the upcoming 4 week season.

References

External links

Mathew Head
player profile at

St. George Illawarra Dragons profile
1982 births Living people Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Hull F.C. players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Wagga Wagga Shellharbour City Dragons players St. George Illawarra Dragons players Wests Tigers players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1980s-stub