Matt Gillett
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Matthew Gillett (born 12 August 1988) is an Australian former professional
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
footballer who played as a or forward in the 2010s. He played for the
Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...
in the
NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
at international level. Gillett also played for
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
in the
State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two States and territories of Australia, Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales Blues and the Queensland ru ...
and the
Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked ...
. Gillett also started games as a er in his career.


Background

Gillett was born in Macksville, New South Wales, Australia and moved with his family to Bribie Island, Queensland at the age of three years.


Playing career


2010

After Gillett's impressive year in the Queensland Cup, Brisbane Broncos head coach
Ivan Henjak Ivan Henjak () (born 9 March 1963)http://broncos.com.au/index.php?page_id=individual_player&player_id=157&team_id=1 Accessed on 23 December 2008. Quote: "Born Croatia 9th Mar 1963" is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer a ...
rewarded Gillett with a preseason in 2010. In Round 1 of the
2010 NRL season The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the grand final, played on 3 ...
Gillett made his NRL debut for the
Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...
in the season opening match against the
North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...
, playing off the interchange bench and scoring a try on debut in the Broncos 30–24 win at
Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...
. On 23 June 2010, Gillett extended his contract with the Brisbane Broncos for a further three-years, keeping him at the NRL club until 2013. On 8 September 2010, Gillett won the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award at the 2010 Dally M Awards presentations. Gillett finished his NRL debut year with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 12 tries. Gillett was named the 2010 Brisbane Broncos season's rookie of the year. On 26 September 2010, Gillett was selected for the
Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked ...
and played in the 30–18 win over
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
in
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
.


2011

Gillett finished the Broncos
2011 NRL season The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The ...
with him playing in 19 matches and 6 scoring tries. In the preliminary finals match against the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...
at the SFS, Gillett filled in at five-eighth for the retiring Broncos legend
Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profe ...
after Lockyer suffered a cheekbone injury in the 13–12 Semi Finals win against the
St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...
at Suncorp Stadium.


2012

Gillett was selected as the 18th man in the
Australian Kangaroos The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Comm ...
for the 2012 Anzac test in April, however he didn't make his test debut. A month after the ANZAC test, Gillett was selected in the
Queensland Maroons The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales rugby league tea ...
squad. On 23 May 2012, Gillett made his representative debut Queensland against
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
in Game 1 of the 2012 State of Origin series, playing off the interchange bench in the 18–10 win at
Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands, Victoria, Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 199 ...
. Gillett played in all 3 games of the Maroons 7th in-a-row shield winning series. Gillett finished off the Broncos
2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...
with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 6 tries.


2013

On 10 April 2013, Gillett re-signed with the Brisbane Broncos until the end of 2016 NRL season. Gillett played from the interchange bench in all three games of the
2013 State of Origin series The 2013 State of Origin series was the 32nd time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. It was the first series to be administered by the ...
, helping Queensland extend their record for consecutive series victories to eight. Gillett finished off the Broncos
2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixt ...
with him playing in 22 matches and scoring 7 tries. On 29 September 2013. Gillett got selected for the
Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked ...
and played off the interchange bench in the 50–10 win over
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
in
Kokopo Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo/Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population o ...
.


2014

On 14 February 2014, Gillett was selected in the Broncos inaugural
2014 Auckland Nines The 2014 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the first NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 30 October 2013 ...
squad. On 2 May 2014, Gillett made his international debut for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
against
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
in the
2014 Anzac Test The 2014 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on 2 May 2014. It was the 15th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League ...
, playing off the interchange bench in the 30–18 win at
Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Football Stadium may refer to: * Sydney Football Stadium (1988), the original stadium which was demolished in 2019. * Sydney Football Stadium (2022) Sydney Football Stadium, currently known as Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons, i ...
after he was originally named the 18th man but replaced club teammate
Sam Thaiday Samuel Arthur Thaiday (; born 12 June 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League, serving as their captain from 2012 until 2013. An Australia national rug ...
to make the 17-man team. Gillett was selected for the Queensland Maroons and played in all 3 matches of the
2014 State of Origin series Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an un ...
as they lost the series for the first time since 2005. In Round 21 against the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...
, Gillett played his 100th NRL career match for the Broncos in the Broncos 16–4 loss at
Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval, currently known as 4 Pines Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Brookvale, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by the M ...
. In Round 25 against the
St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...
, Gillet was wrongfully sin-binned by referee Ben Cummins for making a tackle while allegedly offside, when he was actually 30m onside, a blunder that could have cost the Broncos a finals berth after they had a 24–4 lead and the Dragons did a minor comeback but the Broncos were lucky to escape with a 30–22 win at
Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...
. Gillett finished off the Broncos
2014 NRL season The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Leagu ...
with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 10 tries. In September 2014, Gillett was selected for the Australia Kangaroos Four Nations train-on squad but withdrew due to injury.


2015

In Round 1 of the
2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followe ...
, against the
South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...
, Gillett scored the Broncos first try off the season off the interchange bench in the Broncos 36–6 loss at
Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...
. Gillett was selected in the Queensland Maroons squad for the
2015 State of Origin series The 2015 State of Origin series was the 34th time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams to be played entirely under 'state of origin' rules (1980 and 1981 were only one game series). It wa ...
. In Game 2, Gillett scored his first try in Maroon colours in the series tying 26–18 loss at
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
. Gillett played in all 3 matches and scored 2 tries for Queensland in the 2–1 series win. On 4 October 2015, in the Broncos Queensland derby
2015 NRL Grand Final The 2015 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2015 NRL season and was played on Sunday 4 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys. North Queensland won the ma ...
against the
North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...
, Gillett played at second-row in the Broncos historic golden point 17–16 loss. Gillett finished the
2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followe ...
having played in 25 matches and scoring 3 tries for the Broncos.


2016

On 6 May 2016, Gillett played for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
against
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, starting at second-row in the 16–0 win at
Hunter Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre, currently known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knight ...
. For the
2016 State of Origin series The 2016 State of Origin series was the 35th time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams to be played entirely under 'state of origin' rules (1980 and 1981 were only one game series). The ...
, Gillett played for Queensland, starting at second-row in all 3 matches in the Maroons 2–1 series win. During the season, Rumours were floating around about where would Gillett will end up after season's end due to his contract expiring, Gillett reportedly had talks with the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugb ...
, the
Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the ...
, the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...
and the
New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...
. In Round 26, against the
Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...
, Gillett played his 150th NRL match in the Broncos 24–14 win at
Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...
. On 13 September 2016, Gillett agreed to re-sign with the Broncos on a 4-year extension, to the end of the 2020 season after months of speculation of who he would sign with. On 28 September 2016, at the
2016 Dally M Awards The 2016 Dally M Awards were presented on Wednesday 28 September 2016. They are the official annual awards of the National Rugby League and are named after Dally Messenger. Cooper Cronk and Jason Taumalolo became just the second joint winners of t ...
, Gillett was named as the Dally M Second-rower of the Year after another outstanding season for the Broncos. Gillett finished the
2016 NRL season The 2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 19th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, ...
with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 3 tries for the Broncos. On 20 September 2016, Gillett was added to the Kangaroos 2016 Four Nations train-on squad. On 4 October 2016, Gillett was selected in the
Australian Kangaroos The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Comm ...
final 24-man squad for the tournament. On 13 November 2016, when the Kangaroos played against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, Gillett scored his first international try for Australia in the 36–18 win at
London Olympic Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is loc ...
. Gillett played in 4 matches and scored 1 try of tournament including starting at second-row in the Kangaroos 34–8 Four Nations Final win against New Zealand at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
.


2017

In February 2017, Gillett was selected in the Broncos
2017 NRL Auckland Nines The 2017 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the fourth NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 4–5 February 2017 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Just like previous tournaments, it ...
squad. On 5 May 2017, Gillett played for Australia in the
2017 ANZAC Test The 2017 Anzac Test was a Test match (rugby league), rugby league test match played between Australia national rugby league team, Australia and New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand at Canberra Stadium. It was the 18th and last Anzac ...
against New Zealand where he started at second-row and was awarded as the Man of the Match after toppling the tackle count with 46 during the 30–12 win at
Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium, commercially known as GIO Stadium Canberra, is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sp ...
. For the
2017 State of Origin series The 2017 State of Origin series was the 36th State of Origin series, annual best-of-three series between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series Q ...
, Gillett played in all 3 matches, starting at second-row in the Maroons 2–1 series win. Gillett finished the
2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, ...
with him playing in 25 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Broncos. On 27 September 2017, Gillett again was awarded as the Second-Rower of the Year at the
2017 Dally M Awards The 2017 Dally M Awards was presented on Wednesday 27 September 2017. They are the official annual awards of the National Rugby League and are named after Dally Messenger. Dally M Medal Dally M Player of the Year: Cameron Smith † Taumal ...
night. On 3 October 2017, Gillett was selected in the 24-man Australia Kangaroos
2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...
squad. Gillett played in 5 matches of the tournament, starting at second-row in all of them including in the World Cup Final against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the hard-fought 6–0 victory at
Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...
.


2018

Gillett was only restricted to play in 5 matches for the Broncos in the
2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...
after he suffered a serious neck injury. In Round 1 against the
St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...
, Gillett suffered the injury while running up the ball and being tackled by Dragons forward
Luciano Leilua Luciano Leilua (born 8 June 1996) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). He previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys and West ...
during the 34–12 loss at
Jubilee Oval Jubilee Stadium (also known as Kogarah Oval) is a multi-purpose stadium in Carlton, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one of the home grounds of the National Rugby League (NRL) ...
. Thinking it was a sore neck, Gillett was told by the medical staff to get scans after playing in 4 more matches through the pain, Gillett received the bad news that he had a fracture in the neck and was forced to sit out for the rest of the year. On 23 May 2018, Gillett extended his contract with the Broncos on a 4-year deal, to the end of the 2022 season, Gillet commenting on the signing, "being a one-club at the Broncos is a very special thing".


2019

In Round 1 against the
Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...
, Gillett made his return to the field from his neck injury in the Broncos 22–12 loss at
AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, currently known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the suburb of East Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victor ...
. Playing back at lock instead of right back row, Gillett said, "It felt like I was in a washing machine cycle for about 70 minutes, just running around trying to do my job." Gillett would recapture his good form in the early rounds even though the Broncos did struggle to win matches, earning a recall back into the Queensland squad over
Gavin Cooper Gavin Cooper (born 19 August 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a for the North Queensland Cowboys, Gold Coast Titans and Penrith Panthers in the NRL. He started in the second row in the Cowboys' ...
for the
2019 State of Origin series The 2019 State of Origin series was the 38th State of Origin series, annual best-of-three series between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, ...
. Gillett made 17 appearances for Brisbane in the
2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...
as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals. Gillett played his 200th and final
NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
game in the club's elimination final against Parramatta which Brisbane lost 58–0 at
Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, currently known as CommBank Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium (1986) which in turn ...
. The defeat was, at the time, the worst in Brisbane's history and also the biggest finals defeat in history. On 31 October, Gillett announced his retirement from
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
due to ongoing injuries.


Statistics


References


External links


Brisbane Broncos profile2017 RLWC profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillett, Matt 1988 births Living people Australian rugby league players Brisbane Broncos players Australia national rugby league team players Prime Minister's XIII players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Norths Devils players Redcliffe Dolphins players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league locks Rugby league players from New South Wales 21st-century Australian sportsmen