Matthew Goodwin (born 19 October 1960) is an Australian former

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 in the 1980s and 1990s.

Playing career

From 1983 until 1989 Goodwin played a total of 119 games for the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

, in the process scoring a total of 10 tries for the club. A tough forward who was a Penrith crowd favorite, Goodwin was voted as

'player of the year' in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. In 1990, Goodwin was cut by the Panthers coach

Ron Willey Ronald William Willey (1929−2004) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative for the Australian national side. Post-playing, Willey had a long and successful first grade and State representative coaching car ...

and later that year Goodwin signed for the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

. Unfortunately for Goodwin, he was injured while playing for the Eels and was subsequently released from his contract with the Eels in 1991. He made 27 appearances for the club in two years. After being released by the Eels in the 1991 season, Goodwin was signed by 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 ...

in 1992. But once again he was injured but this time, it was more serious, a chronic shoulder injury which effectively ended his career. He made only seven appearances for the Souths before he ended his 10-year first-grade career. In May to August 2016, his son Lou Goodwin featured on the

9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, anima ...

sport and reality program The NRL Rookie, hosted by

Brad Fittler Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is an Australian rugby league commentator, television presenter, and former player. Fittler captained both New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales ...

and won the competition.

References

1960 births Living people 20th-century Australian sportsmen Australian rugby league players Parramatta Eels players Penrith Panthers players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1960s-stub