Matt McIlwrick (born 4 June 1991) is a New Zealand 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 and . He previously played for the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

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 ...

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 ...

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

and 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 the

National Rugby League 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 ...

Background

McIlwrick was born in

Christchurch, New Zealand Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over half a million. It is located in ...

. He played his junior football for the Halswell Hornets. While playing for the Hornets, he represented the

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 ...

Under 16s team. In 2008, he joined the

on a 3-year contract.

Playing career

2008-11

In 2008, McIlwrick played for the

S. G. Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of male players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne, and Auckland also participate. Prior to the COVID ...

team, winning the Players' Player award. In Round 10 of the 2008 NYC season, McIlwrick made his

NYC New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive wit ...

debut. He went on to play in 64 NYC matches between 2008 and 2011. In 2010, McIlwrick played for the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Sup ...

in their 2010 two-match series against the

Junior Kangaroos The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. Th ...

2012-15

Before the start of the

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 ...

, McIlwrick re-signed with the Raiders on a 2-year contract. He moved on to the Raiders'

New South Wales 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 reserve ...

team,

Mount Pritchard Mounties The Mounties Rugby League Football Club (sponsored by Mounties Group) is an Australian rugby league football club based in Mount Pritchard, New South Wales formed in 1927. They currently play in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield. Recent ...

. In Round 8, he made his

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 ...

debut for the Raiders against the

. On 18 April 2013, McIlwrick re-signed with the Raiders on a 2-year contract. On 9 September 2014, McIlwrick was named in the

train-on squad for the 2014 Four Nations, but didn't make the final squad. In November, the

made an inquiry about the contract status of McIlwrick, looking to potentially sign him as a back-up to regular

Jake Friend Jake Friend (born 1 February 1990) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played as a . He spent his entire first-grade career, spanning 2008 to 2021, with the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL); at the time of his ...

, but the approach was initially turned down by the Raiders. On 4 December, after coming to an agreement, McIlwrick signed a 1-year contract with the Roosters starting in 2015, after being released from the final year of his Raiders contract. McIlwrick played in 8 games for the Roosters in the 2015 season, but was released at the end of the year. On 20 November, he signed a 1-year contract with the

starting in 2016.

2016-17

Making just 2 appearances in first grade, McIlwrick was, however, named at hooker in the 2016 Intrust Super Premiership NSW Team of the Year. In late 2016, Jason Taylor announced that McIlwrick had signed with the

on a one-year contract starting in 2017. With former hooker

Robbie Farah Robert Peter Farah () (born 23 January 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international, Lebanese international and captain of New South Wales Blues team, he has played th ...

having left the club and

Jacob Liddle Jacob Liddle (born 27 October 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. Background ...

having only played one game of first grade, McIlwrick started the season as Wests Tigers hooker. Interchanging with Liddle, McIlwrick played in every game of the season before missing the last through suspension. He was second in the club for tackles made, and was described as having a "solid year." His contract was extended to the end of the 2019 season.

2018

On 29 June, McIlwrick joined South Sydney in a player switch with

. McIlwrick said of the move "It's been a bit of a whirlwind last couple of days but I'm extremely privileged to be at such a proud club and I can't wait to rip in with the boys, from the outside in, South Sydney has always been such a big club, has some big names and is historically well known. I'm excited to be part of that and I've heard great things about the culture here".

2019

On 18 March, South Sydney announced they were releasing McIlwrick from the remainder of his contract to "join another NRL club". On 20 March, he signed with 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 ...

for the 2019 season. but made no appearances for them, instead playing for their feeder club side the

Wentworthville Magpies The Wentworthville Magpies, colloquially known as ''Wenty'', are an Australian rugby league team based in the suburb of Wentworthville in Greater Western Sydney, Sydney's Western Suburbs. Founded in 1963 (or 1937), the club has competed in vari ...

in the

Canterbury Cup NSW 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 reserve ...

competition. McIlwrick played in Wentworthville's grand final defeat by

Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, New South Wales, Newtown, a suburb of Inner West (Sydney), Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after t ...

. On 5 November, McIlwrick announced his retirement as a player via his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account saying "After 8 years of playing Professional Rugby League I have decided it’s time for me to retire, I am fortunate enough to have made some life long mates through footy since moving to Australia from NZ 12 years ago. I have been extremely lucky to have played with and against some of the greatest players in the world, been coached by some of the best coaches and had the privilege of pulling on the jersey for many great clubs over the years".

References

External links

Parramatta Eels profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McIlwrick, Matt 1991 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Canberra Raiders players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Halswell Hornets players Junior Kiwis players Mount Pritchard Mounties players New Zealand rugby league players Newtown Jets NSW Cup players North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players Rugby league hookers Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Christchurch Sydney Roosters players Wentworthville Magpies players Western Suburbs Magpies NSW Cup players Wests Tigers players