Matthew Orford (born 22 April 1978), also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

of "The Ox", 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 in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Gosford Townies as a junior. A City New South Wales representative , he played the majority of his club football career in Australia for

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 ...

clubs

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 ...

and

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 ...

, representing the latter when he won 2008's Dally M Medal and NRL premiership. Orford also played for NRL sides Northern Eagles and

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 ...

, as well as in

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

for England's

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

Playing career

Orford was a

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in Cammeray on Sydney's North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The club currently competes in the NSW Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL s ...

junior and started his career with the Northern Eagles before joining the

. In 2004, he was named the Storm's player of the year. He joined the

for the 2006 NRL season. He was later appointed captain of the club. Orford was a member of the Manly-Warringah team which lost the 2007 NRL grand final to the

. Orford captained the Manly-Warringah club in the 2008 NRL Grand Final victory over the

. In September 2008, Orford won the prestigious Dally M Medal for being voted the best and fairest player of the 2008 NRL season. He finished on 24 points, two points ahead of Billy Slater. Orford was the first player since Peter Sterling to win the Dally M Medal and the premiership in the same year. He signed for the

on a three-year deal, starting in the 2010 season. However, his first season with the struggling Yorkshire club did not go well and was brought to an early finish due to Orford suffering a shoulder injury that would require surgery. He gained a release from the Bradford club in order to return home to Australia. Orford's release was officially granted on 10 January 2011, and he signed with the

on the same day. Affected by a groin injury, Orford played six matches for Canberra in the

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 ...

. At the end of the season, he was released from the remainder of his contract.

Post retirement

On 14 August 2016, Orford underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. In 2023 he was appointed as Manly's Under 16s Development Coach.

References

External links

Bradford Bulls profileMatt Orford at ''NRL.com''Matt Orford at ''Manly Sea Eagles''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orford, Matt 1978 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate rugby league players in England Bradford Bulls players Canberra Raiders players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles captains Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Melbourne Storm players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players Northern Eagles players Prime Minister's XIII players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Gosford, New South Wales Sportsmen from New South Wales