Matthew Sturm (born 13 December 1972) is a 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 New Zealand and in the

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 ...

. Since 2007 he has been part of the

Mount Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 Auckland Rugby League season, 2009 ...

, as a player till 2012 and now part of the coaching staff.

Playing career

Early years

Sturm was a

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

junior.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1993'',

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...

, 1993. p.159 He played in the inaugural

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

season with the

Counties Manukau Heroes The Counties Manukau rugby league team represents the Counties Manukau zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. Previously, teams representing Southern Auckland and the Franklin (district), New Zealand, Franklin district of New Zealand have competed ...

, starting for the Heroes in the grand final which they lost to North Harbour.

English career

After standing out in New Zealand, Sturm moved to England and joined the

Huddersfield Giants The Huddersfield Giants are an English professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Huddersfield play their home games at the John Smiths Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league sy ...

in the

. After playing in 46 games for the Giants, Sturm joined

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

in the

Northern Ford Premiership The Rugby Football League Championship Second Division was founded in 1902 and was the second tier of professional rugby league in the UK until 2003. During the 1990s a third division was established and there is automatic promotion between ...

for the 2000 season. In 2002 Sturm left Workington for the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

. He played another 19 Super League games over three seasons before again moving on. In 2004 Sturm joined

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

and helped them win promotion into the Super League. Sturm played in 45 games for Leigh over the 2004 & 2005 seasons but were relegated at the end of the year.

Return to New Zealand

Sturm played for the

Auckland Lions The Auckland Lions were a rugby league club that had teams in both the New Zealand Bartercard Cup and the NSWRL Premier League. They were mostly drawn from the Mt Albert Lions Rugby League club. Mt Albert had a proud tradition in Auckland and had ...

in the 2007 Bartercard Cup grand final. He then joined the

Mt Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 Auckland Rugby League season, 2009 ...

and played in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

competition till 2012 where he retired on a 58–10 win against

Glenora Bears The Glenora Bears are a rugby league football club based in Glen Eden, Glen Eden, New Zealand who compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition. History The club was established in 1931 Auckland Rugby League season, 1931 when t ...

in the fox memorial shield grand final. After retirement, he joined the coaching staff at

Where he still is at the current day.

Representative career

Sturm represented New Zealand Māori in 1995 and 1996 and the Lion Red Cup XIII in 1995.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1995'',

, 1995. p.179 In 1995 he was part of the

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

side that won the

Rugby League Cup The Rugby League Cup is a New Zealand rugby league trophy that is contested between districts on a challenge basis. The trophy used to be known as the Northern Union Challenge Cup. It is the oldest rugby league competition in New Zealand. Hist ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturm, Matthew 1972 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players Counties Manukau rugby league team players Glenora Bears players Huddersfield Giants players Leigh Leopards players Mount Albert Lions players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Rugby league players from the Auckland Region Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Warrington Wolves players Workington Town players