Matty Lees (born 4 February 1998) is an English 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 plays as a for St Helens 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 ...

and the

England Knights England Knights is the feeder team for the England national rugby league team. The Knights play a key role in the development of emerging talent, allowing players to gain experience in an international environment and to compete for a place in ...

and

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 ...

at international level. He has spent time on loan from

Saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

at the

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They play home games at the Olympic Legacy Park and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Sheffield's on ...

in the

Betfred Championship The Rugby Football League Championship, (known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second highest division of rugby league in Britain (with one team in the league also being based in France) after the Super League. Intr ...

Career

Lees was signed by St Helens from amateur club

Rochdale Mayfield Rochdale Mayfield are an amateur rugby league football club from Castleton, Rochdale, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the top division of the National Conference League. The club also operates academy teams who are known coll ...

at the age of 16. He made his

and professional début on 7 September 2017 at Belle Vue against

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

. Saints won the game 16-18. In 2018, he played for the

on Dual registration. He made 19 appearances for Saints during the 2018 season, and was nominated for the Super League Young Player of the Year award. Lees signed a new three-year contract prior to the start of the 2019 season. Although his season was cut short after suffering a bowel injury, he received another nomination for the Young Player of the Year, and was this time voted as the winner of the award. He played for St Helens in their 8-4

2020 Super League Grand Final The 2020 Super League Grand Final was the 23rd official Grand Final and championship-deciding game of Super League XXV. The game was won 8–4 by St Helens over their local rivals Wigan Warriors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the first S ...

victory over Wigan at the Kingston Communications Stadium in Hull. On 17 July 2021, Lees played for St. Helens in their 26-12

2021 Challenge Cup Final The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was the 120th final of the Rugby Football League's Challenge Cup knock-out competition. It took place on 17 July 2021 at Wembley Stadium between Castleford Tigers and St Helens. Background The 2021 Challenge Cup ...

victory over Castleford. On 9 October 2021, Lees played for St. Helens in their 12-10

2021 Super League Grand Final The 2021 Super League Grand Final was the 24th official Grand Final and championship-deciding game of Super League XXVI. The game was contested between Catalans Dragons and St Helens R.F.C., St Helens at Old Trafford. Background The two finalis ...

victory over

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

. On 24 September 2022, Lees scored the fastest try in Super League Grand Final history after crossing over in the second minute of play during St Helens 24-12 victory over

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in the decider. On 18 February 2023, Lees played in St Helens 13-12 upset victory over Penrith in the

2023 World Club Challenge The 2023 World Club Challenge (known as the 2023 Betfred World Club Challenge for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th staging of the World Club Challenge. The match was contested by the NRL winners Penrith Panthers, and Super League champions S ...

. Lees played 26 games for St Helens in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished third on the table. Lees played in St Helens narrow loss against the Catalans Dragons in the semi-final which stopped them reaching a fifth successive grand final. Lees played 25 matches for St Helens in the 2024 Super League season which saw the club finish sixth on the table. Lees played in St Helens golden point extra-time playoff loss against Warrington.

International career

In July 2018 he was selected in the

Performance squad. Later that year he was selected for the

on their tour of

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 ...

. He played against

at the

PNG Football Stadium PNG Football Stadium, known by the sponsored name of Santos National Football Stadium and previously as Lloyd Robson Oval until 2015, is a sporting ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It hosted three games for the 1989–1992 Rugby League ...

and the Oil Search National Football Stadium.

References

External links

St Helens profileSL profileSaints Heritage Society profileEngland profile
1998 births Living people 21st-century English sportsmen England Knights national rugby league team players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Rugby league players from Rochdale Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Sheffield Eagles players St Helens R.F.C. players {{England-rugbyleague-bio-stub