Robbie Rochow (born 22 August 1990) is an Australian former professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer who played as a forward in the 2010s.
He previously played for the
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998 ...
in two spells, the
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...
,
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are ...
and the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
in the
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
. He played for
New South Wales Country in 2014.
Background
Born in
Maitland, New South Wales, Rochow attended
All Saints College, Maitland
All Saints College is a dual-campus independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. The College is administered by the Catholic Schools Office of the Roman Cathol ...
. He played his junior football for the East Maitland Griffins before graduating to first-grade for the
Kurri Kurri Bulldogs. As a 17-year-old, Rochow played SG Ball with the
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...
before being signed by the
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998 ...
. Rochow played for Melbourne's
NYC
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
team in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, Rochow played in the
Toyota Cup Grand Final-winning Melbourne team.
Playing career
2010
In Round 14, Rochow made his
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
debut for the Melbourne club against the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
off the interchange bench in their 38–6 loss at
AAMI Park
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district.
When complet ...
. This was Rochow's only NRL match for the season.
2011
In July, Rochow signed a one-year contract with the
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...
, his junior club, to link up with
Wayne Bennett. He only played 1 match in
2011.
2012
In May, Rochow re-signed with the Newcastle club on a two-year contract after impressive form in the
NSW 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 reserv ...
. In Round 19, Rochow made his club debut for the Newcastle side off the interchange bench after
Neville Costigan was ruled out with injury. In Round 21 against 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 Rugby ...
, Rochow scored his first NRL try in the club's 36–6 win at
Canberra Stadium
Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports ve ...
. Rochow finished his first year with the Newcastle outfit playing in eight matches and scoring one try.
2013
On 22 May, Rochow re-signed with the Newcastle side on a two-year contract. Rochow finished the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
with him playing in all 27 matches and scoring two tries.
2014
In February, Rochow was selected in Newcastle's 2014 inaugural
Auckland Nines
The NRL Nines is a rugby league nines competition, normally held during the NRL preseason each year. It was initially held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 2014 and 2017 before going on hiatus. Returning in 2020, hosting duties moved to Perth ...
squad. Rochow was selected for the
Country Origin
The Country New South Wales rugby league team is a representative rugby league football team. Between 1987 and 2017 there were two tiers: the Origin team that consisted of professional players who originated from clubs of the Country Rugby Leagu ...
squad for the annual
City vs Country Origin
City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sydney ...
match. Rochow played off the interchange bench in the 26-26 all draw in
Dubbo
Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.
The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and G ...
. He finished the
year
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the ...
with him playing in all of Newcastle's 24 matches and scoring three tries.
2015
On 31 January and 1 February, Rochow played for Newcastle in the
2015 NRL Auckland Nines
The 2015 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the second NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 16 September 201 ...
. His
2015 season was interrupted by back and arm injuries, limiting his game time to just five matches and scoring one try as the club finished last.
2016
In February, Rochow co-captained the Newcastle club in the
2016 NRL Auckland Nines
The 2016 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the third NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 6–7 February 2016 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. As with previous tournaments, it wa ...
.

On 26 August 2016, Rochow signed a one-year contract with the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are ...
starting in 2017. He finished the
2016 season having played in eight matches in his last season for the Newcastle side.
2017
In February 2017, Rochow was named in South Sydney's
2017 NRL Auckland Nines
The 2017 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the fourth NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 4–5 February 2017 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Just like previous tournaments, it ...
squad. In round 1 of the
2017 NRL season
The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...
, he made his club debut for South Sydney against the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
, playing off the interchange bench in their 18–34 loss at
ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
** ...
. After failing to gain a regular spot in the South Sydney line-up, he played the majority of the first half of the season with North Sydney in the
Intrust Super Premiership 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 reserv ...
. He made a total of four appearances for North Sydney.
In July, Rochow rejoined the
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998 ...
, the club he started his NRL career at, for the remainder of the season, after being released from his South Sydney contract in a player swap with South Sydney for Melbourne forward
Dean Britt
Dean Britt (born 17 March 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a forward for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.
He previously played for the Melbourne Storm and the South Sydney Rabbitohs i ...
.
In September, he signed a two-year contract with the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
, starting in 2018.
2018
In round 1 of the
2018 NRL season
The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 te ...
, he made his debut for the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
against the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
, playing at second row 10–8 win at
ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
** ...
. In round 4 against 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.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and thei ...
, he scored his first try for the
West Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
30–20 win at
ANZ Stadium
ANZ may refer to:
People
* Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician
Banks
* ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia
** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand
** ...
.
2019 Final season
Rochow played a single game for the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
in the
2019 NRL season
The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...
, featuring almost exclusively for their reserve grade feeder club
Western Suburbs. At the end of the season Rochow announced his retirement.
References
External links
Wests Tigers profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochow, Robbie
1990 births
Living people
Australian people of German descent
Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players
Newcastle Knights players
Melbourne Storm players
Kurri Kurri Bulldogs players
North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players
Rugby league second-rows
Rugby league locks
Rugby league players from Maitland, New South Wales
South Sydney Rabbitohs players
Wests Tigers players
Western Suburbs Magpies NSW Cup players