Steven Frederick ROGERS
Steven Frederick ROGERS
AKA Steve ROGERS
* Nickname: Sludge ; the Prince of Centres
Late of Cronulla, NSW
Relations in ‘the job’:
“possible” relation in ‘the job‘: ?
NSW Police Training Centre – Redfern – Class # 145
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 16687
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Tuesday 5 November 1974 ( aged 19 years, 11 months, 16 days )
Probationary Constable- appointed Monday 16 December 1974 ( aged 20 years, 0 months, 26 days )
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Appears in the 1975 ‘Stud Book’ as a ProCst but not the 1977 issue.
Final Rank: = Constable?
Stations: Rockdale ( 1974 – 1976 )
Time employed ( Paid ) with NSW Police: From: 5 November 1974 to ? ? c1976? = 1 years,
Service ( From Training Date ) period: From 5 November 1974 to ? ? c1976? = 1 years, Service
Retirement / Leaving age: = ?
Time in Retirement from Police: ?
Awards: Australian Sports Medal – granted 24 October 2000 ( Former Australian Kangaroo Player )
Born: Saturday 20 November 1954
Died on: Tuesday 3 January 2006
Age: 51 years, 1 month, 14 days
Organ Donor: Y / N / ?
Cause: Depression – Accidental Overdose of prescription anti-depressant Drugs & Alcohol
Event location: at his home
Diagnosis date: 2003
Funeral date: Saturday 7 January 2006
Funeral location: ?, Sutherland, NSW
LIVE STREAM ?
Wake location: Cronulla Sharks Leagues Club, NSW
Wake date: Saturday 7 January 2006
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: Cremated
Grave Location: Section: Row: ? Plot: ?
Grave GPS: ?, ?
Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?
Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( April 2024 )
STEVE is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance * NOT JOB RELATED
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal
May they forever Rest In Peace
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Steven Frederick Rogers (20 November 1954 – 3 January 2006) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and St. George Dragons teams in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition and for Widnes in the English Championship, usually in the position of centre. Rogers represented New South Wales and Australia captaining the national team once in 1981.
After his retirement, Rogers was named as one of the five “immortals” of the Cronulla club.[3] He became involved in the administration of rugby league, and held the position of Cronulla’s CEO at the time of his death.[4]
Rogers died after swallowing a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol on 3 January 2006. In April 2006, the NSW state coroner ruled that the death was accidental.[5]
Biography
Steve Rogers was born on the Gold Coast and played his first senior game for the Southport Tigers.[6] In the 1972 Gold Coast Group 18 competition 17-year-old centre Steve Rogers helped a Gold Coast Tigers outfit to victory in the Grand Final against Tweed Heads Seagulls.[7] The following season he moved to Sydney to play in the NSWRFL Premiership.
1973
Rogers began playing first grade rugby league at the age of eighteen for the Cronulla-Sutherland club in 1973. Playing the position of centre, his talent did not go unnoticed. He was described by the club’s captain/coach, Tommy Bishop as a “rare, rare talent – the greatest all round centre three-quarter I have seen.” In that year, he played in his first Grand final, which Cronulla lost to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and made the first of three Kangaroo Tours.
1974–1982
Rogers led Cronulla to the grand final as captain, in 1978, once more against the Sea Eagles. The match was a tie, and Cronulla lost a replay in the following week. During that season, he was often switched to lock forward and was effective in that role. Three years later, he won the Dally M Lock of the Year award.
In 1975 Rogers won the Rothmans Medal for best and fairest player in the NSWRFL. He played for New South Wales in 1980’s first state of origin match. He was named player of the series in the 1981 Tooth Cup tournament and also won that year’s Dally M Award.
Rogers was selected to tour with the Australian national rugby league team on the 1973 Kangaroo Tour. National honours continued when he was selected in the Australian squad for the 1975 Rugby League World Cup, 1977 Rugby League World Cup, 1978 Kangaroo tour, 1980 Tour of New Zealand and was a centre in all three tests against Great Britain and the two tests against France on the 1982 Kangaroo Tour, as well as playing in the pre-tour test against Papua New Guinea. Rogers would captain the Kangaroos in the two 1981 home tests against France.
1983–1984
As a result of Cronulla’s serious financial difficulties, Rogers signed for 1983 with Cronulla’s local rival, the St. George Dragons. He played with them for two seasons, culminating in playing five-eighth in the Saints 1984 reserve grade Grand Final (a side which featured others such as Michael O’Connor), which the Dragons lost.[8]
1985–1986
Rogers returned to Cronulla in 1985, but only played nine minutes in the season after breaking his jaw in his first game of the year against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, in a tackle from Mark Bugden.
In 1986 Rogers signed with Widnes in the English competition, but only played for 13 minutes before breaking his leg in his first game of the year against Wigan. This was the last game of his career.
Post playing
After retiring from the playing field Rogers remained involved with rugby league coaching. He coached for a time in Queensland, and worked in administrative roles for the Australian Rugby League in Darwin and Perth. After an unsuccessful business venture running a hotel at Lennox Head, Rogers became involved once more with the Cronulla club, becoming the football manager and later, Chief Executive Officer of the club.
His personal life was marred by tragedy. After losing his father (Don) and mother (Marj) to cancer, his wife Carol also died from the disease on 11 May 2001. Rogers’s brother also committed suicide.[9]
On 3 January 2006, Rogers was found dead outside the door of his Cronulla unit. Initial reports of a heart attack soon turned to suggestions of suicide as the existence of three letters—apparently suicide notes to his three children—was revealed. His son Mat also confirmed that his father had been suffering from depression: “He was suffering from some depression and, as a person of his stature and a public figure, he found it really hard to talk about it to other people and therefore exacerbated the problem,” he said. Police believed that he had swallowed a cocktail of alcohol and prescription drugs. There has been some speculation that Rogers may have attempted to make an emergency telephone call in the moments before his death.[10]
Accolades
In February 2008, Rogers was named in the list of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code’s centenary year in Australia.[11][12] While playing football, Rogers also served in the New South Wales Police Force and in 2008, rugby league’s centennial year in Australia, he was named at five-eighth in a NSW Police team of the century. Also in 2008 Rogers was named in New South Wales’ rugby league team of the century.[13]
Open Rugby inaugural World XIII
The Open Rugby inaugural World XIII was revealed in June 1978: Graham Eadie, John Atkinson, Steve Rogers, Jean-Marc Bourret[1], Green Vigo, Roger Millward, Steve Nash, Jim Mills, Keith Elwell, Steve Pitchford, Terry Randall, George Nicholls and Greg Pierce.
Career playing statistics
Point scoring summary
| Games | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 311 | 129 | 582 | 10 | 1571 |
Matches played
| Team | Matches | Years | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cronulla Sharks | 202 | 1973–1985 | Widnes[14] | 1 | 1986 |
| New South Wales (residents) | 17 | 1973–1979 | |||
| New South Wales (state of origin) | 4 | 1980–1982 | |||
| Australia (Tests) | 21 | 1973–1981 | |||
| Australia (World Cup) | 3 | 1975, 1977 | |||
| Australia (tour matches) | 27 | 1973, 1978 |
Records
- Until 2002, Rogers held the record for the most points scored in a match (26) for the Cronulla club.
- Rogers is one of twenty Australian internationals to come from the Cronulla club, and one of two players (alongside Greg Pierce) to have captained the national side.
- Rogers holds the standing record for the most points ever scored for the Cronulla club (1253)[15]
Steve Rogers (rugby league) – Wikipedia
Personal life
Mat Rogers ( son of Steve ) with wife Chloe Maxwell, 2012
Rogers married model and media personality Chloe Maxwell on the Gold Coast on 26 October 2008.[21] Rogers has four children: Jack and Skyla from a previous relationship, Max Danger (born 5 June 2006) and daughter Phoenix (born 21 September 2007) with current wife Chloe.
Rogers has been committed to raising awareness about depression since the death of his father Steve in January 2006. His father battled depression for three years and, while suicide was initially suspected, his death after taking alcohol and prescription drugs was ruled an accident.
He has signed on to be an ambassador for Movember, an initiative that encourages men to grow a moustache during November to raise funds for research into depression and prostate cancer. Rogers has said he fears inheriting a propensity for the mental illness. He has made a pact with brother Don always to be honest about their feelings and encouraged men to talk to family, doctors or mates.
He was a semifinalist in the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars.[22]
Rogers worked for the Gold Coast commonwealth Games held in 2018.
Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy up for grabs again
The legacy of one of rugby league’s greatest players will again be remembered at 4 Pines Park on Sunday, May 14.
Outside of the two competition points, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks will do battle for the annual Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy in round 11 of the Telstra Premiership.
An Immortal of the Cronulla Sharks, Rogers played 202 first grade games and led the Sharks in the 1978 grand final and grand final replay against the Sea Eagles.
Rogers represented NSW 21 times and Australia 24 times. He had many good friends at the Sea Eagles in Immortal Bob Fulton and Max Krilich through the Kangaroos tours.
The Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy was first played in March 2006 and had been played for each time the teams met up until the end of the 2010 season.
The trophy was then only contested just once a season at the current holders’ home ground should both clubs be drawn to play each other twice.
However, Manly and Cronulla agreed in May 2016 to return to the original format of playing for the trophy each time the two clubs meet to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Steve’s passing.
Manly has won 20 of the 27 premiership matches contested for the Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy, including eight of the last 12 games played.
Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy
Results
2022 Rd 23: Cronulla 40 d Manly 6, Rd 7: Cronulla 34 d Manly 22
2021 Rd 20: Manly 40 d Cronulla 22
2020 Rd 7: Cronulla 40 d Manly 22
2019 Rd 10, Manly 24 d Cronulla 14; SF: Manly 28 d Cronulla 16
2018 Rd 21: Manly 33 d Cronulla 32
2017 Rd 16: Manly 35 d Cronulla 18
2016 Rd 3: Manly 22 d Cronulla 12, Rd 11: Cronulla 20 d Manly 12
2015 Rd 26: Manly 14 d Cronulla 12; Rd 17, Manly 28 d Cronulla 16.
2014 Rd 6: Manly 24 d Cronulla 4, Rd 15: Manly 26 d Cronulla 0
2013 Rd 6: Manly 25 d Cronulla 18; SF: Manly 24 d Cronulla 18
2012 Rd 3: Cronulla 17 d Manly 14
2011 Rd 5: Manly 19 d Cronulla 13
2010 Rd 5: Manly 40 d Cronulla 12; Rd 19: Manly 48 d Cronulla 18
2009 Rd 19: Manly 32 d Cronulla 26: Rd 25: Manly 18 d Cronulla 16
2008 Rd 1: Cronulla 16 d Manly 10, Rd 18: Manly 34 d Cronulla 6
2007 Rd 19: Manly 29 d Cronulla 22
2006 Rd 3: Manly 20 d Cronulla 18, Rd 16 Cronulla 15 d Manly 12
Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy up for grabs again | Sea Eagles
* Story behind any Nickname: the Prince of Centres – in relation to his footballing position on the field.
Nothing further, than what is recorded above, is known about this person at the time of publication and further information and photos would be appreciated.
**********
Cal
10 May 2024
Betty Hosking
Southern Illawarra