Ian Roberts

English-born Souths junior showed promise in his early career as a forward but had to overcome a series of injuries to reach his full potential in the Test arena. Despite not having played for either NSW or Australia, and with only a lower grade premiership to his credit (1986), Roberts signed a huge contract with Manly in 1990 and quickly justified his value with State of Origin selection and a Test debut against NZ. Hopes for Kangaroo selection that year were shattered when he suffered a serious groin tear in Manly’s semi-final match against Brisbane. Roberts returned in 1991 to play in three Tests against NZ (two as a reserve) and tour Papua New Guinea at season's end. 1993 was disappointing in comparison but he returned to the Australian Test team in 1994 (after being cleared of a questionable tackle on Jason Smith in NSW's State of Origin success), to score two tries against France at P’matta Stadium. In 1994 Roberts finally made a Kangaroo Tour, leading the way up front in Australia's Ashes-winning 24-3 Third Test victory at Elland Road. After being courted by the ARL, Roberts signed with Super League despite the fact that his club, and coach Bob Fulton, remained loyal to the game's controlling body. He sat out Manly’s premiership-winning season because of injury and the protracted Super League dispute, at which time he became the first league player to openly declare his homosexuality. Joining the Nth Queensland North Queensland for 1997’s Super League season, his career wound down in 1998 under the increasing weight of injuries. After his retirement, Roberts joined NIDA to pursue an acting career and served on the NRL Judiciary in 2001. Autobiography: Finding Out (1997).

Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the icon.

International
Test Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1990-91, 1993-94	13	3	-				-	12	10	2	1	76.92%
Overall	1990-1994	13	3	0				0	12	10	2	1	76.92%
International Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1990-1994	1	-	-				-	-	1	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1994	1	0	0				0		1	0	0	100.00%
World Cup Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1990-1991	2	-	-				-	-	2	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1991	2	0	0				0		2	0	0	100.00%
Representative
Australia - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
NSW City	1988, 1990-91, 1993-94	5	-	-				-	-	4	1	0	80.00%
New South Wales	1990-91, 1993-94	9	-	-				-	-	6	3	0	66.67%
New South Wales (SL)	1997	2	-	-				-	-	2	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1988-1997	16	0	0				0		12	4	0	75.00%
Club Career
Australian League Matches - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
South Sydney	NSWRL 1986	21	1	-				-	4	12	8	1	57.14%
South Sydney	NSWRL 1987	26	3	-				-	12	14	11	1	53.85%
South Sydney	NSWRL 1988	11	1	-				-	4	8	2	1	72.73%
South Sydney	NSWRL 1989	7	-	-				-	-	6	1	0	85.71%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1990	16	1	-				-	4	9	7	0	56.25%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1991	16	1	-				-	4	12	4	0	75.00%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1992	19	-	-				-	-	9	8	2	47.37%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1993	19	1	-				-	4	14	5	0	73.68%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1994	15	2	-				-	8	10	4	1	66.67%
Manly Warringah	ARL 1995	15	-	-				-	-	13	2	0	86.67%
North Queensland	Super League 1997	17	2	-				-	8	5	10	2	29.41%
North Queensland	NRL 1998	12	1	-				-	4	6	6	0	50.00%
Overall	1986-1998	194	13	0				0	52	118	68	8	60.82%
Australian League Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
South Sydney	1986-89	65	5	-				-	20	40	22	3	61.54%
Manly Warringah	1990-95	100	5	-				-	20	67	30	3	67.00%
North Queensland	1997-98	29	3	-				-	12	11	16	2	37.93%
Overall	1986-1998	194	13	0				0	52	118	68	8	60.82%
Australian Finals Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
South Sydney	1986-87, 1989	5	1	-				-	4	1	4	0	20.00%
Manly Warringah	1990, 1993-95	7	-	-				-	-	3	4	0	42.86%
Overall	1986-1995	12	1	0				0	4	4	8	0	33.33%
English League Career - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Wigan	Championship 1986/87	?	2	-				-	8
Overall	1986-1987	?	3	0				0	12	?	?	?	?
English League Career - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Wigan	1986-87	?	3	-				-	12	?	?	?	?
Overall	1986-1987	?	3	0				0	12	?	?	?	?

Last modified: Fri, 17 May 2013 02:28:29 +1000 (Sydney time)