Matthew Ridge

Deadly-accurate goal-kicker came from NZ 's junior All Black ranks to play with Manly in 1990. Ridge impressed immediately at fullback and within six first grade matches, he was playing for NZ in a qualifying World Cup match against Great Britain. One of the most consistent goal-kickers in the competition, Ridge also proved his value as a talented attacking player and safe defender. A knee injury sidelined him for half of the 1993 season but he returned to the game, scoring a club record 257pts (11t, 106g, 1fg) in 1995. Ridge was one of two Manly players to immediately link with Super League (the other being Ian Roberts) and despite playing for a club regarded as an ARL stronghold, he was openly critical of the code's controlling body. After captaining NZ in its unsuccessful World Cup campaign, Ridge chose to sit out the early part of the 1996 season after the planned Super League competition was put on hold but returned to the Sea Eagles after nine rounds. Despite his stance, Ridge was an unqualified match-winner, scoring a club record-equalling 30pts (2t, 11g) in a match against Wests. After playing a major role in the club’s grand final win over St George, he joining Auckland in 1997. After missing the early rep matches because of injury, Ridge captained NZ in a Super League Test match late in the year. In 1998 Ridge captained the Kiwis in two further Test matches, including the 22-16 win in the ANZac Test against Australia. Ridge too often showed his frustration regarding the Warriors’ lack of competitiveness during his three seasons with club but over-stepped the mark in 1999 when he was suspended for a total of 12 weeks for ‘man-handling’ a referee and ‘roughing up’ the face of an opposing player. He retired in February 2000 as the greatest point-scorer in NZ Test history (168pts – 6t, 71g, 2fg) and was part of Auckland’s new administration team until the Graham Lowe-led consortium folded at the end of season.

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 %
New Zealand	1990, 1992, 1994-98	25	6	71				2	168	16	8	1	64.00%
Overall	1990-1998	25	6	71				2	168	16	8	1	64.00%
World Cup Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
New Zealand	1990, 1992, 1995	6	2	23				1	55	5	1	0	83.33%
Overall	1990-1995	6	2	23				1	55	5	1	0	83.33%
Club Career
Australian League Matches - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1990	11	2	43	/	57	75.44%	-	94	8	3	0	72.73%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1991	22	6	79	/	96	82.29%	2	184	13	8	1	59.09%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1992	16	1	50	/	66	75.76%	3	107	9	6	1	56.25%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1993	10	-	25	/	35	71.43%	2	52	6	4	0	60.00%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1994	23	5	106	/	132	80.30%	2	234	16	6	1	69.57%
Manly Warringah	ARL 1995	23	11	106	/	129	82.17%	1	257	21	2	0	91.30%
Manly Warringah	ARL 1996	17	7	68	/	84	80.95%	1	165	14	3	0	82.35%
Auckland	Super League 1997	9	3	18	/	22	81.82%	-	48	4	5	0	44.44%
Auckland	NRL 1998	18	2	51	/	63	80.95%	-	110	7	11	0	38.89%
Auckland	NRL 1999	10	3	34	/	39	87.18%	-	80	5	5	0	50.00%
Overall	1990-1999	159	40	580	/	723	80.22%	11	1,331	103	53	3	64.78%
Australian League Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Manly Warringah	1990-96	122	32	477	/	599	79.63%	11	1093	87	32	3	71.31%
Auckland	1997-99	37	8	103	/	124	83.06%	-	238	16	21	0	43.24%
Overall	1990-1999	159	40	580	/	723	80.22%	11	1,331	103	53	3	64.78%
Australian Finals Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Manly Warringah	1990-91, 1994-96	11	1	24				-	52	6	5	0	54.55%
Overall	1990-1996	11	1	24				0	52	6	5	0	54.55%

Last modified: Sat, 18 May 2013 13:30:30 +1000 (Sydney time)