Ian Roberts

  • Playing Career

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Born
Saturday, 31st July, 1965
Current Age
59 years and 128 days
Place Of Birth
London, Greater London, England

Honours & Awards

Based only on data available in the RLP database. This information should be used as a guide only.

World Cup
1989/1992
The Ashes
1994
Test Series
Australia vs New Zealand 1991, New Zealand vs Australia 1993
State of Origin
1990, 1993, 1994
English Championship
1986/1987
Regal Trophy
1986/1987
Lancashire Cup
1986/1987
Charity Shield - AUS
1988
Dally M Prop Of The Year
1987, 1993, 1994
Ken Stephen Medal
1994

Biography

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).
- ALAN WHITICKER

Playing 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 List button.

Competitions

Competition   Comp Wins App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
The Ashes 1 3 - -   - - 2 1 0 66.67% List
World Cup 1 2 - -   - - 2 0 0 100.00% List
Tour Matches Wigan Warriors - 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Tour Matches Australia - 15 4 -   - 16 14 1 0 93.33% List
Test Series 3 8 - -   - - 5 2 1 62.50% List
State of Origin 3 9 - -   - - 6 3 0 66.67% List
City vs Country - 6 - -   - - 5 1 0 83.33% List
NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL Premiership - 194 13 -   - 52 118 68 8 60.82% List
NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL Finals - 12 1 -   - 4 4 8 0 33.33% List
Challenge Cup - 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
English Championship 1 11 2 -   - 8 9 2 0 81.82% List
Regal Trophy 1 5 1 -   - 4 5 0 0 100.00% List
Lancashire Cup 1 2 - -   - - 2 0 0 100.00% List
Midweek Cup - 5 1 -   - 4 2 2 1 40.00% List
Challenge Cup AU - 3 - -   - - 1 2 0 33.33% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1990-91, 1993-94   14 3 -   - 12 11 2 1 78.57% List

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% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NSW City Seconds 1986   1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
NSW City Firsts 1987   1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
NSW City 1988, 1990-91, 1993-94   5 - -   - - 4 1 0 80.00% List
NSW 1990-91, 1993-94   9 - -   - - 6 3 0 66.67% List
NSW (SL) 1997   2 - -   - - 2 0 0 100.00% List
Overall1986-1997   18 0 0   0 - 14 4 0 77.78% List


Club Career

NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL Premiership - By Year

Team Season   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
South Sydney NSWRL 1986 Winfield Cup   21 1 -   - 4 12 8 1 57.14% List
South Sydney NSWRL 1987 Winfield Cup   26 3 -   - 12 14 11 1 53.85% List
South Sydney NSWRL 1988 Winfield Cup   11 1 -   - 4 8 2 1 72.73% List
South Sydney NSWRL 1989 Winfield Cup   7 - -   - - 6 1 0 85.71% List
Manly NSWRL 1990 Winfield Cup   16 1 -   - 4 9 7 0 56.25% List
Manly NSWRL 1991 Winfield Cup   16 1 -   - 4 12 4 0 75.00% List
Manly NSWRL 1992 Winfield Cup   19 - -   - - 9 8 2 47.37% List
Manly NSWRL 1993 Winfield Cup   19 1 -   - 4 14 5 0 73.68% List
Manly NSWRL 1994 Winfield Cup   15 2 -   - 8 10 4 1 66.67% List
Manly ARL 1995 Winfield Cup   15 - -   - - 13 2 0 86.67% List
North Qld Super League 1997 Telstra Cup   17 2 -   - 8 5 10 2 29.41% List
North Qld 1998 NRL Premiership   12 1 -   - 4 6 6 0 50.00% List

NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL Premiership - 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% List
Manly 1990-95   100 5 -   - 20 67 30 3 67.00% List
North Qld 1997-98   29 3 -   - 12 11 16 2 37.93% List
Overall1986-1998   194 13 0   0 52 118 68 8 60.82% List

English Career - By Year

Team Season   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Wigan 1986/87   19 3 -   - 12 16 3 0 84.21% List

English Career - By Team

Team Years   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Wigan 1986   19 3 -   - 12 16 3 0 84.21% List

Your Say

  • Anonymous
    16/08/2016

    met him once couldnt have been any nicer very easy to talk to.

  • David
    25/06/2017

    A great player,a real enforcer for manly .

  • Anonymous
    24/08/2018

    the best south sydney prop I have seen, been watching league for 50 years and he revolutised front row play with his incredible work rate in attack and defence and speed for a front rower.

    regards
    John Philpott

  • Dan Clarke
    02/03/2021

    champion player, champion heart, champion human

  • Want to have your say about this player? Add a comment.

Contributions: Greg Fiveash, Rugby League Tables, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, Paul Carter, AJ Lucantonio, Terry Liberopoulos, Max Turner, Alan Katzmann, Tony McCarron, Steven Russo, Bill Bates

Sources: David Middleton's Rugby League Yearbook (1987-88 to present), Match Video, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook (1981-82 to 1999), Irvin Saxton's Record Keepers' Club, Newspapers