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- “We didn’t have phones or the internet then, we had to watch the news and read the papers. He was brutalised by the English press and the supporters of the game, they were very homophobic. He retired in ’94, the year I came out, and died of suicide in 1998.
www.smh.com.au › sport › nrlNRL 2023: Ian Roberts’ life story to be made into a documentary
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Feb 3, 2023 · Ian Roberts was the best-paid player in the brutal world of Australian rugby league - but it took years for him to make the biggest and bravest play of his life.
Oct 11, 2021 · Australia's Ian Roberts played the last two years of his rugby league career with NRL side North Queensland Cowboys, and retired in 1998 due to injuries. Nick Wilson/Getty Images
- Lucie Bertoldo
- 2 min
- How Did You Get Started in Rugby League?
- And How Did You Get A Run with The Rabbitohs?
- Was Money A Big Factor in Your Switch to Manly in 1990?
- Why Did You Retire in 1998?
- How Did You Handle Post Retirement Life?
- What's Been The Highlights of Acting?
- And Lastly, Do You Still Watch A Lot of Footy These days?
I started playing when I was four or five with the neighbours' kids. Like a lot of boys in 1970s it was the done thing, a lot of guys my age would have a similar story. I started with Maroubra, played for the Diggers and ended up playing the last part of my junior career with Mascot.
At the end of '85 they graded me and I played a few under 23 games and reserve-grade games. In '86 I got graded officially and that's when George Piggins took over as first-grade coach.
Money kind of was originally but I had a wonderful time at Manly from 90-95 until we lost the grand final. I loved the atmosphere, I still love the club and the supporters. I probably enjoyed my football the most there because I had matured a bit, I was 24 by the time I got there. I had a bit more of a brain for footy, it wasn't just six tackles an...
I had a dodgy knee. You can't play forever. I look back now at rugby league and think how did I ever play such an aggressive, nasty, physical sport.
It's a really rough situation for anyone to be playing at the peak of a sport and then step away and then there's no adulation, no recognition, it's hard to explain. A year and a half after retiring my car broke down 500 yards from NIDA [the National Institute for Dramatic Arts] at Kensington. I was walking up to the servo so I thought I'd duck my ...
I ended up spending six or seven years in LA, I got back five years ago when my Dad wasn't well and he passed away. But I do intend to head back overseas again. I do some work with the NRL at the moment, doing the improvisation program with all the teams. Myself and three or four other actors put the boys in very awkward situations around misogyny,...
Mainly the three clubs that I played for. I'm a Souths junior so I suppose I've got a little more red and green blood than maroon and white or the Cowboys colours. The rules have been tweaked to make it a safer game than when I played, it's more athletic. Apart from three or four specialist positions, you could pretty much interchange the players a...
- Editor-In-Chief
He retired in ’94, the year I came out, and died of suicide in 1998. “That story, the queer community still has such high percentages of self-harm and dying of suicide. I think, would it be easier now? I don’t know. Everything is so much more accessible now.”
Ian Roberts has an accomplished sporting career but he’s also famous for being Australia’s first openly gay NRL player. He opens up about his mental health battles after retirement and why it ...
Ian Roberts (born 31 July 1965) is a British-born Australian actor and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward , he played club football with the South Sydney Rabbitohs , Wigan , Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and North ...
Fears of future legal action from battered old players like Roberts is why the NRL is treating concussion issues so seriously.
