Ian Roberts

Biography

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 Queensland Cowboys. In 1995 Roberts became the first high-profile Australian sports person and first rugby footballer in the world to come out to the public as gay.

== Early life == Ian Roberts was born in 1965 in Chelsea, London, England, to a father who worked in construction and was an amateur boxer, and a housewife mother. The family emigrated as Ten Pound Poms in 1967 to South Sydney, Australia, where the family was guaranteed a new house, and his father was guaranteed a job, continuing to work in construction. He was educated at Maroubra Bay High School.

== Football career ==

=== Club career ===

==== South Sydney ==== As a junior Roberts played for the Mascot Jets in the Souths juniors competition. He made his first grade début with the Rabbitohs in the 1986 Winfield Cup season and his form early on saw him touted as a bolter for the 1986 Kangaroo Tour, though ultimately he would miss selection. At the end of the 1986 Sydney season, Roberts began a short stint with English club Wigan. In his first appearance for the Cherry and Whites on 1 October against St. Helens at Central Park, Roberts came on after 8 minutes as a replacement and made an astonishing 59 tackles as the home side won their 1986 Lancashire Cup semi-final 22–16. Two weeks later he played for Wigan against the Australian Kangaroos for the opening game of the 1986 Kangaroo Tour which Australia won 26–18. He played second row in Wigan's 15–8 victory over Oldham in the Lancashire County Cup Final at Knowsley Road in St. Helens, on Sunday 19 October 1986. and played in Wigan's 18–4 victory over Warrington in the 1986–87 John Player Special Trophy Final at Burnden Park in Bolton on Saturday 10 January 1987. By the age of 21, Jack Gibson had described him as "the best front rower in the game", and in 1988 Roberts made the first of five appearances for the City Origin team.

==== Manly-Warringah ==== Roberts signed a contract with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in 1990, and later said that the main reason he left South Sydney was the money. With Souths having major financial difficulties at the time, they simply couldn't match Manly's offer which was worth around AU$100,000 more. While Roberts was a guest on The Footy Show to promote an interview with Peter Sterling, his former Rabbitohs teammate and Captain Mario Fenech confessed that he had signed with the North Sydney Bears from 1991 for exactly the same reason Roberts joined Manly. He quickly justified his value with selection for NSW in the 1990 State of Origin series, where his form for the series winning Blues was good enough to see him selected for his Test début against New Zealand in Wellington. Unfortunately a groin injury suffered late in the season saw Roberts miss selection on the 1990 Kangaroo Tour. He returned to Manly's lineup in 1991, helping the Sea Eagles to 2nd place in the minor premiership behind eventual premiers Penrith. Unfortunately, an injury suffered in a close loss to Canberra late in the season ended his season, though he was back to fitness to be selected for the Kangaroos short tour of Papua New Guinea. During the year he had again played 2 games for NSW in the Origin series (despite still suffering from groin injuries), as well as playing all 3 mid-season Tests against New Zealand. At the end of the 1994 NSWRL season, he went on the 1994 Kangaroo tour. Leading up front in Australia's Ashes-winning 23-4 Third Test victory at Elland Road. Not long after, Roberts signed with Super League despite his club and coach Bob Fulton remaining loyal to the Australian Rugby League. He played in Manly's upset loss to Canterbury in the 1995 ARL season's Grand Final.

==== North Queensland ==== Roberts sat out the 1996 season due to injuries and a contract dispute related to the Super League war. As a result, he missed out on playing in Manly's 1996 ARL Grand Final victory over St. George. In 1997, Roberts signed with the North Queensland Cowboys and captained the side. His career wound down in 1998 under the increasing weight of injuries.

=== State of Origin === Roberts made nine appearances for the New South Wales State of Origin team between 1990 and 1994. The Blues won six of the nine matches in which Roberts played.