If you’re a Maitland local and follow local rugby league you know the name Matt Soper-Lawler. He’s a firm believer in taking every opportunity that comes his way, doing what he loves – playing rugby league.
He’s done it all, from community sport, played major local comps, travelled interstate to play, and had a stint in professional rugby league.
Matt’s heart though certainly lies in community football. He started playing with the Cessnock Goanna’s in the Under-8s, and stayed there until he moved to Greta Branxton playing from the Under-11s through to Under-16s.
From the Hunter Valley Group 21 competition, Matt and some friends moved to the Newcastle comp until Matt was picked up by the Newcastle Knights playing for the Under-20s NSW Cup for two years.
“I wanted to play professionally but at the time I felt I was a little bit too small and still learning to play at that higher level,” Matt laughed.
Matt ended up playing in the Queensland Cup and doing a pre-season in Melbourne which he said was one of the hardest things he’s ever done.
“At the end of 2019 I came back to the Hunter Valley and got a full-time pre-season with the Knights. But round one came around and that’s when the pandemic started so I moved around a bit in other competition bubbles like the Perth 9s, and NSW Cup.
“Eventually I got to a point where I wanted something more behind me so I enrolled in teaching. I was 25 at the time, and certainly not done playing so I went to the Maitland Pickers and I’ve been there ever since.”
Matt celebrated his 100th first grade game with the Pickers last year on grand final day against Cessnock.
“It was so special. My daughter presented me with my jersey which was really cool and we won the game against Cessnock which was even better!”
The Pickers are one of the most successful teams in the Newcastle competition, having won the last four seasons with a solid playing group.
“There’s no secret we have a lot of great players but also how close we all are. We’re great mates and we all want to play for each other and for the club.
“We only really came together because of the pandemic. We had two guys come down from Queensland to play, myself from the Knights, Brock Lamb who left a contract at Parramatta to come home during the pandemic. So when you have a good group like that you keep sticking together and enjoy playing with each other – it’s a good mix of hard work and fun. We work hard and we do a lot of extra stuff training wise than most other clubs but when you’re standing there on grand final day it is all worth it.”
Matt has also been a part of the last three Country Championship tournaments with the Newcastle Rebels. This year he captained the side to a convincing 36-4 over the Central Coast Pelicans, a title he believes is one of the most dominant he’s been involved with.
This year was also the second time he’d been part of the Titans of Coal team who flew over to the US to play a three-day tournament in Las Vegas.
“It’s a bit wild that I’m getting to that point in my career where I realise I have done a lot more than I thought I did.
“I am so lucky to be able to do all the things I have. Footy is meant to be fun. That’s the whole reason we do it. When I was a kid, I remember is mum and dad taking me to games and footy was fun.
“It’s such a big part of the community too, the fans proper care about it, some people believe their local team is more important to them than the Knights will ever be!”
