Amos Roberts
Amos Roberts (born 2 November 1980) is an Indigenous Australian former professional rugby league footballer. A Country New South Wales representative prolific try-scoring back, he played in Australia's National Rugby League for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers and Sydney Roosters clubs and in the Super League for the Wigan Warriors.
 Roberts with the Roosters in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 2 November 1980 Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Fullback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league career
NRL career
Roberts made his NRL début in 2000 with the St George Illawarra Dragons, scoring 22 points in that match. In 2004 he signed with the Penrith Panthers and scored 23 tries in 23 games that year to become the competition's top try scorer that year. He signed with the Sydney Roosters in 2005. He scored 17 tries in 2005 and 18 tries in 2006.
Roberts injured his knee at the start of the 2007 season and made his return in Round 3 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. He scored his first try of 07 in Round 13 against the North Queensland Cowboys.
Roberts was set and ready to join close friend and fellow winger/fullback Nathan Merritt at the South Sydney Rabbitohs before the deal fell through due to the club announcing the signing of Panthers star Luke Lewis, however, this deal also fell through.
In October 2008, Roberts was released from the final year of his contract with the Roosters to take up a four-year deal with English Super League club Wigan Warriors.[4]
Wigan Warriors
In 2010 Roberts has been in scintillating form scoring in all but 3 of his 10 appearances for Wigan including a hat-trick away at Castleford Tigers. His performances have helped put Wigan at the top of Super League and have potentially put him forward for the end-of-season Man Of Steel award.
During the Easter Monday game against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats at the DW Stadium, Amos suffered an injury to his knee ligaments after colliding with the post in the process of scoring his 12th try of the season.[5] He recovered to play the Leeds Rhinos on 29 May 2010 but struggled to get back into form.
In 2011 season Roberts made only 6 appearances for the club, spending much of it in the reserves unable to force his way into the squad.
On 12 May 2012 Roberts announced his retirement after several failed comebacks from the injury and complications that arose.[5] His last appearance had been against Castleford Tigers almost a year prior.[1]
Career highlights
Roberts scored 22 points on début (1 try and 9 goals) with the St. George-Illawarra Dragons on 6 May 2000 against the Auckland Warriors. This is the standing National Rugby League premiership record for points scored on a first grade debut. He was selected as the Dally M Winger of the Year in 2004.
He has represented four times for Country vs City since 2004 and twice been selected to play in a Prime Minister's XIII (2005 and 2006).
Personal life
Roberts is an Indigenous Australian of Bundjalung people. He is the uncle of the rugby league footballer James Roberts.
Awards
In 2004, Roberts won the Deadly award for Outstanding Achievement in Rugby League. Roberts received the award for his "stellar start to the season, consistent all-round form and the fact he finished the season as the league's leading try-scorer."[6]
Music
In 2007, Roberts, along with South Sydney's Nathan Merritt, appeared in the music video for Anthony Mundine's Platinum Ryder single. Mundine is Roberts' cousin.[7]
NRL point scoring summary
| Season | Team | Appearance | Interchange | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 13 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 52 |
| 2001 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 28 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 66 |
| 2002 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 14 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 34 |
| 2003 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 10 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| 2004 |  Penrith Panthers | 23 | 0 | 23 | 32 | 0 | 156 |
| 2005 |  Sydney Roosters | 24 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 0 | 94 |
| 2006 | Sydney Roosters | 23 | 0 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 96 |
| 2007 | Sydney Roosters | 20 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 44 |
| 2008 | Sydney Roosters | 21 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 68 |
References
- "Wigan Warriiors Player Profile Amos Roberts". web page. wiganwarriors.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
- Amos Roberts rugbyleagueproject.org
- loverugbyleague
- "Former Sydney Roosters flyer Amos Roberts joins Super League club Wigan". Fox Sports News (Australia). 22 January 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- "Wigan Warriors winger Amos Roberts retires from rugby at 31". Fox Sports News (Australia). 12 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- "Amos scores again". Vibe Australia. 1 November 2004. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
- Halloran, Jessica (11 April 2005). "A rare glimpse of the quiet side of the Man". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
External links
- Amos Roberts on the Wigan RL Fansite.
- Koori Kids Foundation