+ Rogers tackles career change
DUAL-CODE international Mat Rogers has tackled bigger and scarier people than most but they never filled him with the dread he felt when dealing with another group, away from the security of a football field.
For Rogers, who grew up surrounded by professional sport and athletes, it was the white collar professionals who ruled over a world so foreign to his own that made him the most nervous.
Over 17 years in professional rugby union and league Rogers has rubbed shoulders with high-flying legal and financial giants but that uneasiness never left him.
It’s why the 44-year-old has rolled the dice on a new career move as principal of his own sports management firm, Rogers Sports Management, connecting athletes with representation who have walked in their shoes.
Rogers has recruited veteran NRL trainer Craig Clifton as a business partner, with exWaratah Michael Maxwell of Ada Evans Chambers and former Dragons prop Colin Ward, from TEMPUS Wealth, to provide legal and financial advice respectively.
“As a young player coming into professional sport I remember the professions of finance, law and accounting were so foreign to me,” the former Wallaby and Kangaroo said. “It was quite intimidating meeting people in those fields.
“We’ve worked to pull together people from those fields who have sporting backgrounds to take away that intimidation factor.”
Rogers has dipped his feet in these waters before, taking on the responsibility of managing himself for the final eight years of his playing career.
“I did that because I knew I could do a better job,” he said.
“I’ve been around pro sport since I could walk and I’ve lived it personally through a child’s eyes with my dad (Steve, ex-NRL player and Sharks CEO).
“I’ve walked the path and I understand the pitfalls and what can bring people undone.
“The reality is there’s lots of money in sport but it’s not about that – I’ve seen big dollars ruin careers and I’ve seen decisions to take less then blossom into something special.”
Rogers said the company had opened offices on the Gold Coast and Sydney.