Ian Roberts

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.

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.

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 in Wigan, Roberts came on after 8 minutes as a replacement and made an astonishing 59 tackles as the home side won their Lancashire County Cup Semi-final 22–16.

Two weeks later he played for Wigan in the against the Australian Kangaroos for the opening game of the 1986 Kangaroo Tour which Australia won 26–18.

He played second row (replaced by interchange/substitute Rob Louw) 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 during the 1986–87 season.

and played second row in Wigan's 18–4 victory over Warrington in the 1986–87 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1986–87 season 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 City Origin team.

Despite not having yet played for either New South Wales or Australia, Roberts signed a contract with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in 1990.

Roberts later reported that the main reason he left South Sydney was the money, the Manly contract worth around AU$100,000 more.

After moving from the South Sydney club to Manly he quickly justified his value with State of Origin selection and a Test début against New Zealand.

Roberts made nine appearances for the New South Wales State of Origin team between 1990 and 1994.

He was an enforcer in the NSW forward pack.

A fit athlete, he collapsed from exhaustion after a tireless effort in game one of 1993.

The Blues won six of the nine matches in which Roberts played.

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.

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.

He played in Manly's upset loss to Canterbury in the 1995 ARL season's Grand Final.

Roberts came out as gay in 1995, becoming the first rugby league player in the world to do so.

He discussed his sexuality in magazines and on television over the following year.

The NRL Footy Show principals Paul Vautin, Peter Sterling and Steve Roach appeared in a poster campaign against homophobia conducted by the Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project.

He was praised for helping to question prevailing myths about gays and sport.

Roberts sat out the 1996 season due to injuries and a contract dispute related to the Super League war.

As a result, Roberts 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 moved to Townsville to captain the side.

Paul Freeman wrote a book on Roberts, Ian Roberts – Finding Out, which was published in 1997.

His career wound down in 1998 under the increasing weight of injuries.

In 1999 Roberts was taken to court by Garry Jack over an on-field brawl that occurred in 1991.

Jack stated he was taking a stand against a beating he received from several Manly players.

In 2000, Roberts was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league.

He served on the National Rugby League's judiciary during the 2000s and in 2004 was named by Souths in their South Sydney Dream Team, which consists of 17 players and a coach representing the club from 1908 through to 2004.

In 2005, he was named one of the 25 greatest ever New South Wales players.

In March 2014, Roberts revealed that he has brain damage after being knocked out up to a dozen times in his playing career.