Matt Diskin
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| Full name | Matthew Diskin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 January 1982 Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 97 kg (15 st 4 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Rugby League Project As of 15 September 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Matt Diskin is an English former professional rugby league footballer. A Great Britain and England international representative Hooker, he played ten years with Leeds Rhinos, having won four Super League championships with the club, before moving Bradford Bulls for the 2011 season. He remained with the Bulls until the end of his career in 2014.
Playing career
Diskin is a product of amateur rugby league club Dewsbury Moor ARLFC and growing up he attended St. John Fisher High School in Dewsbury, as did Francis Cummins and Ryan Sheridan.
Leeds
Diskin made his debut first-team appearance for Leeds Rhinos in 2001 against Castleford Tigers. He played for the Leeds Rhinos at Hooker and scored a try in their 2004 Super League Grand Final victory against the Bradford Bulls. His man-of-the-match performance saw him selected to represent Great Britain in the 2004 Tri-nations tournament.[2]
Diskin played for Leeds in the 2005 Challenge Cup final at Hooker in their loss against Hull FC.[3] He played for the Leeds Rhinos from the interchange bench in their 2005 Super League Grand Final loss against Bradford Bulls. He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final victory over St Helens.[4] He played again and scored a try in the record-breaking third consecutive Grand Final victory over St. Helens in 2009.
2010 saw Diskin celebrate his testimonial year at Leeds after 10 years of service to the most successful club of recent years. Diskin had been instrumental in all of Leeds' championship winning campaigns. On 19 October 2010, it was announced that Diskin had agreed a move to Bradford Bulls on a three-year contract, and is expected to push for the starting Hooker position in the Bulls line-up.
Bradford
Diskin appeared in two of 2011's four pre-season games. He played against Dewsbury Rams and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. Matt featured in 23 consecutive games from Round 1 (Leeds Rhinos) to Round 23 (Warrington Wolves). He also appeared in the Challenge Cup game against Wigan Warriors. He scored against Leeds Rhinos, Crusaders RL and Harlequins RL. A shoulder injury kept him out for the rest of the season.
Matt and Heath L'Estrange were appointed joint captains for the 2012 season. Diskin featured in two of the four pre-season games. He played against Dewsbury Rams and Hull FC. Matt featured in 15 consecutive games from Round 1 (Catalans Dragons) to Round 15 (Leeds Rhinos). Diskin missed Rounds 16-23 due to injury. Diskin returned for Round 24 (Hull KR) to Round 27 (Catalans Dragons). He also featured in the Challenge Cup against Doncaster RLFC and Warrington Wolves. Diskin scored tries against Warrington Wolves (1 try), Hull Kingston Rovers (1 try), Doncaster RLFC (2 tries), Leeds Rhinos (1 try) and Huddersfield Giants (1 try).
Diskin featured in 2013's pre-season friendlies against Dewsbury Rams and Leeds Rhinos. He scored against Dewsbury Rams (1 try). He featured in four consecutive games from Round 1 (Wakefield Wildcats) to Round 4 (St Helens RLFC). He missed Round 5 due to injury. He returned for Round 6 (Widnes Vikings) but was ill for Round 7. Diskin returned for Round 8 (Catalan Dragons) to Round 9 (Leeds Rhinos). He missed Round 10 due to an injury. Diskin featured in Round 11 (London Broncos) to Round 16 (Huddersfield Giants). He returned to the team for Round 18 (St Helens RLFC) to Round 27 (Huddersfield Giants). Diskin also appeared in the Challenge Cup against London Broncos. Matt scored against Widnes Vikings (1 try), Salford City Reds (1 try) and Hull FC (1 try). Diskin signed a 1 Year Extension to his contract mid-way through the season.
Diskin missed the pre-season friendlies against Hull FC and Dewsbury Rams due to injury. However he did feature in the friendly against Castleford Tigers. He featured in Round 1 (Castleford Tigers) to Round 6 (Hull KR). Diskin next featured in Round 8 (Salford Red Devils) then in Round 11 (Warrington Wolves) to Round 13 (Huddersfield Giants). He also played in Round 15 (Wakefield Wildcats) to Round 19 (Catalan Dragons). Matt featured in Round 5 (Catalan Dragons) to the Quarter Final (Warrington Wolves) in the Challenge Cup. He scored against Hull FC (1 try).
Coaching Career
Bradford Bulls
Matt Diskin was put in tempary charge of the Bradford Bulls on 16 June 2014 as a player coach. It was the day following the sacking of head coach Francis Cummins and assistant Lee St Hilare. Diskin took charge of Bulls home match against Hull KR where they lost 44-18 the Tuesday after James Lowes was announced as the Bulls new head coach.
At the end of the 2014 season, Diskin announced his retirement.[5]
Batley Bulldogs
In April 2016 it was announced Diskin was to take over at Batley Bulldogs from 2017 after John Kear announced he would be joining Wakefield Wildcats as director of rugby in 2017.
Stats
(For 2014 Super League season highlights, stats and results click on 2014 Super League season results)
| Season | Appearance | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 Bradford Bulls | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2012 Bradford Bulls | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2013 Bradford Bulls | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2014 Bradford Bulls | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 86 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
References
- ^ "The official Engage Super League web site". web page. Super League. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ "Tri-Nations: Great Britain profiles". Mail Online. UK: Associated Newspapers. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
- ^ "Hull stun Leeds in Challenge Cup". BBC News. 27 August 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ "2008 Grand Final". BBC. 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ "Matt Diskin: Bradford Bulls' former Great Britain hooker to retire". BBC Sport. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2015.