Matthew John Ridge was born on 27 August 1968 and is a New Zealand television presenter, and a former rugby union and rugby league footballer.
18 Facts About Matthew Ridge
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Matthew Ridge turned professional in 1990 with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles of the New South Wales Rugby League, and won the 1996 ARL Premiership.
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Matthew Ridge later captained the Auckland Warriors and New Zealand national team.
4.
Matthew Ridge made his debut at fullback for the Sea Eagles in their Round 10 clash with Cronulla at Manly's home ground, Brookvale Oval.
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Matthew Ridge ended the 1990 season as Manly's leading scorer with 94 points in 11 games.
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Just six games into his rugby league career, Matthew Ridge played his first test for New Zealand against the touring Great Britain Lions.
7.
Matthew Ridge made his test debut in the 2nd test played at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, displacing Manly team mate Darrell Williams in the No 1 jumper.
8.
Matthew Ridge returned to form in 1994, playing 23 games for Manly and scoring 234 points for the season.
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Matthew Ridge finished the 1995 ARL season as the league's top point-scorer with a club record 257 points, breaking Graham Eadie's record of 242 points.
10.
Matthew Ridge captained the New Zealand team at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup in England and Wales.
11.
However, Manly won the ARL Grand Final, defeating the Dragons, with Matthew Ridge playing a major part.
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In 1997, Matthew Ridge moved to the Auckland Warriors who had switched to the Super League during the Super League war.
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In total, Matthew Ridge scored 1,093 points in 122 first grade games for Manly between 1990 and 1996, putting him then third on the all-time Sea Eagles point scorers list behind fullbacks Bob Batty and Graham Eadie.
14.
Matthew Ridge spent the 1997 Super League season as captain of the Warriors, though injuries kept him to just 9 games.
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Matthew Ridge captained New Zealand in a Super League test match against Australia in 1997.
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Matthew Ridge continued as captain of the Warriors in the 1998 NRL season and the first half of the Warriors' 1999 season.
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In 2002, Matthew Ridge was chosen to host the original New Zealand version of television game show The Chair which first broadcast on ABC in January 2002 in the United States hosted by former tennis champion John McEnroe.
18.
Matthew Ridge was involved in a car accident in 2009, fracturing his pelvis and hip.