‘Definitely proud’: Gillett’s long stay at the top for Maroons
- FOGS
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Matt Gillett took an unconventional route to the NRL but once he made the Queensland team he was there for good.
It is a tribute to the quality of the talented and tough second-rower that Gillett was never dropped from the Maroons side in 20 games in the State of Origin arena.
“I am definitely proud of that,” Gillett said.
Injury interrupted a 17-game consecutive streak for Queensland late in his career but when fit and healthy both Mal Meninga and Kevin Walters had no hesitation in picking him in the side.
Walters penned a tribute column in Gillett’s honour when he retired from the Origin arena, where he summed up the valued forward’s worth to a tee.
“Matt is one of those guys with a team-first mentality. Players enjoyed playing with him - they wanted him in the side.”
Gillett’s rise from the Bribie Island Warrigals to Redcliffe, Wests Panthers and then the Broncos and Queensland was far from average.
In 2008 he played for both the Panthers and the Broncos under 20s side. The Broncos were in the finals and Wests were set for the grand final … and Gillett chose Wests! Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin was fuming.
“Me making the decision to go back and play with my mates at Wests didn’t go down too well with Hook (Griffin). He was a man of few words when I rang him and couldn’t get his head around it, which you can understand looking back now,” Gillett grinned.
Gillett won his grand final at Wests and Brisbane went on and lost their grand final to Canberra.
“I obviously wasn’t a part of that and was watching it on TV,” Gillett chuckled.
“At that point I thought my shot at the Broncos was done.”
Gillett linked with Norths Devils after Christmas and it soon became clear he was an NRL player in waiting. Broncos coach Ivan Henjak decided he was worth a train and trial deal and he debuted in the NRL in the 2010 season.
Two years later he was in the Maroons side on the bench for game one of the series.
Griffin was Broncos head coach by then and had well and truly forgiven him. Hook called Gillett to tell him he was in the Maroons side.
“Me and my wife were heading to Nitro Circus at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, a motor bike show, when Hook phoned to let me know I was in the team,” Gillett said.
“The Origin team had won six straight series and I was nervous after how successful they’d been. I had met the staff and players in emerging Origin camps and to meet Billy Slater, GI, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, JT … you sit there thinking how good is life. They put you at ease and so did Alf (Allan Langer).
“Coming from the Broncos I had dealt with Alf but it is the best time of your life with Alf in camp and having a drink. You love him on the night and the next day you ask yourself, ‘why did I do that?’ But he brings the group together and sets up the week.”
Gillett’s first game was at Etihad Stadium and the Maroons won 18-10.
“You are representing the past, the state, the kids and their dreams to play for Queensland. You know all that by the time you get your debut.
“At captain’s run big Petero Civoniceva presented me with my jersey. He’s the nicest man in rugby league and a weapon on the field. It was his last season and to play alongside him, a statesman of FOGS with 30-plus games, was unreal.”
Gillett played in one of the great games in the decider, a 21-20 win thanks to a Cooper Cronk field goal.
“It was my first experience at home in Queensland in a decider and it was great to have my family there. Cool, calm and collected Coops nails the field goal like he had one thousand times,” Gillett recalled.
"I always got emotional when the national anthem came on and you are standing there with your mates. I’d spot my family in the crowd and it would bring a tear to the eye. That was a good sign and showed I was ready to rip in.”
Gillett kept ripping in and became a regular starter in the second-row. Game one of 2016, in a 6-4 win, he was man of the match for his tough runs and tackling like a demon.
“To receive the man of the match was very special,” he said.
“It was a low-scoring game where the grit and grind and staying in it and showing up for your mate was key.
“I always wanted to be the player others wanted to play alongside and who they could trust to do the job.”
Gillett shone in another series win in 2017 and the next year was unaware he had suffered a neck fracture in round one for the Broncos, but true to form he ploughed on in discomfort until round five.
“Things weren't getting better and scans showed I had a serious fracture, although it was stable,” he said.
“The next day the family and I sat down with the neurosurgeon and the first thing he said was that I wouldn't need surgery.
“Having two kids at that time, that was the biggest relief. I was thinking the worst. I was relieved but had to let the neck heal for the rest of the year.
“Then I ended up having a shoulder reconstruction in August which was a bit odd because I had only played five games at the start of the season.”
Gillett had gone to Nando’s in Albany Creek and had a cuddle with his daughter Harper.
“I put my arm around her to give her a little squeeze and went to bring it back over but it wasn't working properly,” he recalled.
“It felt like something slipped and there was a big crunch. There was pain. I told my physio and I got a scan and needed another shoulder reconstruction. I came back for Brisbane in 2019 and played Melbourne down there. The neck had healed. I was playing a bit of middle forward and I was just glad to be back.
“Then I was back in the Origin frame again and Kevvie was the coach. I got my Origin opportunity. We won the first game of the series and then we went to Perth and got walloped.”
Besides the result, it was Gillett’s 20th Origin and he was a Tosser Turner Medal recipient, a huge honour.
“You come down the list in order of those medal winners and all of a sudden you get to your name and think, 'how?' I never got dropped from Origin so I must have done something right I guess,” he said.
“It still looked a bit out of place, but it is something I earned and I am very proud of that. I finished with 20 games on the dot.
“Cameron Smith was over there in Perth doing commentary and he came into the changerooms after captain's run and said a few words. To have one of the best to pull on a Queensland jersey say a few kind and impactful words about me was special.
Gillett was a late withdrawal from the decider with a groin injury and was devastated not to play in a match the Maroons almost won.
He suffered another shoulder injury for the Broncos late in the season and kept going.
“I thought I would rehab it, get another reconstruction and come back for 2020 but that wasn't the case,” Gillett said.
“We played Parramatta in my 200th game for the Broncos in the first final and we got a touch-up, not knowing it was my last.
Gillett saw two specialists about his shoulder but the response was grim.
“They said there wasn't anything they could do for it. I had struggled the back end of that year to lift weights with my right shoulder,” Gillett revealed.
“The second specialist said he had seen shoulders with less damage than mine that he had done replacements with. When he said that I knew that wasn't great news.
“The advice off the doctors was to give it away. It was hard at the time and pretty emotional because you are fit and healthy besides that. I just wanted to play on, but all good things come to an end. That was my time. Other players go through similar circumstances. Mentally you want to keep playing but the body says no.
“I was signed for two more years so we made the call with my family that there was plenty of life ahead of me.
“You can't always go out on a high but I was still very grateful to have a career in rugby league and to play for one club, the Maroons and Australia.”
Gillett announced his retirement at an off-season Broncos presser. He would not be called Bambi or Baby Giraffe any more, not on the field at least.
“I got a bit of stick for my running style. The legs got a bit wayward,” Gillett grinned when reminded of his nicknames.
Post-playing Gillett transitioned into an ambassador and game development role with the Broncos and is now in his third year at FOGS in a partnerships and player engagement role.
“It is a good change and something I am enjoying,” he said.
He can also enjoy the fact that his career was one to be proud of. It also included 12 Tests and 12 wins for Australia, with all games except one played under the coaching of Meninga.
Gillett thrived under Meninga’s guidance for both Australia and Queensland.
“Mal was unbelievable to me. You always knew where you stood. Honesty is the best thing from a coach and he carried that with him.
“When Mal talks you can hear a pin drop. When you have him at the top as coach, you are in good hands.”
