Yorgen Rogers 1994

Tuesday, 13 December 2005 05:00

The ability to spot talented young players is paramount to winning a premiership for any club. So the Sea Eagles seemed pretty pleased with themselves when they managed to pluck an unknown fullback from New Zealand Rugby Union and turned him into one of the clubs modern day greats.

The Sea Eagles went looking for another Matthew Ridge in the land of the long white cloud and they thought they hooked a live one when a young player with a union background came to the club in 1994.

His name was Yorgen Rogers, it was said of
The ability to spot talented young players is paramount to winning a premiership for any club. So the Sea Eagles seemed pretty pleased with themselves when they managed to pluck an unknown fullback from New Zealand Rugby Union and turned him into one of the clubs modern day greats.

The Sea Eagles went looking for another Matthew Ridge in the land of the long white cloud and they thought they hooked a live one when a young player with a union background came to the club in 1994.

His name was Yorgen Rogers, it was said of the young goal kicking kiwi half cum fullback could be the heir apparent to the aging Cliff Lyons at 5/8 for the Sea Eagles. Plenty of good things were said about him pre season by the clubs media machine so the fans waited nervously to see how he shaped up in the codes toughest competition.

He was chosen in the Manly back line in the opening round of the season in a match against the Bulldogs at Brookie Oval. The ravages of time prevent me from remembering the position he played in that day but I have a feeling it was at 5/8.

The bloke with the unusual name Yorgen, which sounded more like a Swedish massage therapist than a first grade footballer had an even more unusual hair style. A pony tail that was that long and which would put a lot of Year 7 school girls to shame, made him look even more out of place on the football field.

The Brookvale Hills fans anticipation at his initial appearance turned from nervous excitement to sheer terror when they saw Yorgen trot out on that fateful sunny afternoon.

Unfortunately his pathetic display that day proved most of the doubters correct. He looked more like a traffic cop directing the Bulldog players past him that a footballer putting their body on the line trying to stop the oppositions attacking raids.

After being stood up and run around a number of times which lead to Canterbury tries and a heavy defeat he was dragged off by Coach Bob Fulton.

He was relegated to Reserve grade the following week where his form was no better than his original game i.e. he was hopeless. He remained in the seconds for the rest of the season but whatever talent the clubs scouts saw in him in New Zealand which lead to his signing never appeared again while he was in the Maroon & White.

He disappeared at the end of 1994 and from my knowledge thankfully he has never been heard of again.

So with a career than spanned 1 game and no points the name of Yorgen Rogers entered the Sea Eagles history books.

Yogi Rogers a big Manly Boo Boo

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