Matt Parish
Personal information
Full nameMatthew Parish
Playing information
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1988–93 Balmain Tigers 55 6 0 0 24
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2011 Salford City Reds 6 1 0 5 17
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2013–23 Samoa 26 11 1 14 42
Source: [1]
As of 14 October 2022

Matt Parish is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who was the head coach of Samoa and a former professional rugby league footballer.

Playing career

Parish played in 64 first-grade matches for the Balmain Tigers between 1988 and 1993.[2] He was tough, durable utility player who was well respected throughout the club before injuries in 1993 restricted him to just five games.

In 1994 and 1995, Parish moved to the country and began his coaching career whilst still playing. He captain-coached Gosford Townies to the semi-finals before doing the same with Macquarie Scorpions in the 1996 Newcastle competition. In 1997, he moved to The Entrance Tigers where he similarly had immediate success. Parish continued to coach there until 2006, before moving to take up an NRL assistant coaching role at the North Queensland Cowboys.

Coaching career

He moved into coaching, and served as assistant coach of the North Queensland Cowboys and the New South Wales State of Origin team.[3]

In June 2011, Parish was appointed head coach of the Salford City Reds in the Super League, on a contract until the end of 2013.[3] After taking charge in July, he coached the side for six matches, winning one, before resigning in November 2011.[4][5] Parish cited "personal reasons" for leaving the club, though the Manchester Evening News reported that he had fallen out with the club's administration, having been critical of a number of aspects of the club's management.[6] Shortly after leaving Salford, he returned to Australia and was appointed an assistant coach of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, then the reigning National Rugby League premiers.[7]

In 2013, Parish was appointed as head coach of Samoa.[8]

He coached the Samoans to a quarter-final appearance in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. Earlier in the tournament Samoa faced New Zealand. The Samoans were down 36–4 in the second half, until the Samoans gave 'the Kiwis' a scare scoring 20 consecutive points, getting to within 13 points of the lead with 15 minutes to go in the match. However, the 'Kiwis' scored one more try to seal the match. The Samoans won their next two games against the Kumuls and the French, to secure their spot in the quarterfinal where they took on Pacific rivals Fiji. They lost, 22–4, ending their World Cup campaign.

In October 2022, he named his Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. Parish led the side to the World Cup Final where they were defeated by Australia. On 10 August 2023, he announced his resignation from the Samoan Head Coaching role.

Parish coaching Samoa in 2022
Parish post match interview after the 2021 RLWC Final

Samoa coaching record

Opponent Played Won Drew Lost Win Ratio (%)
 Australia 2 0 0 2 00.00
 France 1 1 0 0 100.00
 Fiji 3 1 0 2 33.33
 England 3 1 0 2 33.33
 New Zealand 3 0 0 3 00.00
 Papua New Guinea 1 1 0 0 100.00
 Scotland 1 0 1 0 00.00
 Tonga 3 2 0 1 66.67
TOTAL 17 6 1 10 31.25
Four Nations record
Year Round Position GP W L D
Australia/New Zealand 2014Fourth place4/43030
Total0 Titles0/13030
World Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
England/Wales 2013Quarter-Final5/144220
Australia/New Zealand/Papua New Guinea 2017Quarter-Final8/144031
Total0 Titles0/28251

Personal life

In May 2014, it was revealed that Parish was dating Suzanne Hadley, estranged wife of Australian broadcaster Ray Hadley.[9] The pair separated in April 2016.[10] In February 2017, it was revealed that Suzanne Hadley had applied for an apprehended violence order against Parish.[11] In April 2017, Parish agreed to abide to a six-month restraining order which includes not assaulting, threatening, harassing or intimidating Hadley. He also agreed not to contact her unless it is through a lawyer and not go near her home or place of work.[12]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Parish.
  1. ↑ "Matt Parish – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
  2. ↑ "Salford City Reds appoint Matt Parish as head coach". BBC Sport. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 Proszenko, Adrian (5 June 2011). "Mates help Parish score a pact with the Devils". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  4. ↑ Hadfield, Dave (18 November 2011). "Parish perishes at Reds after less than six months". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Parish quits Reds role". Sky Sports. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Barker, Neil (18 November 2011). "Parish's strained Salford Reds reign always destined for a Matt finish". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  7. ↑ Trodden, Matt (25 November 2011). "Sea Eagles Add to Coaching Staff". Mwse.com.au. Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "Matt Parish appointed as head coach of Samoa for the World Cup". Sky Sports. 9 July 2013.
  9. ↑ Hornery, Andrew (16 May 2014). "Ray Hadley creates minefield over wife's affair with coach Matt Parish". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ↑ "Suzanne Hadley and Matt Parish quietly call it quits two years after they started dating". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Proszenko, Adrian (21 February 2017). "NSWRL to launch investigation into AVO application against Matt Parish". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "Heraldsun.com.au | Subscribe to the Herald Sun". Dsf.newscorpaustralia.com. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
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