MATTHEW Elliott first made a name for himself in the rugby league world as a youngster with both Eastern Suburbs and then St George, in Sydney, where he played in the Winfield Cup competition.

Since his move to Bradford Bulls in July 1995, first as assistant coach and then as head coach two years later, he has become one of the finest exponents of the 13-man game.

Trips to the Silk Cut Challenge Cup Final two years running - unfortunately twice ending up in defeat at the hands of St Helens - and then the Super League champions trophy last year, ensured his name featured heavily on the sporting pages of both national and local newspapers.

But, he has also been quietly busy notching up more sporting success at Bramhope Cricket Club.

Here Louise Auty catches up with the 33-year-old Aussie to find out what set him off on his sporting career and how he ended up playing on the cricketing greens of the Wetherby League.

TOWNSVILLE, Australia, is a hotbed of sport and for a young Matthew Elliott the decision was simple - play cricket in the summer and rugby league in the winter.

His cricketing career began at Sydney City and soon he was playing state cricket as a colt for Queensland.

As the league expanded, Sydney City went out of existance and he moved to another.

"There I found the players were more interested in how big your kitbag was and what brand of suntan lotion you used.

"That wasn't my sort of thing at all and because I was only 20 and I was enjoying myself with the people at Eastern Suberbs, I decided to concentrate on my rugby league career.

"Also, I was getting paid for playing rugby but it was costing me to play cricket, so it wasn't a hard choice," he says.

"I was a young lad and I wanted to stay with the people who were great to be with," he adds.

"Once you have played rugby league at that level, you have to make a decision," he adds.

His family and friend say he was a better cricketer than a rugby league player but he has no regrets about the decision.

Matthew, together with his family, wife Karen, and daughers Mia, aged eight, Lucy, aged seven, four-year-old Claire and the latest edition, three-month-old Katie, ended up in Bramhope by chance after spending six weeks in a motel after first moving to England in 1995.

"I knew I didn't want to live in Bradford, as I would be right on top of the job there, and so we ended up in Bramhope.

"It was by good fortune rather than design," he says.

Towards the end of last year's cricketing season Matthew got out his 'whites' once more after being persuaded by his next-door neighbour, Martin Olley, who is heavily involved at Bramhope.

"His son Steve plays with the juniors and Martin coaches them and that's how I ended up playing.

I haven't played competitive cricket for a long time but I am really enjoying it.

"In my first game this season I scored 50 and took a couple of wickets but that's been my best performance so far," he adds.

Last week he took a couple of wickets as Bramhope managed a draw against promotion rivals Bramham.

He says his own performance was perhaps not all it could have been as he'd had a few beers the night before while celebrating Bradford's victory over Castleford.

"I love playing cricket. I'm not too sure what Karen and the family thought about it when I said I was going to play for Bramhope.

"I find it very theraputic and relaxing though. I work very long hours and although it is a bit tough for the family for me to be away for another afternnon, it does provide a relief from the pressures of rugby league," he adds.

Matthew's daughters went to watch him play cricket last week but, he says, they didn't really understand what was going on.

As for Karen, he says she has been used to him playing sport from when they first met.

"Karen is a rugby league widow. Rugby league players in Australia work and play the game as it has always been a full-time job.

"Here I tend to put in a 10 to 12 hour day and I don't really get any days off as I tend to work those as well," he adds.

There is a surprisingly large Bradford connection in Bramhope.

Former players Darryl Shelford and Brian Noble turn out for West Park Bramhope RUFC's second team, as does assistant Bulls coach Mick Potter.

"I think the Bradford connection came about because Mick's kids play junior rugby at West Park," says Matthew.

One thing which did surprised him, on moving to England, was the lack of team sports his daughters could play.

"There are very few team sports, other than rugby, which I don't want them to play, for young girls over here.

"I don't want to sound critical but in Australia Mia was taking part in nippers, which is like junior life savers, and netball and a game similar to rounders which is called T-ball," he says.

"Over here the girls take part in gymnastics and horse riding, which is fantastic but it is really surprising to find that there was so little for them to do outside of school.

"Sporting opportunities in this country for young girls there age are very limited," he added.

Injuries to his knees forced Matthew to finish his rugby league career early.

At the moment, his ambition on the cricketing side is to play for Bramhope as long as he is able.

"I tend to have a go at both bat and ball. I do a little bit of everything poorly.

It is about the right level for me here at Bramhope," he adds.

"The guys that I play with do take the game seriously but they dont slit their wrists when we don't win," he says.

Rugby league obviously affects his availablility for Bramhope but his players do like to keep up with his cricketing experiences.

"They always ask how I've done and I am sure a few of them will get around to watching.

"I don't know how long I will be here but my ambition is to help Bramhope to win as many games as we can because it is always more enjoyable when you win," he says.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.