Matt Diskin

Matt Diskin (27 January 1982) an English professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of Oldham in the Betfred Championship, and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a hooker in the 2000s and 2010s.

He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for the Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls and coached at club level for the Bradford Bulls and Batley Bulldogs. Diskin played for the Leeds Rhinos for 10-years, and won four Super League championships with the club in 2004 (Super League IX), 2007 (Super League XII), 2008 (Super League XIII), and 2009 (Super League XIV), before moving to Bradford Bulls for the 2011 season, he remained with the Bradford Bulls until the end of his playing career in 2014.the head coach of the Batley Bulldogs in the Betfred Championship

Diskin was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England.

Diskin is a product of amateur rugby league club Dewsbury Moor ARLFC and growing up he attended St. John Fisher High School in Dewsbury, as did Francis Cummins and Ryan Sheridan.

Leeds Rhinos

Diskin made his début first-team appearance for Leeds Rhinos in 2001 against Castleford Tigers. He played for the Leeds Rhinos at Hooker and scored a try in their 2004 Super League Grand Final victory against the Bradford Bulls. His man-of-the-match performance saw him selected to represent Great Britain in the 2004 Tri-nations tournament.

Diskin played for Leeds in the 2005 Challenge Cup Final at Hooker in their loss against Hull FC. He played for the Leeds Rhinos from the interchange bench in their 2005 Super League Grand Final loss against Bradford Bulls. He played in the 2008 Super League Grand Final victory over St. Helens.

He played in the 2009 Super League Grand Final victory over St. Helens at Old Trafford, scoring a try in the record-breaking third consecutive Grand Final victory over St Helens.

2010 saw Diskin celebrate his testimonial year at Leeds after 10 years of service to the most successful club of recent years. Diskin had been instrumental in all of Leeds' championship winning campaigns.

He played in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.

On 19 October 2010, it was announced that Diskin had agreed a move to Bradford Bulls on a three-year contract, and is expected to push for the starting hooker position in the Bradford Bulls line-up.

Bradford Bulls

Diskin appeared in two of 2011's four pre-season games. He played against Dewsbury Rams and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. Matt featured in 23 consecutive games from Round 1 (Leeds Rhinos) to Round 23 (Warrington Wolves). He also appeared in the Challenge Cup game against Wigan Warriors. He scored against Leeds Rhinos, Crusaders and Harlequins RL. A shoulder injury kept him out for the rest of the season.

Matt and Heath L'Estrange were appointed joint captains for the 2012 season. Diskin featured in two of the four pre-season games. He played against Dewsbury Rams and Hull FC. Matt featured in 15 consecutive games from Round 1 (Catalans Dragons) to Round 15 (Leeds Rhinos). Diskin missed Rounds 16–23 due to injury. Diskin returned for Round 24 (Hull Kingston Rovers) to Round 27 (Catalans Dragons). He also featured in the Challenge Cup against Doncaster and Warrington Wolves. Diskin scored tries against Warrington Wolves (1 try), Hull Kingston Rovers (1 try), Doncaster (2 tries), Leeds Rhinos (1 try) and Huddersfield Giants (1 try).

Diskin featured in 2013's pre-season friendlies against Dewsbury Rams and Leeds Rhinos. He scored against Dewsbury Rams (1 try). He featured in four consecutive games from Round 1 (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats) to Round 4 (St. Helens). He missed Round 5 due to injury. He returned for Round 6 (Widnes Vikings) but was ill for Round 7. Diskin returned for Round 8 (Catalans Dragons) to Round 9 (Leeds Rhinos). He missed Round 10 due to an injury. Diskin featured in Round 11 (London Broncos) to Round 16 (Huddersfield Giants). He returned to the team for Round 18 (St. Helens) to Round 27 (Huddersfield Giants). Diskin also appeared in the Challenge Cup against London Broncos. Matt scored against Widnes Vikings (1 try), Salford City Reds (1 try) and Hull F.C. (1 try). Diskin signed a 1 Year Extension to his contract midway through the season.

Diskin missed the pre-season friendlies against Hull FC and Dewsbury Rams due to injury. However he did feature in the friendly against Castleford Tigers. He featured in Round 1 (Castleford Tigers) to Round 6 (Hull Kingston Rovers). Diskin next featured in Round 8 (Salford Red Devils) then in Round 11 (Warrington Wolves) to Round 13 (Huddersfield Giants). He also played in Round 15 (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats) to Round 19 (Catalans Dragons). Matt featured in Round 5 (Catalans Dragons) to the quarter-final (Warrington Wolves) in the Challenge Cup. He scored against Hull F.C. (1 try).

Bradford Bulls

Matt Diskin was put in temporary charge of the Bradford Bulls on 16 June 2014 as a player coach. It was the day following the sacking of head coach Francis Cummins, and assistant Lee St Hilare. Diskin took charge of Bulls home match against Hull Kingston Rovers where they lost 44–18 the Tuesday after James Lowes was announced as the Bradford Bulls new head coach.

At the end of the 2014 season, Diskin announced his retirement.

Batley Bulldogs

In April 2016 it was announced Diskin was to take over at Batley Bulldogs from 2017 after John Kear announced he would be joining Wakefield Trinity Wildcats as director of rugby in 2017.

(For 2014 Super League season highlights, stats and results click on 2014 Super League season results)