{"id":295408,"date":"2025-11-19T18:52:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T18:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295408\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T18:52:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T18:52:25","slug":"former-nrl-player-overcomes-homelessness-to-win-my-kitchen-rules-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295408\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NRL player overcomes homelessness to win My Kitchen Rules – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former NRL<\/a> player Willie Mataka<\/a> has completed one of the most inspiring turnarounds in recent memory, going from life on the streets to being crowned a My Kitchen Rules champion alongside cooking partner Justin Rolleston.<\/p>\n

The pair won this year’s MKR by just one point in the closest grand final in the show’s history, edging out their opponents 73\u201372 to take home $100,000 in prize money.<\/p>\n

For Mataka, the victory marks a powerful full-circle moment.<\/p>\n

A decade ago, he was living on the streets after his NRL<\/a> career ended in 2014 and his father passed away the same year.<\/p>\n

Having represented the Wests Tigers<\/a> and Sydney Roosters<\/a>, his post-footy life spiralled as he struggled to transition out of sport and deal with personal loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were definitely some dark times when life felt hopeless,\u201d Will told TV WEEK. <\/p>\n

\u201cI’d just finished footy, lost my dad that year, and had a lot of dramas at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst thing was I got told to leave home.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says he was fortunate to have friends who helped him get back on his feet, but credits his wife Holly as the person who kept him going.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe’s been there through the highs and the lows,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHolly’s been an absolute rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now working in social services helping homeless youth, Will says his experience of hardship helps him connect with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess things happen for a reason,\u201d he said of his struggles.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing through homelessness gives me empathy when I work with vulnerable young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mataka’s journey from NRL<\/a> fields to TV fame has struck a chord with fans – a story of resilience, redemption, and the power of second chances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former NRL player Willie Mataka has completed one of the most inspiring turnarounds in recent memory, going from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-295408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}