His oldest son Don will perform a song written in his honour, while dual international and former Sharks star Mat will also be on hand at Ocean Protect Stadium in honour of their father, Sharks Immortal Steve Rogers, when Cronulla plays Manly Sea Eagles on Friday night.
The appearance of Don and Mat will coincide with a game between the two clubs who come together to contest the Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy, with the special piece of silverware as well as bragging rights up for grabs each time the two beachside rivals meet.
Th match is played as a mark of respect for a league giant, with the Sharks and Sea Eagles having played for the Rogers trophy since Rogers' tragic passing in 2006 aged 51.
Crowned a Sharks Immortal in 2003, Rogers was also posthumously inducted into Cronulla's inaugural Hall of Fame alongside son Mat in February of 2025.
With Rogers having forged close friendships with Manly greats including Bob Fulton, Max Krilich and Paul McCabe on Kangaroo touring teams, the Sharks and Sea Eagles created the trophy to honour the legacy of one of the Cronulla greatest ever players.
The first Rogers Trophy game took place in March 2006, almost three months after Rogers' death. Manly were successful in that inaugural staging of the Steve Rogers Trophy, while the prize was put up each time the teams met until the end of the 2010 season, after which it was contested just once a year at the current holders' home ground were the teams drawn to play each other twice.
In May 2016, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of Rogers' passing, Manly and Cronulla returned to the original format of playing for the trophy at each meeting.
While the Sharks have won seven of their last eight matches against the Sea Eagles, the Manly club holds the overall a 21-11 advantage from the 32 games played.
Rogers proudly represented Cronulla in several famous battles that lit the fuse for a rivalry with Manly that included the 1973 and 1978 Grand Finals. Rogers was just 18 years of age in the ’73 clash, while he captained the Sharks in the ‘78 decider and the grand final replay that would follow.
He played 202 top-grade games for the Sharks, represented NSW on 21 occasions and Australia in 24 Test Matches. Rogers also won a Rothmans Medal and Dally M Player of the Year award, was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2008 and was named as one of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) in a list commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year.
As a part of game day activities, before kick off on Friday night Don Rogers will perform his new single, The Poet and the Baller, a song written as a tribute to his late mother and father.
Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy
Matches played: 32 (Manly 21, Cronulla 11)
2025, Rd 6: Cronulla 24 d Manly 18, Rd 10: Cronulla 30 d Manly 14
2024, Rd 27: Cronulla 40 d Manly 20
2023, Rd 11: Cronulla 20 d Manly 14, Rd 21: Manly 30 d Cronulla 26
2022, Rd 7: Cronulla 34 d Manly 22, Rd 23: Cronulla 40 d Manly 6
2021, Rd 20: Manly 40 d Cronulla 22
2020, Rd 7: Cronulla 40 d Manly 22
2019, Rd 10: Manly 24 d Cronulla 14
2018, Rd 21: Manly 33 d Cronulla 32
2017, Rd 16: Manly 35 d Cronulla 18
2016, Rd 3: Manly 22 d Cronulla 12, Rd 11: Cronulla 20 d Manly 12
2015, Rd 26: Manly 14 d Cronulla 12; Rd 17, Manly 28 d Cronulla 16.
2014, Rd 6: Manly 24 d Cronulla 4, Rd 15: Manly 26 d Cronulla 0
2013, Rd 6: Manly 25 d Cronulla 18; SF: Manly 24 d Cronulla 18
2012, Rd 3: Cronulla 17 d Manly 14
2011, Rd 5: Manly 19 d Cronulla 13
2010, Rd 5: Manly 40 d Cronulla 12; Rd 19: Manly 48 d Cronulla 18
2009, Rd 19: Manly 32 d Cronulla 26: Rd 25: Manly 18 d Cronulla 16
2008, Rd 1: Cronulla 16 d Manly 10, Rd 18: Manly 34 d Cronulla 6
2007, Rd 19: Manly 29 d Cronulla 22
2006, Rd 3: Manly 20 d Cronulla 18, Rd 16: Cronulla 15 d Manly 12
