Steve Rogers passes away, aged 51

Former Cronulla Sharks and Australian rugby league great Steve Rogers has been found dead in his unit in Sydney's southern suburbs.

Sharks management confirmed that the 51-year-old had just returned from an overseas holiday with police saying there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Sharks football manager Greg Pierce said the news had come as a great shock.

"He was due back at work on Monday and I was due to go off for a couple of weeks ... he had been on holidays in Europe for a period and we were just going to (talk) about the state of the nation kind of thing - and it's just quite unbelievable the fact that he won't be there," Pierce said.

Rogers, 51, was the chief executive of the Cronulla club and had an outstanding career as a player with the Sharks and the Australian rugby league team. The gifted centre played 199 Games for Cronulla between 1973 and 1982 with a farewell season in 1985.

He scored 1255 points for the club during those years including 82 tries and 502 goals. In the intervening years Rogers played with St George, featuring in 25 games. His representative career was no less impressive, the skilful back featuring in 19 games for NSW and 21 Tests for the Kangaroos.

Considered one of the greatest outside backs the game has seen, Rogers formed a devastating centre combination with Parramatta great Mick Cronin when they played for the national side. Rogers' son Mat was a former player with the Sharks, also representing at state and national level before making a successful move to rugby union in 2002.

Leagueunlimited would like to pass on its condolences to the Rogers family at this time.