Akim Matvejev

Matvejev was born in Tallinn, Estonia. He moved with his family to England in 2012.^[3]

He studied at Bruntcliffe Academy and Leeds College of Building.^[3]

Matvejev played junior rugby league for Drighlington ARLFC after he took up the sport aged 12. He joined the Castleford Tigers development system at scholarship level.^[3]

In April 2024, Matvejev signed a two-year contract with the Castleford Tigers alongside nine academy teammates.^[4] He was first named in the 21-man squad to face Leigh on 1 August and assigned squad number 39, although did not feature.^[5][6] On 13 September, Matvejev made his Super League debut for Castleford against St Helens as an interchange.^[7][8] In doing so, he became the first Estonian to play in the Super League.^[9][10] He made his first senior start the following week against Huddersfield.^[11][12]

On 7 August 2025 it was reported that he had signed for Rochdale Hornets in the RFL League 1 on loan for the remainder of the 2025 season^[13]

On 28 January 2026 it was reported that he had signed for Batley Bulldogs in the RFL Championship on loan for the remainder of the 2026 season^[14]