Bury Born in
Stretford, Greater Manchester, Rouse made his Bury debut as a 74th minute
substitute for
Marc Pugh in the 4–0 league defeat against
Wycombe Wanderers at
Gigg Lane,
Bury in
League Two. On 9 October 2007 he scored his only goal for
Bury in a 3–1 win over local rivals
Rochdale at
Spotland in the
Football League Trophy. He played his final game for
Bury against
Hereford United on 18 August 2009. Then after the 1–0 win at
Port Vale he was to be released by mutual consent. A brief statement from
Alan Knill on their website read ''"I'm disappointed to see him leave because the kid's got talent, but you need more than talent to progress in the game"'', this was after he was late for training on numerous occasions and also having other disciplinary problems with the club.
Hyde On 24 March 2010, Rouse joined up with
Conference North outfit
Hyde United. He made his Hyde debut on 27 March, coming on as a second half
substitute in the 4–0 defeat to
AFC Telford United. Then after a few good performances coming off the bench he earned his first start on 10 March in a 3–2 win over
Redditch United. Then next month he made his final appearance for Hyde against
Solihull Moors, which ended in a 1–1 draw, also the final game of the
season. In summer 2010, he left
Hyde after just half a year and only four appearances for the club, to join their rivals
Droylsden along with
David McNiven.
Droylsden He appeared in all three of Droylsden's
FA Cup proper fixtures including the 8–2 battering to the hands of
Leyton Orient in the second round replay on 7 December 2010. Then on 10 January 2011 he started for Droylsden against his former club
Hyde, a game in which they won 3–1 to progress to the semi-final of the
Manchester Premier Cup, Rouse had a controversial part to play in their second goal when he appeared to shove
Steve Halford in the back before playing the ball across goal to
Ciaran Kilheeney.
Colwyn Bay He joined
Colwyn Bay in September 2011 after being released by his former club. After returning to Droylsden between 2012 and 2014 he joined
Macclesfield Town.
Later non-league career In June 2023, Rouse signed for
Clitheroe following a season with
Stalybridge Celtic. In November 2024, Rouse joined
Wythenshawe Town. ==Career statistics==