Mark O'Neill (rugby league)

Mark O'Neill

O'Neill in 2004
Personal information
Born	19 June 1975 (1975-06-19) (age 36) Paddington, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
Position	Second Row
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1994–99	Balmain Tigers	102	10	0	0	40
2000–05	Wests Tigers	121	11	0	0	44
2006	Leeds Rhinos	9	0	0	0	0
2007	Hull Kingston Rovers	17	5	0	0	20
	Total	249	26	0	0	104

Mark O'Neill (born 19 June 1975, in Paddington, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He played in Australia for the Balmain Tigers and the Wests Tigers following the merger of Balmain and Western Suburbs Magpies) and in England for Leeds Rhinos and Hull Kingston Rovers of Super League. O'Neill's usual position was at second row.

Biography

Playing career

A staunch and durable player, O'Neill was a member of the Tigers, in both their forms, for twelve seasons.

O'Neill was on the receiving end of a serious case of foul-play in 2004 when Danny Williams of the Melbourne Storm punched O'Neill in the face in an off the ball incident. Williams received an 18 match ban.^[1]

In 2005 he was voted team captain, a title Scott Prince took over during O'Neill's twelve weeks absence with an elbow injury. Controversially, coach Tim Sheens retained Prince as captain on O'Neill's return to the team.^[2] He went on to play at second-row forward in the Tigers 2005 NRL Grand Final win over the North Queensland Cowboys.

At the end of the 2005 season, O'Neill moved to England and Leeds Rhinos. His season at Leeds was marred by injury. A pre-season friendly resulted in a shoulder injury which sidelined him for four months and a leg muscle tear resulted in six weeks off the field.^[3][4] O'Neill's contract at Leeds was not renewed and he spent 2007 at Hull Kingston Rovers where he played his final year in professional rugby league before retiring.^[5]

Post-playing career

In February 2008, O'Neill was appointed to the NRL's Match Review Committee. The committee scans match videos for incidents of foul play.^[6][7]

He also works for Sky News as a rugby league analyst.

Career highlights

• First Grade Debut: 1994 - Round 19, Balmain v St George at Leichhardt Oval, 6 August
• Premierships: 2005 - member of the Wests Tigers premiership winning team that defeated North Queensland Cowboys, 30–16

Footnotes

1. ^ "18 weeks: Williams down for the count". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2004-08-05. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/04/1091557928897.html. Retrieved 2007-11-17. 
2. ^ "O'Neill still seething over losing captaincy". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-10-02. http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/the-bitter-end/2005/10/01/1127804696056.html. Retrieved 2007-11-17. 
3. ^ Laine Clark (2005-12-28). "O'Neill injury hampers debut". Fox Sports News (Australia). http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,17676599-23210,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-09. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "O'Neill's days numbered at Leeds". AAP. 2006-08-02. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=65817. Retrieved 2008-02-09. 
5. ^ Richard Rae (2008-01-27). "Shaping up for the Super League season". Times Online (The Sunday Times). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/rugby_league/article3260360.ece. Retrieved 2008-02-09. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Steve Mascord (2006-08-09). "New Tiger Ellis has O'Neill to thank". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23183235-5006066,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-09. 
7. ^ "Former Rhino gets new role". Leeds Rhinos. 2008-02-08. http://leedsrugby.dnsupdate.co.uk/leedsrhinos/news/news-story.asp?Index=6825. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 

External links

• Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
• Profile at leedsrugby

Persondata
Name	Oneill, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	19 June 1975
Place of birth	Paddington, New South Wales
Date of death
Place of death