Mark O'Neill (rugby league)
{{short description|Australian rugby league footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name = Mark O'Neill
|fullname =
|image = Mark ONeill (23 April 2005).jpg
|caption = O'Neill in 2004
|position = {{rlp|SR|LK}}
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|6|19|df=yes}}
|birth_place = Paddington, New South Wales, Australia
|height = {{convert|188|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight = {{convert|100|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}
|club1 = Balmain Tigers
|year1start = 1994
|year1end = 99
|appearances1 = 102
|tries1 = 10
|goals1 = 0
|fieldgoals1 = 0
|points1 = 40
|club2 = Wests Tigers
|year2start = 2000
|year2end = 05
|appearances2 = 121
|tries2 = 11
|goals2 = 0
|fieldgoals2 = 0
|points2 = 44
|club3 = Leeds Rhinos
|year3start = 2006
|year3end =
|appearances3 = 11
|tries3 = 0
|goals3 = 0
|fieldgoals3 = 0
|points3 = 0
|club4 = {{nowrap|Hull Kingston Rovers}}
|year4start = 2007
|year4end =
|appearances4 = 17
|tries4 = 5
|goals4 = 0
|fieldgoals4 = 0
|points4 = 20
|retired = yes
|updated = 03:18, 17 November 2007 (UTC)
|source = [http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/Mark_O-Neill.html Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org]
|new = yes
}}
Mark O'Neill (born 19 June 1975) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in Australia for the Balmain Tigers, then the Wests Tigers following the joint venture of Balmain and the Western Suburbs Magpies, and in England for the Leeds Rhinos and the Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League. O'Neill usually played as a {{rlp|sr}}. O'Neill held the NSWRL/NRL record for the most first grade games played before competing in a finals match which stood at 219 games before this was overtaken by Luke Brooks.{{cite web|url=https://www.zerotackle.com/tiger-inches-closer-to-unwanted-record-108215/|title=Tiger inches closer to unwanted record|website=zerotackle.com}} He is currently the General Manager of football at Parramatta Eels NRL.{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/captain-s-call-the-players-to-watch-in-this-year-s-nrl-finals-20240909-p5k8zy.html/|title=Captain’s call: The players to watch in this year’s NRL finals|website=www.smh.com.au}}
Biography
O'Neill was born in Paddington, New South Wales, Australia on 19 June 1985.
=Playing career=
A staunch and durable player, O'Neill was a member of the Tigers, in both their forms, for 13 seasons. He was a local Balmain junior who played at the Dundas Shamrocks and North Ryde Hawks clubs. O'Neill made his first grade debut for Balmain in round 19 of the 1994 NSWRL season against St. George at Leichhardt Oval. O'Neill played in Balmain's final ever match as a stand-alone entity which came against Canberra in round 26 of the 1999 NRL season. The match finished 42–14. O'Neill was one of the players from the Balmain club who was offered a contract to play for the newly formed Wests Tigers side. O'Neill played in Wests Tigers inaugural match in round 1 of the 2000 NRL season against Brisbane at Campbelltown Stadium which finished in a 24–24 draw.
O'Neill played his 200th NRL match against the Sydney Roosters at Campbelltown Stadium in Round 16, 2004, but the milestone match would not be remembered for the right reasons as the Tigers lost by 56–0.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-06-25/tigers-creamed-by-roosters-juggernaut/1999316|title=Tigers creamed by Roosters juggernaut|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|first=Joel|last=Zander|date=25 June 2004|accessdate=15 March 2021}}
Three weeks later, he 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.{{cite news|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=18 weeks: Williams down for the count|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/04/1091557928897.html|accessdate=17 November 2007|date=5 August 2004}}
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.{{cite news|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=O'Neill still seething over losing captaincy|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/the-bitter-end/2005/10/01/1127804696056.html|accessdate=17 November 2007|date=2 October 2005}} 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.{{cite news|author=Laine Clark|publisher=Fox Sports News (Australia)|title=O'Neill injury hampers début|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,17676599-23210,00.html|accessdate=9 February 2008|date=28 December 2005}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}{{cite news|publisher=AAP|title=O'Neill's days numbered at Leeds|url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=65817|accessdate=9 February 2008|date=2 August 2006|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605134237/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=65817|archivedate=5 June 2011}} 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.{{cite news|author=Richard Rae|publisher=Times Online (The Sunday Times)|title=Shaping up for the Super League season|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/rugby_league/article3260360.ece|accessdate=9 February 2008|date=27 January 2008}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
=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.{{cite news|author=Steve Mascord|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=Sydney|title=New Tiger Ellis has O'Neill to thank|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23183235-5006066,00.html|accessdate=9 February 2008|date=9 August 2006}}{{cite web|url=http://leedsrugby.dnsupdate.co.uk/leedsrhinos/news/news-story.asp?Index=6825 |title=Former Rhino gets new role |publisher=Leeds Rhinos |date=8 February 2008 |accessdate=8 February 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}
In 2016, O'Neill worked at his former club the Wests Tigers as football manager but later resigned after alleged misconduct.{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/30/mark-oneill-resigns-from-nrls-wests-tigers-amid-misconduct-allegations | title=Mark O'Neill resigns from NRL's Wests Tigers amid misconduct allegations | website=The Guardian | date=30 September 2016 }}
He also worked for Sky News as a rugby league analyst.
In October 2018, O'Neill was appointed as general manager of football at the Parramatta Eels.{{cite web | url=https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/10/10/parramatta-eels-team-returning-to-intrust-super-premiership/ | title=Eels team returning to Intrust Super Premiership | date=9 October 2018 }}
Career highlights
- First Grade Debut: 1994 – Round 19, Balmain v St George, Leichhardt Oval, Sydney, 6 August.
- Premierships: 2005 – Wests Tigers defeated North Queensland Cowboys 30–16 in the Grand Final, Stadium Australia, Sydney, 2 October.
- Wests Tigers Club Captain: 2005
Footnotes
{{Reflist}}
External links
- (archived by web.archive.org) [https://web.archive.org/web/20081118035716/http://leedsrugby.dnsupdate.co.uk/leedsrhinos/pastplayers/squad-page.asp?ID=174 Profile at leedsrugby]
{{Inaugural Wests Tigers side}}
{{Wests Tigers squad 2005 NRL premiership}}
{{Wests Tigers squad 2004 Rugby League World Sevens winners}}
{{Wests Tigers Life Members}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Mark}}
Category:Australian Institute of Business alumni
Category:Australian rugby league commentators
Category:Australian rugby league players
Category:Balmain Tigers players
Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen
Category:Hull Kingston Rovers players
Category:Australian expatriate rugby league players in England
Category:Rugby league players from Sydney
Category:Rugby league second-rows
Category:Sportsmen from New South Wales