Mark Bell is a former
rugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player. He played for
CanberraThe Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
,
Western SuburbsThe Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
,
PenrithThe Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
and
St. GeorgeThe St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
in Australia along with a spell with
Wigan WarriorsWigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
in the
European Super LeagueSuper League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. He played on the wing and as a centre.
Raiders
A Canberra junior, with Yass and Belconnen United, Bell made his debut for the
RaidersThe Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
from the bench in 1988, but it was to be his only appearance for the club that year. The next year, he played his first game in the starting line-up, scoring a try against
ManlyThe Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
at
Brookvale OvalBrookvale Oval is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Warringah Council and is primarily used by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league team...
.
Bell was named on the bench, without playing in the match, for both the 1989 and 1990 Grand Finals. However, he played centre in the 1991 Grand Final loss to
PenrithThe Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
Magpies
Bell joined the Magpies in 1992, under coach
Warren RyanWarren Ryan is former rugby league football coach and player from Sydney, Australia. He is considered as one of the most influential coaches in recent times. Ryan also played 1st Grade Rugby League for the St George Dragons and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks....
. He had an immediate impact, scoring tries in his first 4 matches. He scored 16 tries throughout the year, to be the season's highest try-scorer (equal with
Tim BrasherTim Brasher is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who played primarily as fullback. He began his career for Balmain Tigers, where he played the majority of his career. He then moved to the South Sydney Rabbitohs for two seasons, before finishing his career with a...
)
Penrith and St George
After an unsuccessful season with the Panthers in 1994, during which he played only 7 games, Bell joined the St George Dragons. He was with the club for 3 seasons, scoring 24 tries. He scored 4 tries in the 1996 semi-final series and played on the wing in the 1996 Grand Final loss to
ManlyThe Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
Wigan
Bell played a final season with Wigan in
1998-Dream Team:The Super League Dream Team for the 1998 season was: 1 Kris Radlinski 2 Jason Robinson 3 Gary Connolly 4 ? 5 Anthony Sullivan 6 Iestyn Harris 7 Gavin Clinch 8 Dale Laughton 9 Robbie McCormack 10 ? 11 Steele Retchless 12 ? 13 ?-External links:**...
. Wigan lost only one match that year, and Bell played wing in the side which won the third Super League Grand Final, beating the
Leeds RhinosLeeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
10-4.
Post-Career
Bell still lives and works in the Canberra region. He has coached local team Queanbeyan Kangaroos and signed on to coach the Yass Magpies in 2010.
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