Ciriaco Mescia, nicknamed "Cherry," is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s for the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) 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 r ...

and

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

. He played primarily at hooker.

Playing career

Mescia played junior football with Batlow. He gained attention playing for Riverina against Newcastle in 1990 before joining the Magpies in 1991. He made his first grade debut for the club in round 7 of 1994, but it was his sole appearance for that year. Making his second appearance in round 4 of 1995, Mescia played lock behind hooker

Jim Serdaris Jim Serdaris (born 1 October 1971) is an Australian former professional rugby league. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Western Suburbs Magpies, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. He also represented New South Wa ...

. In round 5, Mescia was moved to hooker and Serdaris to the second row, and Mescia scored his first career try in a 44-16 win over the

Sydney City Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. Mescia remained at hooker for most of the rest of the season, barring a two-game stint at halfback near the end of the year. The Magpies made the semi-finals in 1996, with Mescia playing in the first 18 rounds before being injured. Roy Masters considered him a possible future

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

. In 1997, after "being troubled by headaches for most of the season", he was dropped to reserves mid-year, but still played in 17 games. Mescia played a career-high 23 games in 1999, but the Magpies conceded the most points in NRL history and won just 3 games. He was ranked second for most tackles for the regular season. Mescia played in the club's final ever game as a first grade side which was a 60-16 loss against Auckland at

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a multi-use stadium in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. It is the home ground of the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Wests Ti ...

. When Western Suburbs merged with the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in t ...

, Mescia became a member of the

squad from the 2000 season, but was often chosen on the bench behind starting hooker

Darren Senter Darren Senter (born 28 March 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Balmain Tigers and Wests Tigers. Senter primarily played in the ...

. With a new coach in

Terry Lamb Terence John Lamb (born 15 September 1961), also nicknamed "Baa", is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played 350 games, with the Western Suburbs (1980–1983) and Canterbury (1984–1996). Lamb was known for his su ...

in 2001, Mescia won back the position of hooker, but it was to be his last season as a player, retiring due to a fracture to his lower back in the 2002 pre-season. In 2009, Mescia was made a life member of the Western Suburbs club.

Representative

Mescia played for

Country Origin The Country New South Wales rugby league team is a representative rugby league football team. Between 1987 and 2017 there were two tiers: the Origin team that consisted of professional players who originated from clubs of the Country Rugby Leagu ...

for three straight seasons from 1995.

Coaching

Mescia became High Performance Manager for his former club the Wests Tigers from 2003 to 2009. In 2010, he joined the high-performance unit at the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. He later became the strength and conditioning coach at the Parramatta Eels. In 2015, he filled the same position at the

St. George-Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

. Mescia has also been Head Trainer for the National Italian Rugby League Team during various tournaments and fixtures

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mescia, Ciriaco 1973 births Living people Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Wests Tigers players Western Suburbs Magpies players Rugby league hookers Australian rugby league players Place of birth missing (living people)