Mark Bell (born 19 March 1967) 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for Canberra, Western Suburbs, Penrith and St. George in Australia along with a spell with English club

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union followin ...

in the Super League, as a or .

Career

A Canberra junior, with Yass and Belconnen United, Bell made his début for the Raiders 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 Manly at

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by th ...

. 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 Penrith Bell joined the Magpies in 1992, under coach

Warren Ryan Warren Redman Ryan (born 27 October 1941) is an Australian former professional rugby league football coach and player. He is considered one of the most influential rugby league coaches of the 20th century. Ryan also played in the NSWRFL Premie ...

. 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 Brasher Timothy Brasher is an Australian former rugby league footballer who primarily played as a in the 1990s and 2000s. He began his career with the Balmain Tigers, where he played the majority of his career. He then moved to the South Sydney Rabbit ...

) After an unsuccessful season with the Panthers in 1994, during which he played only 7 games, Bell joined the

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

. 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 Manly Bell played a final season with Wigan in 1998's Super League III. Wigan lost only one match that year, and Bell played wing in the side which won the

1998 Super League Grand Final The 1998 JJB Super League Grand Final was the first staging of the Super League Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding game of 1998's Super League III, and the first Grand Final of the Super League era. It was held on Saturday 2 ...

, beating the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...

10-4. Bell still lives and works in the Canberra region. He has coached local teams Queanbeyan Kangaroos and the Yass Magpies.

References

External links

Wigan profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Mark 1967 births Living people Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Canberra Raiders players Penrith Panthers players St. George Dragons players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from the Australian Capital Territory Western Suburbs Magpies players Wigan Warriors players