Mark Cross (23 July 1956 – 1 May 2018) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with Footscray in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL). Cross, who was aged just 17 on his league debut, came from West Footscray. A rover, he made four appearances for Footscray, from rounds 15 to 18 in the

1974 VFL season The 1974 VFL season was the 78th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 6 April until 28 September, and comprised a 2 ...

.''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''
"Footscray prunes with heavy shears"
29 October 1974, p. 15 He was cut from Footscray's list at the end of the year. From 1975 to 1979, Cross played for Williamstown in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

. He was a member of Williamstown's 1976 premiership team and was captain of the VFA Seagulls in his final season. He played 74 games and kicked 125 goals for 'Town, none more important than the winning goal in the 1976 preliminary final against Frankston after the 'Gulls came from 5 goals down at three-quarter time to win by two points. They went on to take the flag over red-hot favourites, Mordialloc. He was awarded the most courageous player trophy in 1975, was runner-up in the 1979 Club best and fairest and was named in the forward pocket in the WFC 1970's Team-of-the-Decade. Cross returned to coach Williamstown in 1994. In 1980 he joined Red Cliffs, a club in the

Sunraysia Football League The Sunraysia Football and Netball League, also known simply as the SFNL is an Australian rules league in the Sunraysia district of north-west Victoria and south-west New South Wales. Nine clubs – Mildura, South Mildura, Imperials, Irymple, Re ...

, which he coached until 1984.''

Sunraysia Daily The ''Sunraysia Daily'' is a local newspaper in the north-western Sunraysia region of Victoria, Australia, it is published on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. From its first publication in 1920 until 14 September 2007, it was published ...

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"Cross as SANFL’s best"
21 September 2012, Toby Prime He was senior coach of Mildura Imperials from 1986 to 1989 and steered them to three successive premierships (1986, 1987, 1988). They were undefeated in the 1987 season. He then coached

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

's Under-19s and reserves teams. With Cross as coach, the Melbourne reserves were losing grand finalists in 1990 and 1991. His son, Joel, plays for

South Adelaide The South Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club that competes in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Known as the ''Panthers'', their home ground is Flinders University Stadium Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Mark 1956 births 2018 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Western Bulldogs players Williamstown Football Club players West Footscray Football Club players