Mark Nicholls (born 5 January 1990) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Dolphins in the NRL. He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canberra Raiders and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League.

Background

Nicholls was born into a family in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. He played his junior rugby league for the Leeton Greenies and

Gungahlin Bulls The Canberra Region Rugby League competition is more commonly known as the Canberra Raiders Cup, covering the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding New South Wales towns Queanbeyan, Goulburn and Yass. The competition is run under the ausp ...

, before being signed by the Canberra Raiders.

Playing career

Early career

From 2008 to 2010, Nicholls played for the Canberra Raiders' NYC team. In October 2010, he played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.

2012

In round 17 of the

2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...

, Nicholls made his NRL debut for the Raiders against the St. George Illawarra Dragons. He went on to play 12 consecutive games that year, coming off the bench as a prop. Mark Nicholls Canberra

2013

On 25 April, Nicholls re-signed with Canberra on a two-year contract.

2014

On 9 July, Nicholls played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents.

2015

On 6 October, Nicholls signed a one-year contract with the Melbourne Storm starting in 2016.

2016

On 1 February, Nicholls was named in the Storm's

2016 NRL Auckland Nines The 2016 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the third NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 6–7 February 2016 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. As with previous tournaments, it was ...

squad. He made no appearances for Melbourne in the

2016 NRL season The 2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 19th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...

2017

Nicholls was named in the Storm squad for the

2017 NRL Auckland Nines The 2017 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the fourth NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 4–5 February 2017 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Just like previous tournaments, it w ...

. He made his Melbourne debut against the Penrith Panthers in round 5 of the

2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...

. He made a total of nine appearances for Melbourne as the club won the Minor Premiership and the premiership itself defeating

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

in the

2017 NRL Grand Final The 2017 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2017 National Rugby League season and was played on Sunday October 1 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between minor premiers the Melbourne Storm and ...

2018

Nicholls made his South Sydney debut in round 1 of the

2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...

, starting at prop in South Sydney's 32–20 loss to the New Zealand Warriors. He made a total of 12 appearances for South Sydney in the

2019

Nicholls made a total of 24 appearances for South Sydney in the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

as the club finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Nicholls played in all three of the club's finals games including South Sydney's preliminary final loss against his former club Canberra.

2020

In round 10 of the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-season ...

, he scored his first try for South Sydney as they lost 20–18 against Newcastle at Bankwest Stadium. He made a total 19 appearances for Souths and played in all three of the club's finals matches including the preliminary final loss to Penrith.

2021

In round 24 of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Nicholls scored two tries for South Sydney in a 52-12 victory over arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters. In round 25, he was named captain for the match against

St. George Illawarra 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 ...

, after South Sydney chose to rest Adam Reynolds in the lead up to the finals. Nicholls played a total of 27 games for South Sydney in the

including the club's

2021 NRL Grand Final The 2021 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2021 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Sunday 3 October at Suncorp Stadiu ...

defeat against Penrith.

2022

On 21 January, Nicholls signed a two-year deal to join the new

Dolphins (NRL) The Dolphins are a professional rugby league football team based in the Redcliffe Peninsula area of the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, that competes in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL). Launched as a bid for inclusion into the ...

side who are due to join the NRL competition in 2023. Nicholls played 18 games for South Sydney and scored one try in the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

including all three of the clubs finals matches as they reached the preliminary final for a fifth straight season. Souths would lose in the preliminary final to eventual premiers Penrith 32-12.

2023

Nicholls made his club debut for the newly admitted Dolphins team in round 1 of the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season is the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams For the 2023 season, the number of teams in the NRL has increased from sixteen to seventeen with the ...

scoring a try as they pulled off a big upset defeating the Sydney Roosters 28-18.

References

External links

South Sydney Rabbitohs profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Mark 1990 births Living people Australian Muslims Australian rugby league players Canberra Raiders players Junior Kangaroos players Melbourne Storm players Mount Pritchard Mounties players Rugby league players from Wagga Wagga Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sunshine Coast Falcons players South Sydney Rabbitohs captains