Matthew Bell (born 30 August 1981 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. Bell primarily played in the second row, but most of his appearances were started from the bench.

Playing career

Bell played his junior football for Brothers St. Brendan's JRLFC and previously played for Souths Logan Magpies in the Queensland Cup. He made his NRL debut in round 11 of the 2006 season against the Parramatta Eels at

CUA Stadium Penrith Stadium (known commercially as BlueBet Stadium) is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthers who play in the N ...

. In the

2007 NRL season The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusio ...

, Bell played ten games as Penrith finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon. Having played over a hundred games in his six years with the Penrith club, Bell signed a one-year contract to join the Wests Tigers in 2012. Bell, played in 23 games in 2012. He mostly played from the bench, but made appearances in the starting team when

Chris Heighington Christopher Heighington (born 14 January 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer. An English international, Country New South Wales and NRL All Stars representative, his positions were and . He played for the Wests Tigers and ...

was injured and

Adam Blair Adam Ngawati Blair (born 20 March 1986) is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward and in the National Rugby League (NRL), and the New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori inter ...

was suspended. In 2013, Bell played the first six games of the season, before suffering a right hand tendon injury at a training session, returning to first-grade near the end of the season. For the 2014 season, Bell signed to play with the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup competition.

References

External links

Penrith Panthers profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Matthew 1983 births Living people Australian rugby league players Wests Tigers players Penrith Panthers players Wests Tigers NSW Cup players Windsor Wolves players Souths Logan Magpies players Rugby league props Burleigh Bears players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Brisbane