Paul Marquet (born 26 September 1969 in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

) 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. He played primarily as a for Australian clubs the Newcastle Knights,

Hunter Mariners The Hunter Mariners were an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Hunter Region's largest city, Newcastle. Hunter was formed in mid-1995 and was later disbanded at the end of 1997. The club was formed because of the Super Leag ...

and Melbourne Storm, and for English club, the Warrington Wolves.

Early life

Born in

. Paul played junior rugby league for

Raymond Terrace, New South Wales Raymond Terrace is a town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road north of Newcastle on the Pacific Highway. Established in 1837 it is situated at the confluence of the Hunter and Williams rivers. The town was nam ...

Playing career

A resilient forward, Marquet has the honour of scoring the first try for the

in their first game of the 1997 Super League season. He would also score the first try for the Melbourne Storm on their first home game of the

1998 NRL season 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

against the North Sydney Bears. Marquet participated in seven finals series and two NRL Grand Finals, the most memorable being his appearance as a forward for the Melbourne Storm in the

1999 NRL Grand Final The 1999 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 1999 NRL season. It was contested by the competition's two newest clubs: the Melbourne Storm, competing in only its second year (having finished the regular season ...

, played on his 30th birthday. Having won the 1999 Premiership, the Melbourne Storm traveled to England to contest the

2000 World Club Challenge The 2000 World Club Challenge was contested by 1999 NRL season premiers, the Melbourne Storm and 1999's Super League IV champions, St. Helens. The match was played on 22 January at JJB Stadium, Wigan before a crowd of 13,394. The Melbourne Storm ...

against

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

Champions

St Helens R.F.C. St Helens R.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside who compete in the Super League, the top tier for rugby league in Great Britain. They are the current Champions, having won the last 4 consecutive titles, and becom ...

, with Marquet again starting as a er in the victory. He played for the Newcastle Knights from the interchange bench in their 2001 NRL Grand Final victory over the Parramatta Eels.

Highlights

* ''First Grade Debut:'' : 1990 – Round 1, Newcastle Knights vs North Sydney Bears at

EnergyAustralia Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre, known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knights (National Rugby League) and Newcast ...

, 18 March * ''Premierships:'' (2) : 1999 – Melbourne Storm : 2001 – Newcastle Knights * ''World Club Challenge Champions:'' (1) : 2000 – Melbourne Storm

References

1969 births Living people Australian rugby league players Hunter Mariners players Melbourne Storm players Newcastle Knights players Rugby league players from Newcastle, New South Wales Rugby league second-rows Warrington Wolves players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1960s-stub