Russell Bawden (born 24 July 1973 in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

) 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. A

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

representative forward, he played in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

and

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

(with whom he won the 1999 NRL Premiership), as well as in the

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 ...

for the

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England. The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...

Playing career

Bawden grew up playing rugby league in

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, bas ...

, making his first grade debut for

in 1994. Failing to crack the Brisbane first grade team, Bawden moved to

in the 1995-96 off season. He was signed by the newly formed Melbourne side from the London club and helped Melbourne to a premiership in their second ever season, playing from the bench in their

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 ...

victory. The following pre-season he travelled with the Storm to England to play in 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 ...

which they also won. During the

2000 NRL season The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February till August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 2000 ...

, while playing for Melbourne, he was selected to make his

debut for

. In 2020, Bawden spoke to NRL.com about his time at Melbourne winning the premiership saying "I wanted it so bad that I swore off the grog for three months – and anyone who knows me knows what a massive sacrifice that was. And my mates didn't help. At the pub, they would dip their fingers in beer and smear it on my lips. I tried not to lick it... not easy. The week itself just goes so quickly, but it was great". Bawden then spoke about his departure from Melbourne saying "Mark Murray took over as coach. He didn't like blokes having a good time – so he and I didn't get on. He dropped me to Brisbane club footy a few weeks after Origin. But he did recall me so I could play my 100th game for the Storm, for which I was very grateful. But after that, he pushed me out".

References

External links

*
Queensland Representatives at qrl.com.au
1973 births Living people Australian rugby league players Brisbane Broncos players Melbourne Storm players London Broncos players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Queensland People from Ingham, Queensland {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1970s-stub