Mark Riddell
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Robert Riddell | |
| Date of birth | December 9, 1981 | |
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia | |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (182 cm) | |
| Nickname | Piggy | |
| Position | Hooker | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| 2001 - 2004 2005 - Present |
St George Illawarra Dragons Parramatta Eels |
92 36 |
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* Professional club appearances and (tries) |
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Mark Robert Riddell (born December 9, 1981 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian rugby league player for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League competition, he also previously played for the St George Illawarra Dragons. His position of choice is at hooker, though he can also play in the second-row.
Riddell originally played for his local club side as a child, St Christopher’s Panania before being signed by the Sydney Roosters but after several seasons and failing to crack first grade with the club moved to the St George Illawarra Dragons making his debut during the 2001 season. After four years at the Dragons Mark signed a lucrative deal with the Parramatta Eels for the beginning of the 2005 NRL season.
While in his last season at the St George Illawarra club Riddell was called up for his first representative honour playing for the City team in the annual City vs Country Origin clash; after moving to the Eels the following year he was again called up to the City side for the second year in a row.
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[edit] Childhood and early career
Began playing rugby league at the age of four for his local Panania side St Christopher’s in the Canterbury competition where his talent was noticed by several rugby league scouts but eventually the Sydney Roosters won the race for his signature. Played for several years in the lower grades at the Roosters but ultimately was unable to make his way into the first grade team and left the club looking for opportunities elsewhere eventually signing with the St George Illawarra Dragons.
[edit] St George Illawarra Dragons
Eventually made the transition into first grade while playing with his new club side at the Dragons making his debut against local rivals the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks during round one of the 2001 season. Riddell became an immedtiate fan favourite at his new club after several displays showcasing a good running game particularly out of dummy-half along with good hands and agility for a man of his size and build. During the season he would become a regular goal-kicker for the club where he developed a distinctive 'raised arm' motion before he would take the kick, fans in the crowd would then more often than not go on to mimic this action. Riddell would go on to have an impressive debut season in first grade with the Dragons finishing the season as top scorer with 130 points and going on to cement his position in the side at hooker.
During his second season with the Dragons Riddell would again have a good season not only impressing club staff and fans with his quickly evolving running game from dummy-half, goal kicking and strength close to the try line ultimately earning himself a call upto the 2002 international Australian Kangaroos 'train-on' squad but was not selected in final touring side. He finished the season again as the top scorer with 129 points to his name even though he was sidelined during several games in the season through suspension after being sent off twice during the regular season.
At the start of the 2003 season Mark was criticized amongst some media circles for being slow, out of shape and overweight along with negative talk about so-called discipline problems regarding him, however nothing ever eventuated and he went on to play all twenty-four games of the regular season again finishing as the top point scorer with an individual record high of 166 points.
2004 was again another season of consistent performances for Mark and several media pundits began talking up his chances of representing New South Wales in the annual State of Origin, however he was left out of the side but still tasted his first representative experience playing for the City origin side in the annual City vs Country Origin fixture. Salary cap restraints on the club at the conclusion of the season along with several lucrative offers saw Mark move from the Dragons seeing him eventually sign with the Parramatta Eels for the 2005 season.
[edit] Parramatta Eels
Mark began the 2005 NRL season with the Eels continuing in his regular role of hooker and becoming a vital part of the Parramatta Eels offensive tactics for the season often crossing the try line with his strength and elusiveness from dummy half. He would go to have his worst season in regards to point scoring after having to share the goal kicking duties with team mate Luke Burt finishing the season with only 50 points but ultimately helping his side to the minor premiership.
[edit] Controversy
On May 17, 2006 Riddell was dropped from the Eels first grade side and fined a total of 5000 dollars for failing to show up to a recovery session on a Monday morning following a regular season fixture, he later admitted the reason he had failed to show up to the session was because he was intoxicated.
[edit] Career playing statistics
[edit] Point scoring summary
| Games | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 128 | 36 | 217 | 1 | 579 |
[edit] Matches played
| Team | Matches | Years |
|---|---|---|
| St George Illawarra Dragons | 92 | 2001 - 2004 |
| Parramatta Eels | 36 | 2005 - present |
| City | 2 | 2004 - 2005 |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- "Taylor gets tough and axes Riddell, Smith" by Glenn Jackson, Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved July 4, 2006
