Brett Mullins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brett Mullins
Personal information
Full name Brett Mullins
Place of birth , Australia
Position Fullback
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (points)
1990-2000
2000-2001
2002
Canberra
Leeds
Sydney Roosters
182 (420)
12 (16)
Representative teams
1994-1997
1994-1997
New South Wales
Australia
7 (28)
8 (28)

* Professional club appearances and points
counted for domestic first grade only.

Brett Mullins was an Australian rugby league player who played for the Canberra Raiders between the years 1990 and 2000. He also represented New South Wales and Australia during his career. He is the son of former Eastern Suburbs player Bill Mullins.

Contents

[edit] Canberra

In 1990, Brett Mullins made his first grade debut as a winger. In the 1991 season, he was injured for his side's Grand Final in which they were defeated 19-12 by the Penrith Panthers. He secured his position at fullback following the retirement of Gary Belcher. During the 1994 season, Mullins overcame several niggling injuries to play in his the Raiders 36-12 victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs. That season he finished with a total of 22 tries, which included a superb four tries in one game against the Newcastle Knights, which equalled Noa Nadruku's club record and surpassed the record for a fullback in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. In 2000, in his final year with the club, Mullins emulated his father by surpassing the 100 try scoring mark in first grade rugby league. After his on-field altercation with his teammate Mark McLinden against Parramatta, Mullins was dropped from the squad and fined $25, 000 dollars. Despite apologising, the incident caused him to fall out of favour with the club.

[edit] Leeds

In the winter of 2000, Mullins joined the Leeds Rhinos. His debut for the Rhinos came against the Swinton Lions on February 11, 2001. However, his time at the club proved to be a frustrating time, only making 12 appearances and scoring 4 tries.

[edit] Sydney

After an unsuccessful spell at the Rhinos, it seemed as though Mullins career may have been over due to injury. However, just as his father had, Mullins joined the Sydney Roosters under former Canberra Raiders teammate Ricky Stuart, who was now the coach of the Roosters. He made his Roosters debut at fullback in the 2002 season opening fixture against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. His career ended in fairy tale style, after playing in the win in the Grand Final against the New Zealand Warriors in 2002.

[edit] Representative career

[edit] New South Wales

In 1993, injury cost Mullins a place in the New South Wales State of Origin side. The following year in 1994, Mullins was again ruled out through injury of the first State of Origin match. He was selected for the other two games, although not in his favoured position of fullback. He was selected on the wing, as Tim Brasher had impressed during the first game to retain his position at fullback. In the 1997 tri-series final, he starred for New South Wales in their 23-22 win, by scoring a hat-trick of tries.

[edit] Australia

After being in superb form for the Raiders, Mullins was called up for his test debut in 1994 against France at Parramatta Stadium. He was selected in his favoured position of fullback, and he impressed on debut, scoring a try. He later appeared in all four Test matches in the 1994 Kangaroo Tour. He scored an impressive 11 tries in 12 matches in total during all the tour matches. In 1997, he appeared in two Super League Test matches against Great Britain, scoring two tries in the opening Test at Wembley Stadium.