‘Mr Persistent’ Mark Nicholls loving chance to play regular first grade
MARK Nicholls featured in all the junior representative teams alongside the likes of Josh Dugan, Corey Norman and Josh Mansour. But it has taken him six years to reach 30 NRL games.
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MARK Nicholls featured in all the junior representative teams.
He stood proudly next to Josh Dugan in the back row of the NSW under-18s team photo in 2008.
Two years later he was part of the Junior Kangaroos side that featured Corey Norman, Josh Mansour and Josh Jackson, among others.
In 2012 Nicholls was crowned the Canberra Raiders rookie of the year.
Things looked so bright for the tall bearded forward.
So you have to wonder, six long years later, why Nicholls will run out for just his 30th NRL game when South Sydney make the trek down the M4 Motorway to Panthers Stadium.
“There have been more than a couple of times I’ve wondered, ‘why I am I bothering with this’,’’ Nicholls, now 28, told The Saturday Telegraph.
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“You’d turn up to a pre-season, get flogged, then you’d see guys you came through the grades with, players like Josh Dugan and Jarrod Croker who I played SG Ball with in Canberra, who have gone on to play 150 and 200 NRL games.
“You’re always grateful because you’re playing the game you love, and you get paid to train and play footy. A lot of other people would love to be in my position.
“But the continual setbacks, thinking you’re playing well in reserve grade and then you go in every Tuesday hoping the coach might change the (first grade) side), or you play well and then get injured and have to start over.
“It can be tough.
“But I don’t want to have any regrets or be that guy who sits in the pub and says, ‘I could have played if I stuck it out’.’’
Nicholls made his NRL debut under David Furner, now a Souths assistant, but waited almost two years to get another game with the Raiders.
The local paper ran a back page on Nicholls’ lengthy gap between games, and his mates had fun reminding him about it.
“Even back then I was worried the game had passed me,’’ he said.
Nicholls, who grew up in Leeton, played 19 games with Canberra before a chance to join Melbourne presented itself.
After a first season plagued by injuries, Nicholls notched a further nine NRL games under Craig Bellamy.
“Melbourne have a track record of turning fringe players into regular first graders, and while nine games (doesn’t suggest that happened to me), they definitely improved my footy,’’ Nicholls said.
On the minimum wage and earning nothing compared to the likes of the Burgess boys at Souths, Nicholls impressed coach Anthony Seibold to secure a start in round one and then a bench spot for this evening’s trip to the foot of the mountains.
“Had you told me back in November I would have started in round one, I would have laughed at you,’’ Nicholls said.
“I wanted to play well in the trials. It was the first time I actually started in an NRL game, so it was a proud moment for my family and everyone else who helped me to get here.’’
You get the feeling it won’t take another six years for the persistent prop to punch out another 30 games.