Mark O'Meley (born 22 May 1981) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer of Irish descent who played as a in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s he also played junior footy for the Northern Lakes Warriors and the Wyong Roos. He also went on to coach the

Wyong Roos The Wyong Rugby League Football Club are an Australian rugby league club based on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. The club competed in the New South Wales Cup from 2013 to 2018 and still competes in the Cen ...

. An Australian international and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

State of Origin representative forward, he previously played in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

for the

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in Cammeray on Sydney's North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The club currently competes in the NSW Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL s ...

, the

Northern Eagles The Northern Eagles were a rugby league team that competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) between 2000 and 2002. The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by forming a joint venture with the North Sydney Bears and th ...

, the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

(with whom he won the

2004 NRL premiership The 2004 NRL season (also known as the 2004 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra) was the 97th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the seventh run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen clubs competed dur ...

) and the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

. O'Meley also played for

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...

in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

Background

O'Meley was born in

West Wyalong, New South Wales West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire, New South Wales, Bland Shire in the northern Riverina region of western New South Wales, Australia. In the 2021 Census, West Wyalong's population was 3,037. Located west of Sydney as well as ...

, Australia. O'Meley played with the Northern Lakes Warriors (previously Munmorah Maulers) on the New South Wales' Central Coast.

Playing career

O'Meley made his first grade debut for North Sydney in round 1 1999 against Western Suburbs at

Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, west of Sydney CBD. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure the most notable were the Parramatta E ...

. At the end of the

1999 NRL season The 1999 NRL season was the 92nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be run by the National Rugby League. With the exclusion of the Adelaide Rams and Gold Coast Chargers, and the joint venture of the S ...

, North Sydney merged with arch rivals the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...

to form the

as part of the

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

's rationalisation plan. O'Meley played for the Northern Eagles in their inaugural game against the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

in round 1 of 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 until August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 200 ...

at the

Central Coast Stadium Central Coast Stadium is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. From the establishment of the first venue at the site in 1915 it was known as Waterside Park, being renam ...

. O'Meley departed the club at the end of the 2001 season and signed for Canterbury. O'Meley, nicknamed ''the Ogre'' or "Shrek" for his shaved head and burly figure, was first selected to represent

as a front-rower for game II of the

2001 State of Origin series The 2001 State of Origin series was the 20th year that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under ' state of origin' selection rules. The series ...

. He has also represented in the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Origin series. O'Meley played for Canterbury at prop forward in their 2004 NRL grand final victory over cross-town rivals, the

. O'Meley was selected in the Australian team to go and compete in the end of season

2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette (brand), Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between October 2004 in sports, 16 October and November 2004 in sports, 27 November of 2004 in sports, 2004. The ...

tournament. In his first game, he scored one try. In the final against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

he played from the interchange bench in the Kangaroos' 44–4 victory. O'Meley participated in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and 2006 Tri-Nation series as well as Tests against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. At the end of the

2007 NRL season The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusi ...

, O'Meley signed for the

. In his first season at the club, the side reached the semi-final stage but were eliminated by the

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

. While originally not selected, he was selected for City in the City vs Country match on 8 May 2009, due to injury to another player. He announced that he would be leaving the

at the end of the

2009 NRL season The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiersh ...

to play in the

with English club

along with Roosters teammates

Craig Fitzgibbon Craig Fitzgibbon (born 16 June 1977) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League, NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990 ...

and Jordan Tansey. In his final year at the

, the club finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon. O'Meley was selected for the

Exiles Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

squad for the

Rugby League International Origin Match International Origin was an annual series of rugby league football matches between England and the Exiles. The International Origin was created by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to ensure that the English national side had a good strong mid-seas ...

against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

on 10 June 2011. O'Meley agreed a one-year extension of his contract with Hull F.C. in September 2012, making him eligible to play for the 2013 Super League season. O'Meley signed a two-year deal with the

in 2014. O'Meley retired at the end of 2014 but came out of retirement the following year to play a one-off match with his son for Wyong in the local first grade competition. At the time of his retirement, O'Meley was the last active former player of the

References

External links

Mark O'Meley at ''NRL.com''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omeley, Mark 1981 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian rugby league coaches Australian people of Irish descent Australia national rugby league team players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Exiles rugby league team players North Sydney Bears players 20th-century Australian sportsmen Northern Eagles players Sydney Roosters players Hull F.C. players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league players from New South Wales Rugby league props Wyong Roos players 21st-century Australian sportsmen