Mark Protheroe (born 5 March 1971) 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 who played in the 1990s. He played most of his career at the

Eastern Suburbs 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 ...

, but he also played for

South Queensland Crushers South Queensland Crushers was an Australian rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. In 1992 it was decided that the team would be admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League competition, along with three other teams, as par ...

. He started his career on the , but he later shifted to the forwards playing mostly in the .

Playing career

A Brisbane junior, Protheroe started his rugby league career in 1990 playing for QRL side

Redcliffe Dolphins Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisbane R ...

in the Brisbane competition. In 1991, Protheroe along with Redcliffe coach Mark Murray were signed by the

. Protheroe made his first grade debut in his sides' 16-10 loss to arch rivals the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

at the

Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Football Stadium may refer to: * Sydney Football Stadium (1988), the original stadium which was demolished in 2019. * Sydney Football Stadium (2022) Sydney Football Stadium, currently known as Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons, i ...

in the opening round of the 1991 season. Despite a poor season from the Roosters in which they finished in 11th position, Protheroe had a brilliant rookie season, he played in 20 of his sides' 22 games and scored 7 tries. Protheroe narrowly missed out on winning the

Dally M The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the be ...

award for Rookie of the Year. Instead Will Robinson of the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995 to 1996) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain, New South Wales, Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and on ...

won the award. More success followed Protheroe in the 1992 season, despite the Roosters narrowly missing out on finals qualification for the first time since 1987, finishing in 6th position, Protheroe starred, playing in all 22 games and scoring 6 tries. For his efforts, Protheroe was considered for the

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

side in the 1992

State of Origin series The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two States and territories of Australia, Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales Blues and the Queensland ru ...

, however Protheroe ultimately missed out on selection when Adrian Brunker and Michael Hancock were instead chosen as the wingers. Protheroe played his first match in the forwards when he was chosen at second-row in round 17 of the 1993 season, he would play most of his later career in this position. After disappointing seasons in 1993, 1994, and 1995 in which the Roosters finished 8th, 14th, and 9th respectively, Protheroe decided to leave the Roosters at the end of the 1995 season and returned to Brisbane. In 1996, after five seasons in Sydney with the Roosters, Protheroe returned to Brisbane, this time to play for the

. He along with fellow Roosters Nigel Gaffey, Jason Hudson,

Graham Mackay Graham Mackay (born 12 October 1968) is a former international and state representative rugby league footballer whose club career spanned ten Australian and English clubs, including Western Suburbs, Penrith Panthers, South Queensland Crushers ...

and

Clinton O'Brien Clinton O'Brien (born 10 January 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played club football in Australia for the Sydney Roos ...

joined the ill-fated Crushers. Despite having a relatively strong playing roster which included these players as well as former Origin players Terry Cook,

Trevor Gillmeister Trevor Gillmeister (born 13 March 1964) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who is employed as a rugby league analyst at Channel 7 Brisbane. During his playing days, Gillmeister played for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, ...

and

Tony Hearn David Anthony Hearn (4 March 1929 – 31 December 2019), known as Tony Hearn, was a British trade union leader. Biography Hearn attended Trinity College, Oxford. He began working for the Association of Broadcasting Staff (ABS) in 1955, as assi ...

, the Crushers finished with the wooden spoon in both the 1996 and 1997 seasons. With the demise of the Crushers at the end of the 1997 season, Protheroe decided to retire from playing. He finished his career having played 123 games and scoring 33 tries. After the demise of the Crushers, Protheroe would play one final season with

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league, rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League, Queensland Rugby ...

side

Norths Devils The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...

in 1998, before retiring for good at season's end. The Devils won their first First Grade premiership since 1980 beating

Wests Panthers The Western Suburbs Panthers, or the West Brisbane Panthers, or often simply referred to as Wests for short, is a semi professional rugby league club based in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The club is the oldest in the ...

in the Grand Final.Queensland Rugby League
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Protheroe, Mark 1971 births Living people Australian people of Welsh descent Australian rugby league players Redcliffe Dolphins players Sydney Roosters players South Queensland Crushers players 20th-century Australian sportsmen Norths Devils players Rugby league wingers Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Brisbane