Mark Willoughby (born 25 February 1951) is an Australian former

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 1970s and 1980s. He played for

Manly-Warringah 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 seaso ...

the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

(NSWRL) competition, and

Hull FC 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 t ...

in England.

Background

Willoughby was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, New South Wales, Australia. He is the son of former Manly player Gordon Willoughby who played for the club in the 1940s and 1950s.

Playing career

Willoughby made his first grade debut in 1972. Willoughby was not selected to play for Manly in the 1972 NSWRL grand final where the club won its maiden premiership defeating Eastern Suburbs 19–14. The following year, Willoughby missed out on selection in Manly's second premiership victory against Cronulla-Sutherland. Willougby missed the entire 1974 season before returning in 1975. Willoughby played in Manly's 1975 preliminary final loss against Eastern Suburbs scoring a try in a 28–13 defeat. In 1976, Manly claimed the minor premiership and reached the grand final against the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

who were playing in their first ever grand final. Willoughby was selected to play from the bench. In the grand final itself, Parramatta went into half time level with Manly at 7–7. In the second half and with 10 minutes remaining, Parramatta made a play to the right hand side of the field and the ball eventually reached

Neville Glover Neville Kenneth Glover (born 22 July 1955) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. A New South Wales interstate and Australia international representative , he played his club football in ...

. With the try line wide open, Glover dropped the ball over the line which would have given Parramatta the match winning try. In the final five minutes Manly held on after a Parramatta onslaught to win the premiership 13–10. In 1978, Willoughby missed the entire season through injury as Manly won their 4th premiership defeating Cronulla in the grand final. Willoughby played with Manly up until the end of the 1981 season before retiring.Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. (1995 edition)

References

1951 births Living people Australian rugby league players Hull F.C. players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Sydney 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1950s-stub