Michael Withers (born 16 May 1976) is a former

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

international

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 as a and in the 1990s and 2000s. He played club football in Australia for 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 ...

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 ...

, and in England with the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

and the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

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

Withers was born in

Sydney, New South Wales 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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Playing career

Australia

While attending John Paul II Senior High School in

Marayong, New South Wales Marayong is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marayong is located approximately 32 kilometres north west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Ci ...

, Withers was selected for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1994. In the same year Withers won the Australian Dally M ''Junior Player of the Year''.

England

Withers played for

at centre in the

1999 Super League Grand Final The 1999 Super League Grand Final was the Second official Grand Final conclusive and championship-deciding game of the Super League IV season. The match was played between St. Helens and Bradford Bulls on Saturday 9 October 1999, at Old Traffor ...

which was lost to

St Helens R.F.C. St Helens R.F.C., commonly known as Saints, is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside, England. Founded in 1873, the club is one of the oldest members of the Rugby Football League, and one of the most successful clubs in its ...

Withers qualified for Great Britain through his Irish grandparents and he played for Ireland in the 2000 World Cup. He played for the

at and scored 3 tries in their 2001 Super League Grand Final victory against the

. As a result, he was awarded the

Harry Sunderland Trophy The Harry Sunderland Trophy was awarded annually to the man of the match in the Super League Grand Final and its predecessors, the RFL First Division Final and the Premiership Final, between 1965 and 2023. Named after Harry Sunderland, who w ...

. He is also the only player to have recorded a hat-trick in a Grand Final, doing so against Wigan Warriors for Bradford Bulls in 2001. Withers was selected for

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 ...

in the 2001 Ashes Series, but did not play due to injury concerns. Withers later withdrew himself from the Great Britain squad without playing a game. His initial selection in the Great Britain training squad by Australian coach David Waite created some controversy. As Super League VI champions, the Bulls played against 2001 NRL Premiers, 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 the

2002 World Club Challenge The 2002 World Club Challenge was held on Friday, 1 February 2002, at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, England. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and Newcastle Knights. Background Bradford Bulls The 2001 Super League Grand Fin ...

. Withers played fullback and scored two tries in Bradford's victory. Withers played for the

at , scoring a try in their 2002 Super League Grand Final loss against St. Helens. Withers played for the

at centre in their 2003 Super League Grand Final victory against the

. Having won

Super League VIII Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 109th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League. The season culminat ...

, Bradford played against 2003 NRL Premiers, the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

in the 2004 World Club Challenge. Withers played at in the Bulls' 22–4 victory. He also played for Bradford at fullback in their

2004 Super League Grand Final The 2004 Super League Grand Final was the 7th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League IX. It was held on Saturday 16 October 2004, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was played between Leeds Rhinos, who fi ...

loss against the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

. Withers played for the

at in their

2005 Super League Grand Final The 2005 Super League Grand Final was the 8th official Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League X season. Held on Saturday 15 October 2005, at Old Trafford, Manchester, the game was played between Bradfo ...

victory against

. He scored 108 tries in 170 games for the Bulls. He has won three Grand Finals and two Challenge Cups with the Bulls. As Super League champions Bradford faced

premiers

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

in the 2006 World Club Challenge. Withers played at fullback in the Bulls' 30–10 victory. Withers made his Wigan début in a 16–10 defeat by

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

at the JJB Stadium on 9 February 2007. In June 2007 a knee injury forced Withers to retire.

References

External links

Michael Withers Official Player Profile

2001 Ashes profile

Bull Masters – Mick Withers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Withers, Michael 1976 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian people of Irish descent Balmain Tigers players Bradford Bulls players Ireland national rugby league team players Irish rugby league players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales Wigan Warriors players