![Former Raider Mark Nicholls has found a new home in Redcliffe. Pictures by Getty Images and Karleen Minney Former Raider Mark Nicholls has found a new home in Redcliffe. Pictures by Getty Images and Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/3fa6fe99-0afb-4576-bda6-9be8ee9adb27.jpg/r0_0_3750_2108_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
At 33 years old, former Raiders front-rower Mark Nicholls remarkably found another gear at the Dolphins.
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Nicholls wouldn't define himself as a household name in rugby league, but he's managed to forge an impressive 12-year career and credits a turning point in Canberra as the catalyst for his longevity.
The Dolphins forward is relishing the fresh challenge presented to him with the expansion club in its inaugural NRL season, having previously had stints with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Melbourne Storm and the Raiders.
Signed on for just one more season after the Dolphins wrap their 2023 campaign this weekend, Nicholls reflected on the highs and lows of his career which began in Canberra when he was just a teenager.
![Mark Nicholls with Joel Edwards and Sam Williams in 2013. Photo by Jay Cronan Mark Nicholls with Joel Edwards and Sam Williams in 2013. Photo by Jay Cronan](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/94956312-ff1d-4f60-9796-c70be2576a2c.jpg/r0_142_4256_2535_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Green Machine dreams
The country kid from Wagga Wagga began playing in the Raiders' system as a 15-year-old and fondly recalls the "good times" growing up in the capital.
Alongside players like Jarrod Croker, Sam Williams and Paul Vaughan, the Gungahlin Bulls junior was out to achieve his childhood dream of playing in the NRL and he never saw himself representing any other club but Canberra.
But as he later found out, the path was not so clearcut.
"It's funny how this game can keep you pretty humble," Nicholls said.
"I look back and laugh because I remember as a rookie in 2012 I signed a four-year contract and thought I'd made it - 'How easy is this?'
"I'd just finished university studying sports science and sports management, so I'd done the right thing off the field too, and I thought I was going to ride that to be a 10-year player at the Raiders and live the dream."
Nicholls achieved his debut in 2012 for the Green Machine against the Dragons, and played another 11 games that season.
However over the following three years Nicholls was more prominent in reserve grade, playing just seven more NRL games for the Raiders.
![Mark Nicholls in 2015 with the Raiders. Picture by Rohan Thomson Mark Nicholls in 2015 with the Raiders. Picture by Rohan Thomson](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/73dac90e-dead-47bd-bbfd-33ba5f4a4b96.jpg/r0_445_4256_2828_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Storm brewing
Ahead of the 2016 season, Nicholls faced a "crossroads" in his career.
"It was a frustrating period," he said. "I won rookie of the year, then I had some injuries, and then I remember playing my 50th game for Mounties and thinking it's probably not a stat you want to get.
"I felt like I was playing good enough footy to get more first grade.
"My career was at a crossroads and the opportunity came to stay at the Raiders or go to another club.
"At the time, the Storm was the worst bid on the table, but I was a 25-year-old who just wanted to play and improve as a footballer, and I'd been watching bloke after bloke go down to Melbourne and turn into an Origin player and I thought, I want that to be me."
Nicholls made the tough decision to leave Canberra, move to Melbourne, and see where legendary coach and another former Raider, Craig Bellamy, could take him. Unfortunately, it was the same story as in Canberra. He played only nine NRL games over two years with the Storm.
![Mark Nicholls with the Canberra Raiders in 2015. Picture by Matt Bedford Mark Nicholls with the Canberra Raiders in 2015. Picture by Matt Bedford](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/ecc57858-9eed-4c93-bd65-e4a04991afdd.jpg/r0_0_2001_2998_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Bennett effect
Nicholls said he wasn't as disappointed not playing much at the Storm as he was with the Raiders, considering the "stacked team" Melbourne boasted, particularly in their premiership-winning 2017 season.
But his struggles to get regular first grade minutes made him question his future in the game.
Enter, Wayne Bennett - one of rugby league's greatest coaches and the man who helped revive Nicholls' career.
"I played over 100 reserve grade games and twice I went over two years without playing an NRL game," Nicholls said.
"I challenged myself mentally whether I was prepared to keep physically putting myself through what it takes to be an NRL player. But I didn't want to be that guy that gave up and possibly regretted it.
"Then Wayne came along at Souths and saw something in me that maybe I didn't even see myself, and the rest is history."
Nicholls played his first year at Redfern led by then-head coach Anthony Seibold, but between 2019-2021 under Bennett he had his most success in the NRL.
He chalked up 70 games in that period - 30 more than he'd had in his career at the time - and was the starting prop in the 2021 grand final that the Rabbitohs narrowly lost to Penrith. Nicholls was even captain for a game that season.
![Wayne Bennett with Mark Nicholls at South Sydney. Picture Getty Images Wayne Bennett with Mark Nicholls at South Sydney. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168198572/416d7021-d0ad-4bbf-912e-c4345829e9a8.jpg/r1006_160_4128_2022_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Making history in Redcliffe
Bennett left Redfern in 2022 to start building a new team in Redcliffe, and though Nicholls stayed at Souths that season - where he reached 100 games for the historic Sydney club - he jumped at the chance to be reunited with his old coach.
Nicholls said he and his family never quite felt at home with the big city life, but it was another big move worth making.
"There were three things that helped my wife and I make the decision to leave South Sydney. One was Wayne, two was living in south-east Queensland, and three was the once-in-a-career opportunity to come to a new club and make history," Nicholls said.
With the Dolphins, Nicholls remains one of the key experienced players in the squad, and he's embraced the challenges that have come along with it, trusting the best is yet to come from the club after their debut.
"The first year was always going to be special with a lot of firsts, but we had a good start and the boys probably played better than some people expected," he said.
"We had challenges in pre-season, because normally you have a core group of players, some rookies coming in and signings, but from day one we needed to come together. It's been really exciting."
Nicholls might be toward the end of his career, but he hasn't taken a backward step at the Dolphins, despite the team falling out of finals contention.
Nicholls has posted a near career-best average for running metres a game (107), he's notched the second-most tackles he's ever made in a single season (538), and scored three tries for the Dolphins, equalling his career-high season tally in 2021 at Souths.
Nicholls would love to add an elusive premiership ring to his list of accolades, having missed out on participating in the Storm's 2017 triumph and falling just short in 2021 with the Rabbitohs.
But after all the swings and roundabouts that he's encountered in his career, he's proud to have made it this far, and is enjoying life in Queensland with his young family.
"For now I'm just trying to ride the good times as much as I can," he said.
"I'm glad I took that opportunity to leave Canberra for Melbourne, but in saying that I had a lot of good times as a youngster at Canberra - there was no pressure and we just loved playing footy.
"The career turned out alright."
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