Mark Flanagan (rugby league)

Mark Flanagan (born 4 December 1987)[5] is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a loose forward or second-row forward in the Super League and the NRL, and the England Knights at international level.

Mark Flanagan
Personal information
Full nameMark Flanagan[1]
Born (1987-12-04) 4 December 1987
Oldham, Greater Manchester, England
Playing information
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight15 st 4 lb (97 kg)
PositionLoose forward, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009 Wigan Warriors 10 1 0 0 4
2010–11 Wests Tigers 27 2 0 0 8
2012–15 St Helens 77 8 0 0 32
2014(loan) → Rochdale Hornets 3 0 0 0 0
2016–20 Salford Red Devils 111 9 0 0 36
Total 228 20 0 0 80
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012 England Knights 1 1 0 0 4
Source: [2][3][4]

He played for the Wigan Warriors, St Helens and the Salford Red Devils in the Super League. He won the 2014 Super League Grand Final with Saints, and spent time on loan from the club at the Rochdale Hornets in the Championship. He also played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League.

Early life

Mark Flanagan was born on 4 December 1987 in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. He is the son of former Great Britain international Terry Flanagan.

Flanagan started his rugby league career at the amateur side Saddleworth Rangers before joining the Bradford Bulls when he was 16. He was considered one of the most promising young British players and has caps for England Academy including caps against the Australian Schoolboys in 2006.

Professional playing career
Flanagan warming up for Wigan

Wigan

On 4 January 2007 it was announced that Flanagan would join Wigan on a two-year contract with Wigan, paying £10,900 in compensation to Bradford for the loss of the player.[6] He was signed to provide cover and possibly become a replacement to Australian stand-off Trent Barrett. Flanagan was the third player that Brian Noble had brought from his previous club Bradford, the other players being Stuart Fielden and Michael Withers. Flanagan was a regular in the Wigan reserves team. He went to Halifax on loan in June 2008 and scored two tries in his first game for the club.

After some impressive performances in the reserves Flanagan made his Wigan début from the bench during the second half of a 22–16 defeat by the Crusaders RL at Brewery Field.[7][8] He made more appearances for Wigan putting in some very impressive performances, most noticeably for his defensive effort in the derby loss away at St Helens.

Wests Tigers

It was announced 23 September 2009 that Flanagan had signed a 1-year contract with the Wests Tigers, with the Tigers having the option for a further season. Tigers' recruitment manager Warren McDonnell described him as, "a raw talent," and, "a tough no-nonsense player with a strong work ethic."[9] Flanagan played 21 games in his first season with the Tigers, mostly starting on the bench.

Having been left out of the side for most of 2011, Flanagan made his return late in the season and played in both of the Wests Tigers' semis appearances.

St Helens

It was confirmed on 19 July 2011 that St Helens had signed Flanagan on a 2-year contract, he made the move before the start of the 2012 season. The move meant that Flanagan was reunited with Head Coach Royce Simmons who he previously worked with at West Tigers.

St Helens reached the 2014 Super League Grand Final, and Flanagan was selected to play at scrum-half in their 14–6 victory over the Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.[10][11][12][13][14]

Salford

Flanagan left St Helens at the end of the 2015 season to join Salford, where he was reunited with his former Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens.

He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final defeat by St Helens at Old Trafford.[15][16][17]

On 24 September 2020 Flanaghan confirmed his intention to retire at the end of the 2020 season.[18] On 17 October 2020, he played in the 2020 Challenge Cup Final defeat for Salford against Leeds at Wembley Stadium.[19]

Personal life

In 2015, Flanagan opened an independent coffee shop with former Saints team mate Jon Wilkin in Manchester city centre.[20] Mark married in Barcelona at the iconic Santa Maria Del Mar on 2 December 2017. Mark is the son of former GB international Terry Flanaghan MBE .

References
  1. "Mark Flanagan". Companies House. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  2. loverugbyleague
  3. Rugby League Project
  4. League Central
  5. http://www.weststigers.com.au/?s=article-display&id=23421
  6. "Warriors complete Flanagan swoop". BBC Sport. 4 January 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. "Celtic Crusaders 22–16 Wigan". news.bbc.co.uk (BBC Sport). 13 June 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  8. Short, Paul (14 June 2009). "Lupton leads Crusaders to historic victory". London: www.independent.co.uk (The Independent). Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  9. Todd Balym (23 September 2009). "Daine Laurie a Panther, Tigers on signing spree". Daily Telegraph (Australia). Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  10. "St Helens 14 Wigan Warriors 6: Moment of madness from Wales international Ben Flower costs Wigan dear". Daily Telegraph. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  11. "St Helens win Grand Final after Wigan's Ben Flower is sent off". Guardian. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  12. "St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  13. Cartwright, Phil (11 October 2014). "St Helens v Wigan as it happened". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  14. Hadfield, Dave (10 October 2014). "Super League Grand Final – St Helens vs Wigan: Mark Flanagan takes pivotal role against Saints' fiercest foes". The Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  15. "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  16. "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
  17. "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports.
  18. "Salford's Mark Flanagan confirms retirement at end of the season". Sky Sports. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  19. "Leeds beat Salford 17-16 after Luke Gale lands late winning drop-goal". www.bbc.co.uk.
  20. O'Leary, Abigail (17 April 2015). "Top rugby league players turn their hands to making artisan coffee in new business quest". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
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