There were times when Mark Nicholls thought it was never going to happen for him in the NRL.
“Before I came to this club, to be honest, I was probably a reserve grader,” he told media today.
It wasn’t a lack of faith in his own ability, but rather a lack of opportunities that plagued the Canberra junior.
“There were definitely tough times but I guess that makes it all worthwhile now,” he said.
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After toiling away for both the Raiders and then the Melbourne Storm, playing fewer than 30 first grade games across six years from 2012 to 2017, he immediately settled in at Souths.
“I always believed in my ability, I just hadn’t really got a crack. From the first day I came here, I felt like I’d found a bit of a home,” he said.
“Off-field I met my wife, recently had a kid and just enjoyed footy.”
Nicholls was a bit-part player in his first season at Redfern in 2018, playing a few games off the bench and missing the finals series.
Since then he’s seen his role grow year on year, and will run out on grand final day as a starting prop.
He attributes a mental shift as being as important to his rise as a physical one.
“In my younger years I probably enjoyed a beer a little bit too much,” Nicholls said.
“I was always a good trainer, but I wasn’t as professional off the field … the other thing is, when you do get the opportunity that I’ve had here, and you start to string together games in back-to-back seasons, then you do get that confidence and belief.”
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The 31-year-old said there was almost an obligation by he and the rest of the forwards to perform, such was the talent in other areas of the field for the Rabbitohs.
“We’ve got too many good players in our spine and our outside backs to not do the job. Because if we don’t do our job, they can’t do what they do and win us footy games,” he said.
“I think we’ve been pretty good as a forward pack all year. We probably haven’t got the raps in the media and stuff like that, but that’s fine.
“We’ve always had the confidence in our ability, we’re pretty tight knit. We enjoy working hard for each other.”