Rugby League great Mark ‘Spudd’- Carroll will officiate as the SP Sports Awards guest speaker this year, on Saturday, May 27th, 2023, at the Crown Hotel.
“Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll is one of the toughest players during the peak of his career in the 1990s and we are honoured to have him over for the awards night on the 27th of May,” says SP Brewery’s Corporate Affairs Manager John Nilkare.
“We were all looking forward to having Jeff (Fenech) over however he is unable to join us due to a medical condition. We wish him a full recovery.” Added John.
• Mark “Spudd” Carroll is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 1980s and 1990s.
• A Penrith junior and a member of the club’s 1987 Reserve Grade Premiers.
• Joined the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 1990 and was consistently one of best South’s best players.
• Moved to Manly in 1994 where his skill as a tough, attacking forward continued to improve. While he enjoyed playing in a stronger pack at Manly, three consecutive grand final appearances (1995 – 97) garnered just one premiership success in 1996.
• At the end of 1997 he left Manly to play for the London Broncos, but the move was not successful, and he cited homesickness as the reason for his return.
• He re-joined Souths in 1999 and became an important part of the club’s early season resurgence.
• Carroll’s international career gained a boost in 1995 when he was selected for Australia against New Zealand. The result being he became a member of Australia’s victorious World Cup team in 1995. Other International appearances include against Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the rest of the World teams over the next two years boosted his Test total to 12 matches.
He was forced to retire in the 1999 season’s end due to a chronic knee injury and became a committed supporter of South’s reinstatement into the NRL.
He has since gained notoriety as the international bodyguard of actor Russell Crowe.
This year’s award night will be a sit-down event at the home of SPSA, Crown Hotel, on Saturday 27th May 2023. It will be livestreamed to the people of Papua New Guinea on the SP Sports Awards Facebook page.
