Marcus Bai
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Born | Ulamona,West New Britain,Papua New Guinea | 11 October 1972||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 14 st 5 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Marcus "George" Bai(born 11 October 1972) is a Papua New Guinean former professionalrugby leaguefootballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An international representativewinger,he representedPapua New Guineaon numerous occasions including at the1995 Rugby League World Cup.Bai played club football for English clubs theHull FC(Heritage № 916),Leeds Rhinos(Heritage № 1346) and theBradford Bulls,as well as Australian clubs theGold Coast ChargersandMelbourne Storm.He became the first player to have won theWorld Club Challengewith three clubs. In 2005 he was minutes away from being the first person to win all of the major domestic competitions in both Australia and England (NRL Premiership,Super League,World Club Challenge,League Leaders ShieldandChallenge Cup) however Hull F.C. struck with minutes to go in the Challenge Cup final to deny Leeds Rhinos the Challenge Cup and him a place in the history books.
Early life
[edit]Bai was born inUlamona,Papua New Guinea.He began playing rugby league for thePort Moresby Vipers,and representedPapua New Guineaat the1995 Rugby League World Cup.[3]
Playing career
[edit]Hull
[edit]He began his professional career playing forHull F.C.in England where he made eight appearances for them in 1997.[4]
Gold Coast Chargers
[edit]Bai then moved to theGold Coast Chargersin Australia. He played the final 18 games of the1997 ARL season,scoring five tries. That year he was selected in the 'Rest of the World' side to play a match against anAustralian Rugby Leaguetest side.[5][4]
Melbourne Storm
[edit]The newly formedMelbourne Stormsigned Bai for 1998, theirinaugural season.[6]He was named Dally M Winger of the Year in his first year at Melbourne Storm.[7]In his second season for Melbourne he played in every game, culminating in his appearance on the wing in Melbourne's1999 NRL Grand Final-winning side. Having won the 1999 Premiership, Melbourne Storm contested in the2000 World Club ChallengeagainstSuper LeagueChampionsSt. Helens,with Bai playing on the wing and scoring atryin the victory.[8]Bai again represented Papua New Guinea, this time at the2000 Rugby League World Cupplaying in all four of Papua New Guinea's games and scoring three tries. That year for the Melbourne Storm, Bai was hampered by injuries, including being cut on his right arm by the steel advertising boards. In all he spent six years playing for the Melbourne Storm, playing 144 first grade games and scoring a total of 70 tries.[8][4][9]
Leeds Rhinos
[edit]After displaying his ability with some impressive performances for Melbourne Storm, Bai transferred to EnglishSuper Leagueclub theLeeds Rhinos.His début for the club was againstCastleford Tigerson the Bo xing Day Festive Challenge during which he scored a try after coming off the bench. His full first team début came against theLondon Broncoson the opening day of the 2004 Super League season. He announced his arrival at the club in the best possible fashion, by scoring a hat-trick on his full début in front of the Leeds Rhinos home crowd. Marcus Bai had become an instant hit with the Leeds fans. Later that year in his first full season for Leeds, Marcus Bai scored a hat-trick in the grand final eliminator which helped Leeds on their way to booking their place atOld Trafford.He played for theLeeds Rhinoson the wing in their2004 Super League Grand Finalvictory against theBradford Bulls.AsSuper League IXchampions, the Rhinos faced2004 NRL seasonpremiers, theBulldogsin the2005 World Club Challenge.Bai played on the wing in Leeds' 39-32 victory. Bai played for Leeds in the2005 Challenge CupFinal on the wing and scored atryin their loss againstHull FC.[10]
In 2005, Bai was again impressive making 32 appearances and scoring 19 tries in all competitions. In all he spent two full seasons with Leeds making 63 appearances and scoring 45 tries including four hat-tricks. He is currently just one of seven players to win a Grand Final in the premier Rugby League competitions in bothSuper League,andNational Rugby League.He played for theLeeds Rhinoson the wing in their2005 Super League Grand Finalloss against theBradford Bulls.
Bai left the Leeds Rhinos after spending two successful years with them. He penned a contract with the Bradford Bulls for the 2006Super Leagueseason.
Bradford Bulls
[edit]Bai scored two tries in hisBradford Bullsdébut in the2006 World Club Challengematch against theWests Tigersin which the Bradford Bulls won 30–10. Although he missed two months of the season with a knee injury,[11]Bai scored 12 tries in 26 appearances for the club, and he was awarded the club's Best Back of the Year Award at the end of the season. Bai signed a new one-year contract extension with Bradford Bulls in September 2006, but changed his mind a few months later and announced his retirement from the sport in December 2006.[12]
Statistics
[edit]NRL
[edit]- Statistics are correct to the end of career[13]
† | Denotes seasons in which Bai won anNRL Premiership |
Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts | W | L | D | W-L % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Gold Coast | 18 | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 20 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 47.2 |
1998 | Melbourne | 27 | 14 | 0 | — | 0 | 56 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 68.5 |
1999† | Melbourne | 28 | 12 | 0 | — | 0 | 48 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 67.9 |
2000 | Melbourne | 18 | 13 | 0 | — | 0 | 52 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 50.0 |
2001 | Melbourne | 21 | 11 | 0 | — | 0 | 44 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 38.1 |
2002 | Melbourne | 24 | 9 | 0 | — | 0 | 36 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 39.6 |
2003 | Melbourne | 26 | 11 | 1 | 100 | 0 | 46 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 61.5 |
Career totals | 162 | 75 | 1 | 100 | 0 | 302 | 87 | 72 | 3 | 54.63 |
Super League
[edit]† | Denotes seasons in which Bai won aSuper League Championship |
Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts | W | L | D | W-L % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004† | Leeds Rhinos | 29 | 26 | 0 | — | 0 | 104 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 86.2 |
2005 | Leeds Rhinos | 28 | 16 | 0 | — | 0 | 64 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 75.0 |
2006 | Bradford Bulls | 24 | 9 | 0 | — | 0 | 36 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 64.6 |
Career totals | 81 | 51 | 0 | — | 0 | 204 | 60 | 18 | 3 | 74.07 |
Papua New Guinea
[edit]Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts | W | L | D | W-L % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Papua New Guinea | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25.0 |
1996 | Papua New Guinea | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 |
2000 | Papua New Guinea | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.0 |
2001 | Papua New Guinea | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |
2007 | Papua New Guinea | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |
Career totals | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 29.17 |
References
[edit]- ^Rugby League Project
- ^"First Team | Hull FC".Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.
- ^"Melbourne Storm - Player Profile (1999)".melbournestorm.au.Archived fromthe originalon 13 September 1999.Retrieved21 July2021.
- ^abc"Rugby League Project - Marcus Bai".Rugby League Project.Retrieved25 October2022.
- ^Middleton, David (January 1998).Rugby League 1998.Sydney: Harper Sports.ISBN0732264243.
- ^"Storm players (1998)".melbournestorm.au.Archived fromthe originalon 28 January 1999.Retrieved21 July2021.
- ^Middleton, David (October 1998).Rugby League 1999.Sydney: Harper Sports.ISBN0732267773.
- ^abMiddleton, David (14 December 2023).Rugby League 2001.Sydney: Harper Sports.ISBN978-0732269265.
- ^Whiticker, Alan; Hudson, Glen (2005).Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players - Melbourne Storm.Melbourne: Bas Publishing. p. 10.ISBN1920910549.
- ^"Hull stun Leeds in Challenge Cup".BBC News.27 August 2005.Retrieved17 August2013.
- ^"Bradford's Bai out for two months".BBC Sport.17 May 2006.Retrieved8 June2022.
- ^"Bai announces surprise retirement".BBC Sport.19 December 2006.Retrieved8 June2022.
- ^Marcus Bai's NRL player profile at Rugby League TablesArchived2013-07-31 at theWayback Machine
- ^Marcus Bai's English League player profile at Rugby League Project
- ^Marcus Bai's International player profile at Rugby League Project
External links
[edit]- (archived by web.archive.org)Leeds Rhinos profile
- (archived by web.archive.org)Marcus Bai Official Player Profile
- (archived by web.archive.org)the baistand
- (archived by web.archive.org)Stats → PastPlayers → B at hullfc
- (archived by web.archive.org)Statistics at hullfc
- 1972 births
- Living people
- Bradford Bulls players
- Papua New Guinean expatriate rugby league players in Australia
- Papua New Guinean expatriate rugby league players in England
- Gold Coast Chargers players
- Hull F.C. players
- Leeds Rhinos players
- Melbourne Storm players
- Papua New Guinea national rugby league team players
- Papua New Guinean expatriate rugby league players
- Papua New Guinean rugby league players
- Port Moresby Vipers players
- Rugby league players from West New Britain Province
- Rugby league wingers