Mark Offerdahl

Mark Offerdahl (born 15 October 1987) is a United States international rugby league footballer who plays for and coaches his hometown club the Goondiwindi Boars in Australia. Primarily playing as a prop, he can also play as a second-row or lock. He was a member of the USA squad for both the 2013 and 2017 World Cups. He has previously played for AS Carcassonne, in France, North Wales Crusaders, in Wales, and London Broncos, Oxford and Sheffield Eagles, in England.

Mark Offerdahl
Personal information
Born (1987-10-15) 15 October 1987
Queensland, Australia
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight105 kg (16 st 7 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp, Second-row, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–13 AS Carcassonne 22 11 0 0 44
2014 North Wales Crusaders 14 5 0 0 20
2015 Connecticut Wildcats
2016–17 London Broncos 39 5 0 0 20
2016(loan) → Oxford 1 0 0 0 0
2018 Sheffield Eagles 29 2 0 0 8
Total 105 23 0 0 92
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–17 United States 11 4 0 0 16
2019– United States 9s 3 0 0 0 0
As of 19 October 2019
Source: [1][2]

Offerdahl is known as 'Captain America' because of his position as captain of the USA International team.

Background

Offerdahl was born in Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia, and is of American descent through his father, a native of Madison, Wisconsin who served in the United States Army.[3]

Playing career
Offerdahl playing for the USA

Early career

Offerdahl played his junior rugby league for Goondiwindi in the Toowoomba Rugby League. He played for the Manly Sea Eagles at a junior level, and also spent time with the Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup, AS Carcassonne in the French Elite One Championship,[4] and the Connecticut Wildcats in the AMNRL.

Club career

Following the 2013 World Cup, Offerdahl signed with the recently promoted Championship side North Wales Crusaders.[5] He left the club mid-season to join the Illawarra Cutters in the New South Wales Cup.[6]

On 11 August 2014, Offerdahl signed with the Bradford Bulls in the Championship for the 2015 season,[7] but did not join the club due to recurring injuries.[8][9]

Offerdahl signed a two-year contract with London Broncos in the Championship on 23 July 2015.[10] The front-rower made nearly 40 appearances for the Broncos and scored 5 tries in his two years with the club. During his time in London, Offerdahl was sent on loan to Oxford, Here, he played in just one game; a 32-12 win against Hemel Stags.

On finishing his two-year contract with Broncos, Offerdahl signed a one-year deal with fellow Championship outfit the Sheffield Eagles. He became their eighth permanent signing and first of 2018, ahead of the upcoming season.

Having played nearly 30 games that season, Offerdahl returned home to play for and coach the Goondiwindi Boars in the TRL.[11]

International career

In October 2011, Offerdahl was selected to represent the United States in their 2013 World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and Jamaica, scoring a try against Jamaica.

In 2013, Offerdahl was named in the US squad for the 2013 World Cup.[12][13] He played in their three group matches against the Cook Islands, Wales and Scotland, along with their semi-final against Australia. He scored a try against the Cook Islands.

In December 2015, Offerdahl captained the United States in their 2017 World Cup qualifying matches against Jamaica and Canada, scoring a try against Jamaica.

On 24 September 2017, Offerdahl was named in the United States' squad for the 2017 World Cup.[14] He was named captain of the side and played in all of their games (against Fiji, Italy and PNG). Mark continues to be an advocate for growing the game in the States.

Off the field

Mark's passion for health and fitness extends from the footy field and his own training to helping others reach their goals to live the healthiest lives they can as a qualified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist. Mark married his yoga teacher wife Jenna Offerdahl in London in 2017.

References
  1. "Mark Offerdahl". Rugby League Project.
  2. "Mark Offerdahl". Love Rugby League.
  3. Willacy, Gavin (2 December 2015). "USA's rugby league players crowdfund to pay for flights to World Cup qualifiers". The Guardian.
  4. "Offerdahl striving for success". frenchfooty.com.au. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013.
  5. "North Wales Crusaders sign USA prop Mark Offerdahl". Wales Online. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  6. Jennings, Mitch (26 June 2014). "US rep Mark Offerdahl sets sight on NRL". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  7. "Mark Offerdahl: Bradford Bulls sign USA prop for 2015". BBC. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  8. "Bradford Bulls call off Mark Offerdahl signing". BBC. 7 October 2014.
  9. Richardson, Blake (8 October 2014). "Mark Offerdahl released from Bradford Bulls contract". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  10. "London Broncos clinch deal for United States prop Mark Offerdahl". Sky Sports. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  11. "Boars sign new coach". Goondiwindi Argus. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  12. 24-man squads for all RLWC2013 nations announced rlwc2013.com, 9 October 2013
  13. "Paulo to Captain USA Tomahawks". NRL.com.
  14. "Team USA". RLWC2017.com. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
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