PJ Marsh facts for kids
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Personal information
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| Full name | Peter-John Edward Marsh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 February 1980 Gladstone, Queensland, Australia |
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Playing information
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| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 80 kg (12 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker, Halfback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Peter-John "PJ" Marsh, born on February 19, 1980, in Gladstone, Queensland, is a former professional rugby league player from Australia. He played as a hooker or halfback. PJ Marsh represented Queensland in the famous State of Origin series. He played for three different teams in the NRL: the Parramatta Eels, New Zealand Warriors, and Brisbane Broncos.
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Early Life and Rugby Beginnings
PJ Marsh was named after his uncle, Peter John Marsh. His uncle sadly passed away in a car accident before PJ was born. PJ went to St. Brendan's College, Yeppoon, where he also played rugby league. He has some Aboriginal family background and is also Christian.
PJ Marsh's Playing Career
PJ Marsh started his rugby league journey with the Central Queensland Capras. He played for them in the 1998 Queensland Cup. His big break in the NRL came with the Parramatta Eels. He played his first top-level game on April 23, 2000, against the Newcastle Knights.
Grand Final Appearances
In 2001, PJ Marsh played a key role for the Parramatta Eels. The team had an amazing season, losing only two games. They finished first in the regular season. PJ played from the bench in the 2001 NRL grand final. However, the Eels lost to the Newcastle Knights in what was a big upset.
Moving to New Zealand Warriors
After his time with Parramatta, PJ Marsh moved to the New Zealand Warriors. He also made his debut for Queensland in the 2002 State of Origin series. He played in two games that year. He also played in the State of Origin series in 2003 and 2008.
In 2002, PJ Marsh was the starting hooker for the Warriors. They played in the 2002 NRL Grand Final but lost to the Sydney Roosters.
Serious Injury and Comeback
In 2003, PJ Marsh suffered a serious neck injury. This happened during a tackle in a game against Parramatta. The injury was so bad that he could not play for the rest of 2003 and all of 2004. He worked hard to recover and returned to play in 2005.
Return to Parramatta and Brisbane
After three years with the Warriors, PJ Marsh went back to the Parramatta Eels for the 2005 NRL season. In 2005, Parramatta again finished first in the regular season. However, they lost in the preliminary final to North Queensland. PJ's last game for Parramatta was in the 2007 preliminary final, where they lost to Melbourne.
In 2007, PJ Marsh signed a three-year contract with the Brisbane Broncos. This brought him back to his home state of Queensland.
Retirement from Rugby League
PJ Marsh felt that he was not the same player after his neck injury in 2003. He played five games in 2009 before a back injury forced him to retire. He officially retired in March 2010 due to medical reasons.
PJ Marsh believes that dangerous tackles in rugby league need stronger rules. He wants to see more penalties and suspensions to protect players.
Life After Rugby League
After retiring, PJ Marsh shared that he felt very sad and angry about rugby league. He felt that the NRL did not support him after his injury. He had to pay a lot for medical care and could not do simple things like run or go to the gym.
He felt that no one from the game checked on him after he retired. This made him feel very upset. He even gave away most of his jerseys because he did not want reminders of what he had gone through. He also did not want his own children to play rugby league at first.
PJ Marsh lived in Middlemount for a few years to get away from things. As he started to feel better, he studied youth work. He then worked at headspace, an organization that helps young people.
Eventually, his children wanted to play rugby league. This inspired PJ to get involved with the sport again.
Family Life
PJ Marsh now lives in Yeppoon with his wife and children. He works on a drill rig at a coal mine in Central Queensland.
His oldest son, Braelan, plays rugby league. In 2022, he played in the Under-16s Cyril Connell Challenge. He was also signed to the Dolphins Academy.
PJ's daughter, Waverley, is also a talented player. She scored nine tries at the Murri Rugby League Carnival in 2021. She was also chosen for the Queensland Merit team. In 2022, she was part of the winning "beef" team in a special game at Browne Park in Rockhampton.
His youngest son, Jay, played for the Yeppoon Seagulls Under 14's team in 2022.
