Introduction
Mark Robert Bridge (born 7 November 1985) is an Australian professional football (soccer) player who plays as a striker for A-League club Mounties Wanderers.
Bridge is the Western Sydney Wanderers' first ever goalscorer, earning himself the nickname 'King Bridge' among fans. On 18 April 2015 in the 26th-round match against Adelaide United, Bridge became the ninth player to reach 200 A-League games.
Club career
Newcastle Jets
Bridge joined Newcastle from Parramatta Power in 2005 during the inaugural A-League season. Although it took some time for Bridge to find his feet he was the Jets best player during his second season (2006/07) at the club scoring 8 goals during the season.
Although his third season with the Jets only yielded four goals, his last for the Jets was the most decisive, being the only goal in the 2008 A-League Grand Final.
Sydney FC
As his contract had expired at the Jets, Bridge subsequently left the team and was unveiled as a Sydney FC player on 3 March 2008 alongside Simon Colosimo and John Aloisi. He scored his first goal for Sydney in their 5–2 demolition of Perth Glory at the Sydney Football Stadium.
On 11 February 2009, Bridge arrived Kunming, Yunnan province, China, meet with Tianjin TEDA.He signed a four-month loan deal for Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda during the offseason with Sydney FC. However, Tianjin's failure to qualify from the group stage of the AFC Champions League meant that he had made the last appearance for the club and would return to Sydney FC at the end of May.
He became the first player to score in two A-League Grand finals with his headed goal against Melbourne Victory in the 09-10 edition, which Sydney went on to win on penalties
Bridge scored the third goal in the 3–2 victory of Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, during the 2011 AFC Champions League keeping Sydney's chances of progressing through to the next round alive.
Bridge was sent from the field after being given a red card in the opening game of the 2011–12 A-League season against Melbourne Victory, following an altercation in which Bridge struck Victory player Rodrigo Vargas in the throat. The match would finish 0–0.
Bridge asked for and received a mutual termination of his Sydney FC contract on 1 June 2012.
Western Sydney Wanderers
On 30 June 2012 it was officially announced he had joined the newly formed Western Sydney Wanderers club.
On 27 October 2012 Bridge scored the first ever A-League goal for the Western Sydney Wanderers, against Brisbane Roar in the Wanderers fourth game of their inaugural season.
Bridge scored the Wanderers' first ever hat-trick in the round 16 6–1 thrashing of Adelaide United in their inaugural season. Bridge was also the Wanderers' top goalscorer for the 2012–13 A-League season with 11 goals. Bridge is also the club's all-time top goalscorer.
Chiangrai United
On 27 May 2016, after 4 seasons with the Western Sydney Wanderers, Bridge left the club to join Thai Premier League club Chiangrai United. On 6 July 2017, Bridge terminated his contract with Chiangrai United.
Return to Western Sydney Wanderers
In July 2017, Bridge returned to Western Sydney Wanderers on a two-year contract.
Mounties Wanderers FC
On 12 March 2019, Bridge signed for National Premier Leagues NSW 2 side Mounties Wanderers FC. Bridge is set to join the club at the conclusion of the 2018-19 A-League season.
International career
Mark Bridge has played for the Australian U-20 Squad where he made 9 appearances and scored 9 goals. He is currently a member of Australia U-23 national team. He was also called up to Australia senior squad for their Asian Cup qualifiers, in a match against Kuwait on 16 August. He was hoping to be included in the Australia senior squad for the Asian Cup games against Qatar, China and Iraq, but was not selected.
Bridge made his senior international debut against Singapore in a friendly match on March 2008.
Bridge was selected for the 2008 Australian Olympic squad.
A-League statistics
- As of 12 December 2018
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Parramatta Power | 2003–04 | National Soccer League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Newcastle Jets | 2005–06 | A-League | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | A-League | 24 | 8 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 30 | 9 | |||
| 2007–08 | A-League | 20 | 5 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 24 | 5 | |||
| Total | 50 | 13 | — | — | 10 | 1 | 60 | 14 | ||||
| Sydney FC | 2008–09 | A-League | 21 | 4 | — | — | — | 21 | 4 | |||
| 2009–10 | A-League | 23 | 9 | — | — | — | 23 | 9 | ||||
| 2010–11 | A-League | 18 | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 23 | 2 | |||
| 2011–12 | A-League | 18 | 3 | — | — | — | 18 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 80 | 17 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 85 | 18 | ||||
| Tianjin Teda (loan) | 2009 | Chinese Super League | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 2012–13 | A-League | 27 | 11 | — | — | — | 27 | 11 | |||
| 2013–14 | A-League | 26 | 5 | — | 9 | 2 | — | 35 | 7 | |||
| 2014–15 | A-League | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 5 | |
| 2015–16 | A-League | 24 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 9 | |||
| 2017–18 | A-League | 21 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 24 | 5 | |||
| Total | 116 | 32 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 136 | 37 | ||
| Career total | 248 | 62 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 288 | 69 | ||
Honours
Club
Newcastle Jets:
- A-League Championship: 2007–08
Sydney FC:
- A-League Premiership: 2009–10
- A-League Championship: 2009–10
Western Sydney Wanderers:
- A-League Premiership: 2012–13
- AFC Champions League: 2014
Individual
- Newcastle Jets Players Player: 2006-07
- Western Sydney Wanderers Player of the Year: 2012–13
- Western Sydney WanderersPlayer of the Year: 2015-16