Mark Nicoski was born on 24 November 1983 and is a former Australian rules footballer who previously played with the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League.
29 Facts About Mark Nicoski
1.
2.
From Perth, Western Australia, Nicoski first played for Subiaco in the West Australian Football League, before being recruited by West Coast in the 2003 Rookie Draft.
3.
The son of Don and Karen Mark Nicoski, Mark Nicoski has Macedonian heritage on his father's side and Croatian heritage on his mother's side.
4.
Mark Nicoski attended Carine Senior High School, where he played for the school's football team, as well as the Carine Junior Football Club.
5.
Mark Nicoski did not play for Western Australia in the Under-18 National Championships due to injury, but made his senior debut for Subiaco in the West Australian Football League in round 20 of the 2002 season, playing two more games before his club was eliminated by East Perth in the semi-final.
6.
Mark Nicoski was recruited by the West Coast Eagles with pick number 25 in the 2003 Rookie Draft.
7.
Mark Nicoski had a stand-out season for Subiaco in the WAFL, playing 21 games, including the grand final to West Perth, as a half-back flanker.
8.
Mark Nicoski shared the 2003 WAFL Rookie of the Year Award with Zach Beeck, and was promoted to West Coast's senior list for the 2004 season.
9.
Mark Nicoski played a further 10 consecutive games, as a rebounding defender or on the wing, before injuring his shoulder in round 15 against Hawthorn.
10.
Mark Nicoski returned for one WAFL game in round 21, but did not play any further AFL games.
11.
Mark Nicoski played for Subiaco for the first two rounds of the 2005 season, before being selected in the Eagles' team for round two against Geelong.
12.
Mark Nicoski played every game for the rest of the season, kicking 12 goals as a rebounding half-back flanker, and was considered one of the Eagles' best in the club's Grand Final loss to Sydney.
13.
Mark Nicoski was in career-best form at the beginning of the 2006 season, and received Brownlow Medal votes for his games against Richmond and Melbourne, before fracturing his ankle against Hawthorn in round 14.
14.
Mark Nicoski spent 11 weeks on the sidelines, with Subiaco granted special dispensation from the WAFL to allow him to play for the club in the 2006 WAFL Grand Final in an attempt to prove his fitness for the 2006 AFL Grand Final.
15.
Mark Nicoski played in Subiaco's premiership win over South Fremantle but was not selected to play in West Coast's premiership-winning team.
16.
Mark Nicoski returned in round 12 against St Kilda, but re-injured his shoulder in the next game against Adelaide.
17.
Mark Nicoski returned to the side in round 22, playing the last three games of the season before returning to Subiaco, where he again played in a premiership.
18.
Mark Nicoski played 19 of 22 games in the 2008 season, but was not at his best, and was dropped twice, although he still managed to finish seventh in West Coast's Club Champion Award.
19.
Mark Nicoski played 13 of the club's first 15 games in 2009, before a groin injury forced him to miss the rest of the season.
20.
Mark Nicoski returned in round one of the 2010 season, and was switched to a role as a defensive forward, but struggled for form due to his shoulder.
21.
Mark Nicoski played six games before opting to end his season after round 12 for surgery.
22.
Mark Nicoski spent the rest of the season as a mentor to other small forwards Gerrick Weedon, Ryan Neates and Lewis Broome, and was awarded the Chris Mainwaring Medal as the Best Clubman at the Eagles' 2010 Club Champion Awards.
23.
Mark Nicoski returned to the Eagles' side in the 2011 season in a new role as a small forward.
24.
Mark Nicoski played every game for the club, kicking 41 goals in 25 games.
25.
Mark Nicoski's form was described as a factor in West Coast's turnaround from last place to fourth place over the season, with assistant coach Peter Sumich nominating him as "the most improved player on our list" and a "brand new footballer".
26.
Mark Nicoski played his 100th game for the club against Carlton in round 14, finishing the season behind Josh Kennedy and Mark LeCras in West Coast's goalkicking.
27.
Mark Nicoski's six goals in the round 20 match against Richmond was a career-best.
28.
Under new rules introduced by the AFL from the end of the 2012 season onwards, Mark Nicoski was for a time listed as an unrestricted free agent, but signed a one-year extension to his contract with West Coast in October 2012.
29.
Mark Nicoski serves as an ambassador for the Samaritans Crisis Line, a crisis hotline.