Les Mara
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| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Five-eighth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Les Mara (born 1953) is an Australian former rugby league player.
Rugby league career
[edit]An ex-Balmain junior, Mara had a stint with Thirroul prior to making his first-grade debut with Balmain in 1975. During that time in 1974 he represented Illawarra Firsts against the touring Great Britain Lions.[1]
He featured for Balmain as a five-eighth and at the end of his debut season made several appearances for English club St. Helens, which included a match against the touring Australian national side.[2] In 1975 and 1976, Mara represented NSW in interstate matches against Queensland. He left Balmain in 1977 for South Sydney, where he alternated between five-eighth and lock, then returned to the Tigers for two more seasons. After a season coaching Kurri Kurri, Mara had two years in the merchant navy, before resuming his league career with Newtown in 1982.[3]
Prison sentence
[edit]Mara was charged in 2006 with conspiracy to import cocaine into the country from South America, as part of a scheme involving airport baggage-handlers.[4] He had evaded authorities for 18 months before his arrest in Callala Bay, New South Wales, having previously been hiding out in Brazil and Ireland.[5][6] In 2007, Mara was sentenced to a 20-year jail term, with 13-years to be served until he was eligible for parole.[7][8]
References
[edit]- ^ 1974 Illawarra Firsts vs Great Britain Lions
- ^ "Mara beats ARL bungle". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 October 1975.
- ^ "Mariner Mara steers Jets to plucky win". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 May 1982.
- ^ "Ex-Rugby League player faces cocaine charge". ABC News. 30 November 2006.
- ^ "Ex-league star in cocaine plot". The Daily Telegraph. 1 August 2007.
- ^ "Sports legends declare support for Mara". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 October 2007.
- ^ "Man jailed over $30m cocaine racket". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2009.
- ^ "Sydney drug importer and ex footballer Les Mara seeks parole". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 November 2019.
External links
[edit]- Les Mara at Rugby League Project
- 1953 births
- Living people
- Australian rugby league players
- Rugby league five-eighths
- New South Wales rugby league team players
- Balmain Tigers players
- South Sydney Rabbitohs players
- Newtown Jets players
- St Helens R.F.C. players
- Australian expatriate rugby league players in England
- Thirroul Butchers players
- Kurri Kurri Bulldogs players
- Australian sportspeople convicted of crimes
- Australian drug traffickers