Michael Bolt (born 6 February 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s.
However, when first-choice rake Barry Jensen suffered a neck injury, Bolt took over as first-grade hooker[4] ahead of expected replacement Sean O‘Connor, and he became the Steelers' permanent top rake when a recurrence of Jensen's neck injury caused his retirement in July of that season.
[7] However, in the 1985 pre-season Bolt was unexpectedly overtaken by long-serving understudy Sean O‘Connor,[8] and was dropped to reserve grade for the first half of what would prove a disastrous season for Illawarra.
Bolt would, however, regain his first grade berth over O‘Connor before the season ended and would keep a firm grip on it during the three ensuing seasons, by which time Bolt was accumulating exceptional records for durability: at the end of 1987 he had played 122 consecutive grade games for the Steelers without missing one,[9] and was Illawarra's "player of the year" for a second time.
When he retired at the end of 1990, Bolt had played in 187 consecutive grade matches, a then record in the NSWRL Premiership,[11] and was the Steelers' final foundation player remaining with the club.