Sitaleki Akauola
 | ||||||
| Akauola playing for the Tigers in 2013. | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sitaleki-Moala Akau'ola[1] | |||||
| Born | 7 April 1992 Manurewa, New Zealand | |||||
| Height | 194 cm (6 ft 4 in) | |||||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Second-row, Wing | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2013–14 | Wests Tigers | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2016– | Penrith Panthers | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2014 | Tonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| As of 5 September 2016 | ||||||
| Source: [2] | ||||||
Sitaleki Akauola (born 7 April 1992) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. A Tongan national representative, he primarily plays at second-row, but can also fill in on the wing. He previously played for the Wests Tigers.
Background
Born in Manurewa, New Zealand to parents Siupeli and Christina,[3] Akauola played his junior rugby league for the Manurewa Marlins, and was in the New Zealand Warriors junior system before being signed by the Wests Tigers.
Playing career
Early career
In 2012, Akauola played for the Wests Tigers' NYC team.[4][5] "The Auckland Rugby League from New Zealand got me a trial with the Tigers out in Campbelltown. Two weeks after that I had a trial with NYC," he said.[6] He played from the bench and set up two tries as the Tigers won the 2012 NYC Grand Final.[7]
2013
In Round 5 of the 2013 NRL season, Akauola made his NRL debut for the Tigers against the Melbourne Storm.[8][9][10] It would be his only appearance for the season.[11]
2014
On 29 July, Akauola re-signed with the Tigers on a 2-year contract.[12][5] Mid-season, he played a string of games from the bench and in the second row. Towards the end of the 2014 season, he played four games on the wing, showing his versatility.[13]
2015
After playing no first grade games for the season, Akauola signed a contract with the Penrith Panthers in September.[14]
References
- ↑ "Tonga's fight to stand alone". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League - NRL.com. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ↑ "Sitaleki Akauola - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ↑ Pengilly, Adam (24 August 2016). "Penrith Panthers' Sitaleki Akauola emerges from dark times to be an NRL force". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ↑ "A". NYC DATABASE. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- 1 2 "Akauola re-signs with Wests Tigers - Tigers". Wests Tigers. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ↑ Encarnacion, Matt (1 September 2014). "Akauola's re-signing makes huge impact". NRL.com. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ↑ "Wests Tigers 2012 NYC Toyota Cup Premiers". rleague.com. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ↑ Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (20 August 2015). "NRL 2013". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ↑ "Sitaleki Akauola player results, scores, news and statistics". Rleague.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ↑ "Team Changes: Wests Tigers vs Melbourne Storm". Wests Tigers. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ↑ Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (29 August 2015). "Custom Match List". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ↑ "Akauola re-signs with Wests Tigers". NRL - Zero Tackle. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ↑ Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (29 August 2015). "Custom Match List". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ↑ Danny Weidler (20 September 2015). "Jarryd Hayne humility leads to big four-year deal with financial company". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 September 2015.