Peter Mata'utia

Peter Mata'utia-Leifi (Samoan pronunciation: [mɑːtæutiæ];[4] born (1990-11-12)12 November 1990), also known by the nickname of "Peanut",[5] is a Samoa international former rugby league footballer who last played as a centre, fullback or stand-off for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League.

Peter Mata'utia
Personal information
Full namePeter Mata'utia-Leifi[1]
Born (1990-11-12) 12 November 1990
Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight14 st 11 lb (94 kg)
Playing information
PositionCentre, Fullback, Wing, Stand-off
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–13 Newcastle Knights 6 2 0 0 8
2014–16 St. George Illawarra 35 11 0 0 44
2016–17 Newcastle Knights 35 10 0 0 40
2018 Leigh Centurions 4 0 0 0 0
2018(loan) → Castleford Tigers 8 1 0 0 4
2019–21 Castleford Tigers 61 12 60 1 169
2022–23 Warrington Wolves 54 6 8 0 39
Total 203 42 68 1 304
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–17 Samoa 4 0 2 0 4
2021–22 Combined Nations All Stars 2 1 0 0 4
Source: [2][3]
As of 8 October 2023

He has previously played for the Newcastle Knights, in two spells, and the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL. Mata'utia has also played for the Leigh Centurions in the Championship and on loan from Leigh at Castleford (Heritage No. 986) in the Super League. Mata'utia is signed to Warrington Wolves for the 2022 Superleague season.

Background

Mata'utia was born in Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia and is of Samoan descent.[6]

He played his junior rugby league for the Bankstown Cougars. He then moved to Newcastle, New South Wales, and played for Raymond Terrace, before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

Mata'utia is the older brother of Knights teammates Chanel Mata'utia, Pat Mata'utia and Sione Mata'utia.[7][8]

Playing career
Mata'utia playing for the Knights in 2009.

Early career

From 2008 to 2010, Mata'utia played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team,[9] scoring over 300 points in 44 games.[10] In August 2008, he played for the Australian Schoolboys.[11][12] On 17 October 2009, he played for Samoa against the Cook Islands in the 2009 Pacific Cup.[13]

2011

In 2011, Mata'utia graduated to the Knights' New South Wales Cup team, Central Coast Centurions. In Round 11 of the 2011 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Sydney Roosters,[14] scoring a try on debut.[15] On 17 June, he re-signed with the Knights on a 2-year contract, turning down offers from three rival teams.[16] He finished his debut season having played in five games and scoring two tries.[17]

2012
Mata'utia playing for the Knights in 2012

In July, Mata'utia was admitted to hospital after suffering a crushed larynx in a New South Wales Cup game for the Knights. He received an emergency tracheostomy after he was unable to breathe during a scan on his neck. He was ruled out for the rest of the season,[18] after only playing one NRL game for the Knights that year.[19]

2013

On 17 July, Mata'utia played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents.[20][21] On 23 August, he signed a 2-year contract with the St. George Illawarra Dragons starting in 2014, after failing to break into the Knights' first-grade team in 2013.[22][23] On 22 September, he was named at centre in the 2013 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.[24]

2014

On 3 May, Mata'utia returned to the Samoan side against Fiji in the 2014 Pacific Rugby League International.[25] In Round 10 of the 2014 NRL season, he made his club debut for the Dragons against the Parramatta Eels.[26] On 8 September, he was named in the Samoan train-on squad for the 2014 Four Nations,[27] later making the final 24-man squad for Samoa,[28][29] however he was unable to compete in the tournament due to passport issues.[30]

2015
Mata'utia playing for the Leigh Centurions in 2018

On 3 May, Mata'utia again played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents, this time alongside his brother Chanel.[31] On 24 June, he re-signed with the Dragons on a 2-year contract.[32]

2016

On 20 April, Mata'utia returned to the Newcastle Knights effective immediately on a contract until the end of 2017, after being released from his Dragons contract.[33][34]

2017

Mata'utia played in every match for the Knights in the 2017 season, only missing 6 games since returning to the Knights midway through the 2016 season. In October, he rejected a 1-year extension offer from the Knights and instead signed a 3-year contract with the Leigh Centurions in the English Kingstone Press Championship.[35]

2018

Mata'utia started the 2018 season with the Leigh Centurions, however, was allowed to leave the club due to the club's inability to make the top 4 of the Championship and owner Derek Beaumont admitting that he would not be able to financially support the club beyond the current season.[36] Mata'utia signed a loan deal with Castleford Tigers until the end of 2018, which would lead to a 3-year deal from 2019 until the end of 2021.[37] He made his debut in the Tigers' 52–24 victory over Widnes Vikings.[38]

2019

Mata'utia was assigned the number 1 jersey.[39] In January 2019 he revealed tha this five-year-old son had suffered a cancer scare.[40]

2021

On 25 June 2021 he played for the Combined Nations All Stars, and scored a try, in their 26–24 victory over England, staged at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, as part of England's 2021 Rugby League World Cup preparation.

On 17 July, he played for Castleford in their 2021 Challenge Cup Final loss against St. Helens.[41]

2023

He played 26 games for Warrington in the 2023 Super League season as Warrington finished sixth on the table and qualified for the playoffs. He played in the clubs elimination playoff loss against St Helens.[42] On 7 October 2023, he announced his retirement from professional rugby league.[43]

References
  1. "Auckland could one day warrant NRL round of its own, promoters say". brisbanetimes.com.au. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  2. loverugbyleague
  3. "Peter Mata'utia – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. "Double debut for Mata'utias". Newcastle Knights. 24 July 2014.
  5. "Richardson on Saints reunion win". Castleford Tigers. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  6. "Mata'utias choose family over country". National Rugby League. May 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  7. Sione's set to debut Archived 30 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. newcastleknights.com.au. 23 July 2014
  8. Dillon, Robert (19 March 2012). "Bennett lays down law to drunken Knight Mata'utia". The Newcastle Herald.
  9. "M". Nyc Database. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  10. "rleague.com – Mata'utia Peter". Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  11. "2008 Australian Schoolboys Team Announced – Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". Fox Sports Pulse. 20 September 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  12. "A.S.S.R.L., Australian Secondary School Rugby League, Australian Schoolboys". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  13. "2009 Pacific Cup: Squads". National Rugby League. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  14. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "NRL 2011 – Round 11 – Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  15. "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  16. Dillon, Robert (16 June 2011). "Mata'uti opts to stay in Hunter". The Newcastle Herald.
  17. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  18. Toohey, Barry (24 July 2012). "Newcastle Knights utility Peter Mata'utia cheats death". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney.
  19. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  20. "VB NSW Cup Rep Squad named". NSW Rugby League. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  21. Dillon, Robert (11 July 2013). "Mantellato has a point to prove". The Newcastle Herald.
  22. Dragons.com.au (23 August 2013). "Dragons add depth for 2014". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  23. "Dragons Add Depth For 2014". Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  24. "2013 NSWRL.com.au VB NSW Cup Team of the Year – Announcement". Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  25. "NRL big guns for Samoa, Fiji teams". National Rugby League. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  26. "NRL 2014 – Round 10". Rugby League Project. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  27. Samoa train on squad announced. Zero Tackle. 8 September 2014
  28. Toa Samoa name Four Nations squad. NRL.com. 7 October 2014
  29. Zero Tackle (7 October 2014). "Toa Samoa name Four Nations squad". Zero Tackle. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  30. Mata'utia: Putting In The Hard Yards Early. dragons.com.au. 20 November 2014
  31. "Representative Round team lists". National Rugby League. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  32. Dragons.com.au (24 June 2015). "Dragons re-sign Peter Mata'utia". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  33. "Knights sign Peter Mata'utia". Zero Tackle. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  34. "Peter Mata'utia leaves Dragons". National Rugby League. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  35. "Peter Mata'utia signs with Leigh Centurions – Zero Tackle". 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  36. "Derek Beaumont to quit Leigh Centurions after failing to earn Super League spot".
  37. "Peter Mata'utia: Castleford sign Samoan international full-back from Leigh". BBC Sport. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  38. "Rugby League – BBC Sport". BBC Sport.
  39. "Castleford 2019 squad numbers: Jake Trueman gets No. 6 shirt". I Love Rugby League. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  40. Gareth Walker (8 January 2019). "Tigers star Peter Mata'utia ready to roar after dealing with family cancer scare". Mirror. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  41. "Challenge Cup: St Helens beat Castleford 26-12 for first Wembley victory since 2008". BBC Sport.
  42. "Highs and lows from Warrington Wolves' 2023 season". warringtonguardian.co.uk.
  43. "Peter Mata'utia announces retirement: 'I look back with gratitude and appreciation for the 16 years I was blessed with'". Love Rugby League. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
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