Sitaleki Akauola

Sitaleki Akauola (born 7 April 1992) is a Tongan international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Toulouse Olympique in the Betfred Championship.

Sitaleki Akauola
Personal information
Full nameSitaleki-Moala Akau'ola[1]
Born (1992-04-07) 7 April 1992
Manurewa, New Zealand
Height6 ft 4 in (1.92 m)
Weight16 st 10 lb (106 kg)
Playing information
PositionProp, Second-row, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–15 Wests Tigers 11 1 0 0 4
2016–17 Penrith Panthers 21 0 0 0 0
2018–21 Warrington Wolves 68 6 0 0 24
2019(loan) → Rochdale Hornets 4 1 0 0 4
2022 Salford Red Devils 19 2 0 0 8
2023– Toulouse Olympique 13 4 0 0 0
Total 136 14 0 0 40
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014 Tonga 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [2][3]
As of 17 November 2022

He previously played for the Wests Tigers and the Penrith Panthers in the NRL. Akauola has also played for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League, and spent time on loan from Warrington at the Rochdale Hornets in the Championship.

Background

Akauola was born in Manurewa, New Zealand to parents Siupeli and Christina.[4]

He 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.[5]

Playing career

Wests Tigers

In 2012, Akauola played for the Wests Tigers' NYC team.[6][7] "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.[8] He played from the bench and set up two tries as the Wests Tigers won the 2012 NYC Grand Final.[9]

In Round 5 of the 2013 NRL season, Akauola made his NRL debut for the Wests Tigers against the Melbourne Storm.[10][11] It would be his only appearance for the season.[5]

On 29 July 2014, Akauola re-signed with the Wests Tigers on a two-year contract.[12][7] Mid-season, he played a string of games from the bench and in the second row. Towards the end of the season, he played four games on the wing, showing his versatility.[13]

Penrith Panthers

Akauola signed a contract with the Penrith Panthers in September 2015, after not playing any first grade games with the Tigers that year.[14]

In 2017, Akauola featured in both the Penrith NRL and NSW Cup squads. Akauola was a part of Penrith's 2017 NSW Cup Championship team, and the 2017 State Championship team, helping defeat the Wyong Roos and Papua New Guinea Hunters respectively.

Warrington Wolves

In August 2017, Akauola signed a two-year contract with the Warrington Wolves starting in 2018.[15]

He played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final victory over St. Helens at Wembley Stadium.[16]

Salford Red Devils

On 23 October 2021, it was reported that he had signed for Salford Red Devils in the Super League.[17]

References
  1. "Tonga's fight to stand alone". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League - NRL.com. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  2. loverugbyleague
  3. "Sitaleki Akauola - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  4. Pengilly, Adam (24 August 2016). "Penrith Panthers' Sitaleki Akauola emerges from dark times to be an NRL force". Sydney Morning Herald.
  5. "Akauola's re-signing makes huge impact". NRL. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  6. "A". NYC DATABASE. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  7. "Akauola re-signs with Wests Tigers - Tigers". Wests Tigers. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  8. Encarnacion, Matt (1 September 2014). "Akauola's re-signing makes huge impact". NRL.com. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  9. "Wests Tigers 2012 NYC Toyota Cup Premiers". rleague.com. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  10. Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson. "NRL 2013". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  11. "Sitaleki Akauola player results, scores, news and statistics". Rleague.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  12. "Akauola re-signs with Wests Tigers". NRL - Zero Tackle. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  13. Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (29 August 2015). "Custom Match List". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  14. Danny Weidler (20 September 2015). "Jarryd Hayne humility leads to big four-year deal with financial company". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  15. "Penrith Panthers utility player Sitaleki Akauola signs with English club Warrington". Wide World of Sports. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  16. "St Helens 4-18 Warrington RESULT: Challenge Cup Final as it happened from Wembley". Mirror. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  17. "Salford confirm signing of Sitaleki Akauola". Love Rugby League. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
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