Siuatonga Likiliki

Siuatonga Likiliki (born 10 April 1990), also known by the nickname of "Tonga", is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and winger for the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights in the NRL.

Siuatonga Likiliki
Personal information
Born (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990
Auckland, New Zealand
Height181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight97 kg (15 st 4 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009 New Zealand Warriors 1 0 0 0 0
2011 Newcastle Knights 2 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–13 Tonga 4 2 0 0 8
Source: [1]
As of 6 November 2014

Background

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Likiliki is of Tongan descent and played his junior football for the Marist Saints in the Auckland Rugby League competition, while attending Mount Albert Grammar School, and the Auckland Lions in the Bartercard Cup. He was then signed by the New Zealand Warriors.

Playing career

From 2008 to 2010, Likiliki played for the New Zealand Warriors' NYC team, scoring 29 tries in 50 games.[2][3] In Round 23 of the 2009 NRL season Likiliki made his NRL debut for the Warriors against Parramatta.[4]

Likiliki playing for the Warriors in 2009.

Likiliki became the eighth player to be promoted to the Warriors first-grade team from the under-20s squad since the competition began in 2008. In September 2009, Likiliki was named at centre in the 2009 NYC Team of the Year.[5] He was again named at centre in the 2010 NYC Team of the Year.[6] In October 2009, Likiliki played for Tonga against the New Zealand national rugby league team during a one-off test.[7] He played 2 more games for Tonga in the 2009 Pacific Cup.

In June 2010, Likiliki signed a two-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2011.[8] On 3 October 2010, Likiliki scored a try in the Warriors' win over South Sydney in the 2010 NYC Grand Final, which was his last game for the Warriors.[9] In October 2010, Likiliki was selected for the Junior Kiwis to play the Junior Kangaroos.[10] Likiliki made his debut for the Newcastle side in Round 25 of the 2011 NRL season after regular centre Adam MacDougall was ruled out with injury. On 12 September 2012, Likiliki was named at centre in the 2012 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.[11]

In 2013, Likiliki played for Tonga against fierce Pacific rivals Samoa in the Pacific Rugby League International that was played at Penrith Stadium in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. He scored 2 tries in Tonga's 36-4 win over Samoa. Later in the year, Likiliki played in Tonga's unsuccessful 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign. He only made 1 appearance, and that was coming off the bench against Italy. On 14 August 2013, Likiliki signed a one-year contract with the Gold Coast Titans starting in 2014.[12] He failed to make a first-grade appearance in 2014 and was released by the Titans at the end of the year,[13] joining the Burleigh Bears in 2015.

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. "rleague.com". www.rleague.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  3. Siuatonga Likiliki nzleague.co.nz
  4. Deane, Steve (15 August 2009). "NRL: Warriors look to bolster ranks". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  5. 2009 Toyota Cup Team of the Year NRL.com, 1 September 2009
  6. "ETHAN COOK NAMED IN 2010 TOYOTA CUP TEAM OF THE YEAR - Newcastle Knights". Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  7. NRL Grand Finalist Mateo In Tonga Team To Face Kiwis In Rotorua Voxy.co.nz, 8 October 2009
  8. Stone banks on Kaufusi revival Newcastle Herald, 21 June 2010
  9. "Warriors win NYC title". Radio New Zealand. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  10. Nine NYC-winning Warriors named in Jnr Kiwis Archived 30 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine NRL.com, 6 October 2010
  11. "Knights named in NSW Cup team of the Year - Newcastle Knights". Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  12. "Titans recruit promising quartet - iSelect Gold Coast Titans". Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  13. "Kingston to pursue Army life". 5 November 2014.
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