Tevita Tatola

Tevita Junior Tatola[2] (born 10 November 1996) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.

Junior Tatola
Personal information
Full nameTevita Junior Tatola
Born (1996-11-10) 10 November 1996
Auburn, New South Wales, Australia
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight114 kg (17 st 13 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018– South Sydney 134 9 0 0 36
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018–22 Tonga 6 1 0 0 4
Source: [1]
As of 1 September 2023

Background

Tatola was born in Auburn, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Tongan descent.[3]

He played his junior rugby league for the Berala Bears and Holy Cross Rhinos, before being signed by the Wests Tigers.

Playing career

Early career

From 2015 to 2016, Tatola played for the Wests Tigers' NYC team,[4] co-captaining the side in 2016.[5] On 7 May 2016, he played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.[6] In 2017, he graduated to the Tigers' Intrust Super Premiership NSW team.[7] In December 2017, he signed a one-year contract with South Sydney starting in 2018.[8]

2018

In round 1 of the 2018 NRL season, Tatola made his NRL debut for South Sydney against the New Zealand Warriors. In September, he re-signed with the South Sydney Rabbitohs on a one-year deal till the end of 2019.[9]

2019

Tatola was part of the Souths side which started the 2019 NRL season with ten wins and three losses. Tatola scored his first NRL try for Souths against Parramatta in their 14-26 loss at Bankwest Stadium.

Tatola played in every match of the 2019 NRL season as Souths finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Tatola played in the club's preliminary final defeat against the Canberra Raiders at Canberra Stadium.[10][11][12][13]

Tatola with Tonga at the 2021 RLWC

2020

In round 15 of the 2020 NRL season, he scored his first try of the season as South Sydney defeated Manly-Warringah 56-16 at ANZ Stadium.[14]

In the 2020 elimination final, he scored two tries in South Sydney's 46-20 victory over Newcastle at ANZ Stadium.[15]

Tatola played 21 games for South Sydney throughout the year as the club reached their third straight preliminary final but once again fell short of a grand final appearance losing to Penrith 20-16.[16]

2021

Tatola played a total of 21 games for South Sydney in the 2021 NRL season including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final defeat against Penrith.[17]

2022

In the first week of the finals series, Tatola was sent to the sin bin during South Sydney's upset 30-14 victory over arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters.[18]

Tatola played 26 games for South Sydney in the 2022 NRL season including all three of the clubs finals matches as they reached the preliminary final for a fifth straight season. Souths would lose in the preliminary final to eventual premiers Penrith 32-12.[19]

In October, Tatola was awarded with the George Piggins medal after being voted as South Sydney's best player throughout the season.[20]

In October he was named in the Tonga squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[21]

2023

Tatola played a total of 15 games for Souths in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 9th on the table and missed the finals.[22]

Statistics

*stats are correct as of round 12 2023 [23]

Year Team Games Tries Pts
2018 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24
2019 27 2 8
2020 21 3 12
2021 21
2022 26 4 16
2023 7
Totals 126 9 36

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. Tatola, Junior (2 May 2019). "Photo that changed my life". AthletesVoice. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  3. "Father's health battle inspiring rising South Sydney star". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  4. "T". 27 December 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  5. "Making the Leap: Junior Tatola". 19 October 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. "Junior Kangaroos team named". 1 May 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  7. "TEAMS - Intrust Super Premiership NSW Round 1". 28 February 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  8. "NRL contracts 2018: Sam Burgess among Rabbitohs signings, Alex Walmsley, Dylan Napa — Market Watch". 5 December 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  9. "Late mail - Rabbitohs v Warriors". 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  10. "South Sydney Rabbitohs beat Manly Sea Eagles 34-26 in NRL semi-final". ABC.
  11. "Rabbitohs dig deep to eliminate Sea Eagles in finals thriller". NRL.
  12. "Canberra Raiders end 25-year wait to reach NRL grand final with victory over Rabbitohs". The Guardian.
  13. "South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett confirms major changes for Sydney Roosters final". Sporting News.
  14. "South Sydney beats Manly in 56-16 NRL thrashing, Roosters and Canberra record victories". www.abc.net.au.
  15. "NRL 2020 finals week one: Rabbitohs crush Knights - as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
  16. "Penrith Panthers beat South Sydney Rabbitohs 20-16 to set up NRL grand final against Melbourne Storm". www.abc.net.au.
  17. "One of finest NRL grand finals of all time provides cure to difficult season". www.theguardian.com.
  18. "SEVEN players binned in historic first after Roosters-Rabbitohs clash explodes". www.foxsports.com.au.
  19. "Penrith Panthers defeat South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-12 to qualify for third straight NRL grand final". www.abc.net.au.
  20. "NRL 2022: Every club's Player of the Year and award winners". www.sportingnews.com.
  21. Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
  22. "'Absolute madness': Potential Latrell switch slammed as a 'band aid' for broken Bunnies". www.foxsports.com.au.
  23. https://www.nrl.com/players/nrl-premiership/south-sydney-rabbitohs/tevita-tatola/
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