Tinirau Arona

Tinirau Arona (born 8 May 1989) is a former[3] Cook Islands international[4] rugby league footballer who last played as a loose forward and prop for Wakefield Trinity in the Super League.

Tinirau "T" Arona
Personal information
Full nameTinirau Arona
Born (1989-05-08) 8 May 1989
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Playing information
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight16 st 10 lb (106 kg)
PositionLoose forward, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–13 Sydney Roosters 36 3 0 0 12
2014–15 Cronulla Sharks 33 3 0 0 12
2016–22 Wakefield Trinity 153 11 0 0 44
Total 222 17 0 0 68
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006– Cook Islands 11 3 1 0 14
Source: [1][2]

He previously played for the Sydney Roosters and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL.

Background

Arona was born in Dunedin, New Zealand. He is of Cook Islands descent and moved to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia as an 11-year-old. Arona is cousins with Penrith Panthers and Cook Islands representative player Tupou Sopoaga.[5]

He played his junior rugby league for the St Clair Comets, before being signed by the Penrith Panthers.[6]

Playing career

On 4 October 2006, Arona made his international début for the Cook Islands as a 17-year-old, playing off the interchange bench and scored the Cook Islands only try in the 46-6 loss to the Samoa.[7] In October 2009, Arona played 2 matches for the Cook Islands in the Pacific Cup.[8] Arona played in the Penrith Panthers NYC team in 2008-2009[9] before moving on to play for the Sydney Roosters NSW Cup team the Newtown Jets in 2010 where Arona was awarded the club's best and fairest and best forward.[10] Earning himself a contract with the Sydney Roosters.

Sydney Roosters

2011

In Round 4 of the 2011 NRL season, Arona made his NRL début for the Sydney Roosters, playing off the interchange bench in the Roosters 24-6 victory over the Wests Tigers at SFS.[11] Arona finished his début year in the NRL with him playing in 13 matches for the Sydney Roosters in the 2011 NRL season. On 3 November 2011 The annual RLIF Awards dinner was held at the Tower of London and Arona was named Cook Islands' player of the year.[12]

Arona playing for the Roosters in 2012

2012

In Round 9 against the Newcastle Knights at SFS, Arona scored his first NRL career try in the Roosters 24-6 win.[13] Arona finished the 2012 NRL season with him playing in 20 matches and scoring 3 tries (12p) for the Sydney Roosters.

2013

In July 2013, Arona represented the NSW Residents side.[14] Arona finished the 2013 NRL season with him playing in 3 matches for the Sydney Roosters. Arona was part of the Cook Islands national rugby league team that participated in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup playing at lock in all 3 matches for the Cook Islands.[15] On 6 December 2013, Arona signed with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks after getting released from his contract with the Sydney Roosters.[16]

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

2014

In round 1 of the 2014 NRL season, Arona made his National Rugby League Premiership début for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, scoring a try in Cronulla's 18-12 loss to the Gold Coast Titans at Remondis Stadium.[17] Arona finished his first year with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the 2014 NRL season with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 3 tries (12p). The club endured one of their toughest ever seasons in 2014 finishing with the wooden spoon.[18]

Wakefield Trinity

On 5 November 2015, Arona signed a one-year contract with Super League side Wakefield Trinity starting in 2016.[19] In 2018, he signed a contract extension to remain at Wakefield until the end of the 2019 Super League season.[20] In 2019, he signed a three-year contract extension to remain at Wakefield until the end of the 2022 season.[21] On 24 August 2022, Arona announced he would depart Wakefield Trinity at the end of the season.[22]

International career

In Arona's final professional game, he scored a try and kicked the last conversion of the match in the Cook Islands 92-10 loss against Tonga at the Riverside Stadium. It was Cook Islands' worst ever international result, as of 2023. The Cook Islands finished their 2021 Rugby League World Cup campaign in third place in Group D, and were eliminated.[23]

He retired from league at the end of the world cup in November 2022.[3]

References
  1. "Statistics at loverugbyleague.com". loverugbyleague.com. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  3. "Mixed emotions for Cook Islands after World Cup exit". Yahoo News. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  4. "Tinirau Arona". Newtown Jets. 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  5. "Cronulla Sharks Cousins' Tinirau Arona and Tupou Sopoaga Ready to Take on NRL". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  6. "After Heading East for New Turf Young Rooster has His Hands Full". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  7. "Samoa vs. Cook Islands". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  8. "Samoa and Cook Islands announce squads - NRL.com". M.nrl.com. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  9. Archived 3 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Established 1908 - Celebrating 102 years of rugby league tradition". Newtown Jets. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  11. "Roosters Take On the Injury Hit Tigers". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  12. "Slater scoops player award". Sky Sports. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  13. "Pearce Takes Roosters to Top Eight Spot". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  14. "View topic - VB NSW Cup Rep Squad named". The Mighty Bears. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  15. "Rugby League World Cup 2013". Rlwc2013.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. Arona, Tinirau. "TINIRAU ARONA MOVES TO THE CRONULLA-SUTHERLAND SHARKS". Zero Tackle. Personal Tweet. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  17. "Paul Gallen Injures Ankle in Titans 18-12 Upset of Sharks". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  18. "The worst teams in NRL history". Sporting News.
  19. "Wildcats seal signing of Tinirau Arona | NRL". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  20. "Tinirau Arona signs new contract with Wakefield Trinity". www.skysports.com.
  21. "Arona to remain at Trinity until the end of 2022". wakefieldtrinity.com.
  22. "Tinirau Arona: Cook Islands prop to leave Wakefield". www.loverugbyleague.com.
  23. "Tonga 92-10 Cook Islands: Tonga close Rugby League World Cup group in style". www.bbc.co.uk.
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