Tuimoala Lolohea

Tuimoala Lolohea (born 23 January 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a stand-off or fullback for the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both New Zealand and Tonga at international level.

Tui Lolohea
Personal information
Full nameTuimoala Lolohea
Born (1995-01-23) 23 January 1995
Auckland, New Zealand
Height5 ft 10 in (1.79 m)
Weight14 st 11 lb (94 kg)
Playing information
PositionStand-off, Fullback, Scrum-half, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–17 New Zealand Warriors 52 17 18 0 104
2017–18 Wests Tigers 19 5 47 0 114
2019 Leeds Rhinos 17 3 19 0 50
2019–21 Salford Red Devils 55 18 29 1 131
2022– Huddersfield Giants 53 13 20 0 92
Total 196 56 133 1 491
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–22 Tonga 18 7 6 0 32
2015 New Zealand 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]
As of 7 November 2022

Lolohea previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL). He also played for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, and spent time on loan from Leeds Rhinos at Salford during the 2019 Super League season. He has also played as a scrum-half, winger and centre in his career.

Background

Lolohea was born in Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Tongan and Pākehā descent.

Playing career

A Marist Saints junior, Lolohea is of Tongan descent and signed with the New Zealand Warriors in 2013, playing in all 28 matches in the Holden Cup. Lolohea was named the Warriors' 2013 NYC Young Player of the Year and also played for the Junior Kiwis that year. He attended Kelston Boys’ High School.[3][4]

2014

In February, Lolohea was selected in the Warriors' 2014 NRL Auckland Nines squad.[5] He started the season playing for the Warriors NSW Cup squad.[6]

Lolohea playing for the Warriors in 2014

Lolohea made his first grade debut in round 20 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, playing off the interchange bench in the Warriors 22-12 loss at Mt Smart Stadium after halfback Shaun Johnson was ruled out with injury.[7] Lolohea played in the 2014 Holden Cup Grand Final, won by the Junior Warriors 34-32 over the Junior Brisbane Broncos.[8][9]

2015

Lolohea was again named in the Warriors' Auckland Nines squad.[10] In Round 3 against the Parramatta Eels, Lolohea scored his first NRL try in the Warriors 29-16 win at Mt Smart Stadium.[11] On 2 May, he played fullback for Tonga against Samoa in the Polynesian Cup, in Tonga's 18-16 loss at Cbus Super Stadium.[12][13] In round 18, against the Melbourne Storm, Lolohea scored one of the best tries of the 2015 season when he finished a sensational team effort; Nathan Friend was upended and displayed his best acrobatic moves when he chased a Chad Townsend bomb kick and delivered a stunning back flip pass to Sam Tomkins, the ball passed between further Warriors before Lolohea scored in the corner.[14] Lolohea finished the season with 23 matches, 11 tries and 13 goals, while mid-season his contract was extended until the end of 2018.[15]

Lolohea playing for the Kiwis in 2015

Lolohea was selected in the final 23-man squad for the New Zealand Kiwis' tour of Great Britain.[16] After injuries to Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson, the Kiwis were forced to search for a new halves pairing. Lolohea had recently been playing in the halfback role for the Warriors so he was chosen by Kearney to play at halfback with Peta Hiku. Many people were questioning the inexperience of the halves pairing but it was revealed by Stephen Kearney that the two had been training together in secret during the NRL finals to become better adapted to the situation.[17] He played halfback in the first test against England, in the 26-12 loss at KC Stadium,[18] but was not selected for any further games in the series.

2016

In February, Lolohea played for the Warriors in the Auckland Nines.[19] Starting the season playing on the wing, he finished the year mostly playing at fullback. He finished the season with 23 matches, scoring 5 tries and kicking 9 goals.

2017

On 6 May, Lolohea was selected for Tonga to play against Fiji in the 2017 Pacific Cup, he played at five-eighth in the 26-24 win.[20]

After playing in the first 4 rounds, Lolohea was dropped to the Warriors NSW Cup team. He subsequently attracted interest from the Wests Tigers, Canberra Raiders and the North Queensland Cowboys.[21][22][23] On 27 May, Lolohea was granted a release from his contract with the Warriors. He played 52 first-grade matches for the club, scoring 17 tries and 18 goals for a total of 104 points.[24] Warriors coach Stephen Kearney said that Lolohea was granted a release so he could play in the halves at another club.[25]

He signed with the Wests Tigers on 29 May.[26][27] Lolohea said of his move from the Warriors, "I was overweight. I was unhappy. I was struggling. Playing reserve grade on the wing probably didn't help. I was off it a little bit. I've lost six kilograms since coming here and each week I'm feeling better on the field. In the first month at the Tigers, I was struggling and my weight had a lot to do with it."[28] He made his club debut in round 13, and remained at five-eighth for the rest of the season, also taking over goal-kicking duties. He scored 4 tries and 92 points in his 13 matches with his new club.

Returning to the Tongan rugby league team, Mate Ma'a Tonga, for the World Cup, Lolohea played in every game of the tournament at five-eighth. Tonga won five straight games before losing to England in the semi-final. Lolohea scored a try in each of the last 3 games. Considered to have played a major part in the team's success in the series, Lolohea was gifted land in Tonga as a reward. Coach Kristian Woolf said, "Jason and Tui were given land by the nobles in the villages of their families. I guess it was a reward for what they have done … it’s certainly taken the nation on an amazing ride."[29]

2018

With departure of James Tedesco in the off-season, Lolohea was chosen as the new fullback for round 1, and kicked the game-winning conversion to defeat the Roosters 10-8.[30]

July 2018. It was announced that Lolohea would be departing West Tigers at the end of the season and joining the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.[31]

2019

He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final defeat by St Helens at Old Trafford.[32][33][34]

2020

On 17 October 2020, he played in the 2020 Challenge Cup Final defeat for Salford against Leeds at Wembley Stadium.[35]

2021

On 21 September 2021, it was reported that he had signed for Huddersfield in the Super League.[36]

2022

On 28 May, Lolohea played for Huddersfield in their 16-14 2022 Challenge Cup Final loss against Wigan. Lolohea managed only one successful conversion from five attempts in the match.[37] In the third group stage match at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, Lolohea scored two tries in Tonga's 92-10 victory over the Cook Islands.[38]

2023

Lolohea played 26 matches with Huddersfield in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished ninth on the table and missed the playoffs.[39]

References
  1. loverugbyleague
  2. "Tuimoala Lolohea - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  3. "Tuimoala Lolohea". New Zealand Warriors. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. Matt Logue (29 May 2013). "LAND OF THE RISING SON". Rugby League Week. No. 22. p. 41 – via EBSCOHost.
  5. "SQUADS FOR AUCKLAND NINES". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016.
  6. "Warriors not jumping for joy". The Press. 24 February 2014. p. B8 – via EBSCOHost.
  7. Sarah Harvey. "Manly Sea Eagles score convincing win over Warriors". Archived from the original on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  8. Junior Warriors triumph in Holden Cup nzherald.co.nz, 5 October 2014
  9. Warriors survive Broncos scare to win Holden Cup nrl.com, 5 October 2014
  10. "WARRIORS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  11. "Warriors start fast to see off Eels". NRL - The official site of the National Rugby League - NRL.com. 21 March 2015.
  12. "TONGA NAMED TO FACE SAMOA IN PACIFIC TEST". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016.
  13. "Sam Kasiano Try Saving Tackle on Jorge Taufua Secures Pacific Test Win for Samoa Against Tonga". Foxpsorts.com.au. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  14. "Warriors v Storm Try of the Year Contender". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  15. "Solomone Kata, Tuimoala Lolohea and Sam Lisone all sign contract extensions with the Warriors". The Daily Telegraph. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  16. "Issac Luke, Adam Blair to co-captain Kiwis for England tour". stuff.co.nz. 8 October 2015.
  17. "Secret training boosts Kiwis halves combo". NRL.com. 25 October 2015.
  18. Fletcher, Paul (1 November 2015). "International Series 2015: England 26-12 New Zealand - BBC Sport". Bbc.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  19. "Warriors name 2016 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  20. "Late Latu try grabs Test win for Tonga - NRL". Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  21. Proszenko, Adrian (27 April 2017). "Wests Tigers target Warriors utility Tuimoala Lolohea as James Tedesco replacement". Retrieved 1 June 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  22. "Warriors' Tui Lolohea nears North Queensland Cowboys deal - reports". Newshub. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017 – via www.newshub.co.nz.
  23. "NRL Tui Lolohea, Corey Harawira-Naera, Mitch Rein, Alex Glenn contract future — Market Watch". 4 May 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  24. Media, NRL Digital (26 May 2017). "Vodafone Warriors grant Lolohea release". Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  25. "Warriors coach Stephen Kearney didn't want to hold back Tuimoala Lolohea". Stuff. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  26. Encarnacion, Matt (29 May 2017). "Tuimoala Lolohea signs with Wests Tigers after securing Warriors release". Retrieved 1 June 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  27. "Warriors utility Tuimoala Lolohea set for immediate switch to Wests Tigers". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  28. "Tui Lolohea 'drowned sorrows' in alcohol before Warriors exit". New Zealand Herald.
  29. "RLWC 2017: The crazy gift Tongans gave Jason Taumalolo and Tuimoala Lolohea". Fox Sports.
  30. Nathan Ryan (10 March 2018). "Watch: Minimum wage winger Corey Thompson becomes Wests Tigers' hero in Roosters win". Fox Sports.
  31. "Tui Lolohea becomes Kevin Sinfield's first Leeds signing".
  32. "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  33. Unwin, Will (12 October 2019). "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
  34. "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports.
  35. "Leeds beat Salford 17-16 after Luke Gale lands late winning drop-goal". www.bbc.co.uk.
  36. "Huddersfield confirm signing of Tui Lolohea". Love Rugby League. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  37. "Challenge Cup final: Huddersfield Giants 14-16 Wigan Warriors". www.bbc.co.uk.
  38. "Tonga 92-10 Cook Islands: Tonga close Rugby League World Cup group in style". www.bbc.co.uk.
  39. "Ian Watson explains why Huddersfield Giants underperformed in Super League 2023". www.totalrl.com.
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