Willie Isa

Willie Isa (born 1 January 1989) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a Second-row, Centre, Loose forward or winger for the Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League.

Willie Isa
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Isa
Born (1989-01-01) 1 January 1989
Auckland, New Zealand
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight15 st 4 lb (97 kg)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Centre, Loose forward, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008 Penrith Panthers 1 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Melbourne Storm 5 2 0 0 8
2011 Castleford Tigers 11 6 0 0 24
2012–15 Widnes Vikings 87 4 0 0 16
2016– Wigan Warriors 199 16 0 0 64
Total 303 28 0 0 112
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010 Samoa 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]
As of 21 May 2021

He previously played as a centre or winger for the Penrith Panthers and Melbourne Storm in the NRL, and the Castleford Tigers and the Widnes Vikings in the Super League.

Background

Isa was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and moved to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia as a 1-year-old. Isa was educated at St Dominic's College, Penrith.

He played his junior rugby league for the St Mary's Saints before being signed by the Penrith Panthers.

Career

Isa previously played one NRL match for the Penrith Panthers, called up unexpectedly at half-time in a NYC game to replace an injured player.[3] Isa was signed by Melbourne for the 2009 NRL season and he was compared to the Storm's former star player, Israel Folau.[3] He was selected in the Samoan squad in 2010.[4] On 16 December 2010, it was announced that Isa had signed for Castleford on a 12-month contract, Castleford coach Terry Matterson referred to this signing as being similar to that of Rangi Chase

Isa signed for Widnes for the 2012 Season. In 2012, Widnes fan, David Quayle created a Facebook page on Isa, stating that if Isa was to score; the Widnes fans would riot. Despite popularity on Facebook, no fans rioted when Isa scored his first (and second) Widnes try against Hull F.C. in a 42–16 win. In 2013, Isa found a new position, that position of second row transformed him into one of the form players of the super league. On 16 May 2014, Isa was the 9th player in as many weeks to sign a new contract and stay with the Vikings. He signed a new two-year deal.[5][6] On 29 September 2015, it was announced that Isa had signed a two-year contract with an option for a 3rd year with Wigan starting in 2016.[7]

Isa played in the 2016 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.[8] Isa played in the 2017 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium.[9] Isa played in the 2020 Super League Grand Final which Wigan lost 8-4 against St Helens.[10] In round 20 of the 2021 Super League season, Isa was sent to the sin bin and placed on report for another incident in Wigan's 26-2 loss against St Helens.[11] Isa played 22 games for Wigan in the 2022 Super League season. Isa did not feature in the clubs 2022 Challenge Cup Final victory over Huddersfield.[12] On 14 October 2023, Isa played in Wigan's 2023 Super League Grand Final victory over the Catalans Dragons. In the post match celebrations, Sky Sports presenter Brian Carney described Isa as a "junkyard dog".[13]

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. "Player Summary: Willie Isa". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  3. Nick Walshaw (27 February 2009). "Storm rookie Willie Isa in Israel Folau's footsteps". ABC News. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  4. "Toa Samoa names team to face NZ". NRL. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  5. "Super League: Willie Isa signs new two-year deal with Widnes Vikings". Sky Sports. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015.
  6. "Isa commits to Widnes". Super League. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014.
  7. "Willie Isa: Wigan Warriors sign Widnes Vikings forward". BBC. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  8. "Warrington 6-12 Wigan: Super League Grand Final – as it happened!". Guardian. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  9. "Hull FC 18-14 Wigan recap as the Black and Whites claim back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs". Mirror. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  10. "Super League Grand Final: Wigan 4-8 St Helens". www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. "Super League: Wigan Warriors 2-26 St Helens - Saints coast to highly charged derby win". www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. "Wigan Warriors: Willie Isa states he is grateful to be on the verge of making his 250th Super League appearance". www.wigantoday.net.
  13. "Wigan Warriors crowned Super League champions after downing Dragons". www.theguardian.com.
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