Penani Manumalealii

Penani Manumalealii
Personal information
Born (1992-06-14) 14 June 1992 (age 32)
Apia, Samoa
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight80 kg (12 st 8 lb)
Playing information
PositionHalfback, Five-eighth, Hooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014 Cronulla Sharks 2 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–14 Samoa 4 4 0 0 16
Source: [1]
As of 12 May 2019

Penani Manumalealii (born 14 June 1992) is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback and five-eighth for the Newtown Jets in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW, having previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers in the NRL.[2]

Early years

Born in Apia, Samoa, Manumalealii was raised in New Zealand and attended Hornby high school while playing his junior football for the Hornby Panthers.

Playing career

As a 16-year-old, Manumalealii moved to Sydney, Australia to play for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.[3] He played for the Sharks' NYC team from 2010 to 2012[4][5] before moving on to the Sharks' New South Wales Cup team in 2013.[6]

In Round 2 of the 2014 NRL season, Manumalealii made his NRL debut for the Sharks against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.[7]

On 20 March 2014, Manumalealii signed a contract with the Wests Tigers effective immediately for the rest of the season.[8]

At the end of the 2016 season, Manumalealii was not re-signed by the Wests Tigers, instead signing with the Newtown Jets.

Representative career

In 2012, Manumalealii played for the Junior Kiwis.[9][10]

In 2013, Manumalealii was named in the Samoa squad for the World Cup.[11] He scored a try in their opening match against New Zealand.

In May 2014, Penani played for Samoa in the 2014 Pacific Rugby League International. He scored three tries in Samoa's 32-16 victory. He dedicated those tries to his mother who had died months earlier.[12]

On 8 September 2014, Manumalealii was selected for the Samoa Four Nations train-on squad.[13] On 7 October 2014, Manumalealii was selected in the Samoa national rugby league team final 24 man squad for the 2014 Four Nations series.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ "NSWRL Intrust Super Premiership - 2017 Round 6 » League Unlimited".
  3. ^ "Penani Manumalealii". Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Penani Manumalealii". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Young Sharks stun Souths". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  6. ^ "VB NSW CUP TEAM LISTS - FINALS WEEK ONE". NSW Rugby League. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Late Mail - Sharks v Bulldogs". Sharks.com.au. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Wests Tigers sign Manumalealii - Tigers". Weststigers.com.au. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Junior Kiwis squad announced". Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Junior Kiwis named for curtainraiser". Stuff.co.nz. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2013". Rlwc2013.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  12. ^ Tony Smith (7 May 2014). "Mother's memory spurs Canterbury league star". Stuff. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Samoa train on squad announced | NRL". Zero Tackle. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Toa Samoa name Four Nations squad". NRL.com. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Toa Samoa name Four Nations squad | NRL". Zero Tackle. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
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