Feleti Mateo
 | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Feleti Sosefo Mateo | |||||
| Born | 2 May 1985 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | |||||
| Height | 194 cm (6 ft 4 in) | |||||
| Weight | 108 kg (17 st 0 lb) | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Lock, Second-row, Five-eighth | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2004 | Parramatta Eels | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | London Broncos | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2007–10 | Parramatta Eels | 88 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
| 2011–14 | NZ Warriors | 95 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 44 |
| 2015– | Manly Warringah | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 202 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 132 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2006–10 | Tonga | 12 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 32 |
| 2008–12 | City Origin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | NRL All Stars | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Source: RLP | ||||||
Feleti Sosefo Mateo (born 2 May 1985 in Sydney, New South Wales) is a professional rugby league player who currently plays for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. Mateo plays a variety of positions from centre to five-eighth to second row and is renowned for his versatility and extravagant style of play.[1] He has played at international level for Tonga.[2]
Playing career
Early career
Mateo attended Westfields Sports High School until Year 10 and then moved to Terra Sancta College. During this time he played for the St Patricks Shamrocks and Lalor Park Kookaburras before joining the Parramatta Eels. Mateo made his first grade debut against the Melbourne Storm in Round 20 of the 2004 season. He then played a season with the London Broncos in 2005, appearing in 13 games after joining the club mid-season. Mateo returned to the Parramatta Eels in 2006 and played in the NSWRL Premier League. He was named the Parramatta Premier League Player of the Year and grand final Man of the Match.
2007
In 2007 Mateo was selected for the NRL team. Often coming off the bench averaging 50 minutes per game. Mateo was used as an attacking weapon against tiring defenses. He was awarded 1 Dally M award for the game against the West Tigers and 2 Dally M points for the game against Penrith Panthers.[3][4]
2008
Mateo started 2008 in the five-eighth role, a position he played in his time at the London Broncos.[5] Mateo played the opening two matches of the year and proved crucial scoring two tries in a historic Round One comeback.
Mateo finished first at the end of the regular season on offloads with 64.
2009
In 2009 Mateo suffered an injury early on in the season which took him out for most of the year. However he did make a return in the final rounds of the season and played in the matches leading up to the Grand Final against Melbourne and in the Grand Final itself.
Warriors
In May 2010, Mateo signed with the New Zealand Warriors for the 2011 NRL season and the following two seasons.[6]
Before playing a match for the Warriors he was voted as their representative in the 2011 NRL All Stars team.[7]
On 3 November 2011, at the annual RLIF Awards dinner, Mateo was named the Tonga player of the year.[8]
Sea Eagles
In 28 October 2014, Mateo was granted a release from the Warriors to sign with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles for the 2015 and 2016 NRL seasons.[9][10]
Representative career
Mateo played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2003 on a tour of New Zealand.[11] In 2004 he was selected for the New South Wales under 19's and also made the Junior Kanagaroo's tour of Papua New Guinea.
Mateo made his debut for Tonga in 2006 and was named in the Tongan squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[12] He played at five-eighth and acted as the main play-maker for Tonga. He scored one try and a number of assists for the Tongan team and also a vital 40/20 kick in the dying stages of their round one clash against Ireland that lead to the match winning try.
In 2008 Mateo played for the New South Wales City team. He also is eligible to represent England through his English mother, while also playing for London Broncos he obtained a British passport.[13]
References
- ↑ "Tongan test for Lockyer". Fox Sports. 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- ↑ "NRL’s island talent". Samoa Observer. 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ↑
- ↑ Jancetic, Steve (2007-04-13). "Hindmarsh field goal hero". AAP.
- ↑ "Eel Mateo relishing five-eighth chance". NRL. 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- ↑ Parramatta stars Krisnan Inu and Feleti Mateo sign for New Zealand Warriors Daily Telegraph, 10 May 2010
- ↑ "NRL: New Warrior makes All Stars side". The New Zealand Herald. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ↑ "Slater scoops player award". Sky Sports. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/manly-sea-eagles/manly-release-anthony-watmough-sign-willie-mason-and-feleti-mateo-20141028-11cvy7.html
- ↑ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/manly-have-secured-the-services-of-new-zealand-warriors-forward-feleti-mateo-on-a-twoyear-deal/story-fni3gnk1-1227104028318
- ↑ "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ↑ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
- ↑ Deane, Steve (12 March 2011). "League: Mateo spurns Kiwis". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
External links
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