Tony Puletua

Tony Puletua
Personal information
Full name Anthony Puletua
Nickname TP
Born 25 June 1979
Auckland, New Zealand
Height 192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 112 kg (17 st 9 lb)[1]
Playing information
Position Second-row, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1997–2008 Penrith Panthers 211 40 0 0 160
2009–2013 St. Helens 120 38 0 0 152
2014– Salford Red Devils 26 3 0 0 4
Total 357 81 0 0 316
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1998–2007 New Zealand 21 4 0 0 16
2008–2013 Samoa 7 1 0 0 4
2011–2012 Exiles 2 0 0 0 0
As of 20 July 2013
Source: RLP

Anthony (Tony) Puletua (born 25 June 1979 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer for St. Helens in the European Super League. A New Zealand and Samoan international, Puletua previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition. He primarily plays in the second row.

Penrith Panthers

Puletua played his junior rugby league with the St Mary's Saints before being signed by the Penrith Panthers. Puletua made his debut for the Penrith Panthers in 1997 and played at second row in the Panthers team which defeated the Sydney Roosters in the 2003 NRL Grand final. As 2003 NRL premiers, the Panthers travelled to England to face Super League VIII champions, the Bradford Bulls in the 2004 World Club Challenge. Puletua played at second-row forward in the Panthers' 22-4 loss. He was captain of the team from January, 2006. Puletua's brother, Frank, also played for the Penrith Panthers, retiring from professional rugby league on April 2011.

St Helens

Puletua joined St. Helens at the end of the 2008 season on a three-year deal.[2] Puletua was contracted to the Panthers until the end of the 2009 season. He was also a target for the St. George Illawarra Dragons.[3][4][5]

Salford Red Devils

It was announced that Puletua will join the Salford Red Devils for the 2014 season.

Representative football

Puletua represented the New Zealand national team on 22 occasions since 1998, including the 2000 World Cup. His last selection was for New Zealand against Australia in the ANZAC Test on the 20 April 2007 as a replacement for the injured David Kidwell.

Puletua was named in the Samoa squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and played in three matches.[6] In 2009 he was named as part of the Samoan side for the Pacific Cup.[7]

Puletua was called up to the Samoan squad as an injury replacement during the 2013 World Cup.[8]

Rugby League International Origin Match

Tony Puletua was selected for the Exiles squad for the Rugby League International Origin Match against England at Headingley on 10 June 2011.[9]

Career highlights

References

  1. ↑ "Meet the Teams First Team Players". web page. Saints RFC. 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "St Helens bring in Kiwi Puletua". BBC. 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  3. ↑ "Dragons chasing Puletua". Fox Sports. 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  4. ↑ "Penrith players in coaching meltdown". Fox Sports. 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  5. ↑ "Lewis set to become bunny". Fox Sports. 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  6. ↑ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  7. ↑ Poching names strong Samoan squad therhinos.co.uk, 6 October 2009
  8. ↑ Samoa call up new Salford star Tony Puletua skysports.com, 5 November 2013
  9. ↑ "Warrington dominate Exiles picks for Origin fixture". bbc.co.uk. 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2011-05-04.

External links