Ava Seumanufagai

Ava Seumanufagai

Seumanufagai playing for the Balmain Tigers in 2012.
Personal information
Full name Avagalu Kefe Seumanufagai[1]
Born (1991-06-03) 3 June 1991
Wellington, New Zealand
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 128 kg (20 st 2 lb)
Playing information
Position Prop

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013– Wests Tigers 105 5 0 0 20
2018 Cronulla Sharks 0 0 0 0 0
Total 105 5 0 0 20
As of 26 March 2017
Source: [2]

Avagalu "Ava" Seumanufagai (born 3 June 1991) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League. He plays at prop.

Background

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Seumanufagai is of Samoan descent. He played his junior football for the Wainuiomata Lions and the Hills District Bulls before being signed by the Parramatta Eels. Seumanufagai played for the Parramatta Eels NYC team in 2010 and 2011, scoring 2 tries in 43 games.[3] In 2012, Seumanufagai joined the Wests Tigers. Seumanufagai spent his first season playing NSW Cup, and was a member of the Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers side that lost the NSW Cup grand final to the Newtown Jets.[4][5]

Playing career

2013

In Round 3, Seumanufagai made his NRL debut for the Wests Tigers against his former club, the Parramatta Eels in the Tigers 31-18 win at Leichhardt Oval.[6] In Round 13 against the Penrith Panthers, Seumanufagai scored his first NRL try in the Tigers 20-18 win at Penrith Stadium.[7] It was his sole try from 17 matches for the season.

2014

On 30 July, Seumanufagai re-signed with the Tigers on a 1-year contract.[8][9] Coach Mick Potter said, "Ava has steadily improved as the year has gone on. The players love it when Ava comes on the field, he gives us that lift and really deserves what he is getting."[10] He finished the year having played in 23 matches. He was also named in the Samoa train-on squad for the Four Nations, but didn’t make the final 24 man squad.[11]

2015

On 31 January and 1 February, Seumanufagai played for the Tigers in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.[12] He made 23 appearances in the 2015 NRL season, all from the interchange bench as well as scoring 1 try for the Tigers.[13] He was named as a reserve in Zero Tackle's Team of the Year.[14] On 30 September, he re-signed with the Tigers for a further 2 seasons. Coach Jason Taylor said, "Ava is a tireless worker and a real asset to have on our playing roster. He's only 24 years old, so I'm confident that his best football is still ahead of him and that's really exciting for the club."[15]

2016

In the pre-season, Seumanufagai again played in the Auckland Nines.[16] He was one of just two Wests Tigers player to appear in every game of the season. Seumanufagai said that he felt his personal game had improved for the season, and was a step in the right direction.[17]

2017

Started season strong for the Wests Tigers before signing to the Cronulla sharks for seasons 2018 and 2019. He also punched former team mate Robbie Farah in a game against South Sydney resulting in ten minutes in the bin[18][19]

References

  1. ↑ Mick Lewis and Chris Bradbury (2009-03-05). "District Reps – Round 4 Teams, Round 3 Reports - Parramatta Eels". Parraeels.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  2. ↑ "Ava Seumanufagai - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  3. ↑ "Grandstand Forums". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  4. ↑ Wayne Cousins (30 September 2012). "Tigers go down fighting to Jets in NSW Cup Grand Final". Weststigers.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Newtown Jets Defeat Balmain Ryde; Eastwood Tigers in NSW Cup to Kick Off NRL Grand Final Day". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  6. ↑ "Coverage of Tigers v Eels". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  7. ↑ "Wests Tigers rally for famous victory, over Penrith Panthers". The Australian. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  8. ↑ "Seumanufagai signs on at Wests Tigers - Tigers". Weststigers.com.au. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  9. ↑ "AVA SEUMANUFAGAI RE-SIGNS WITH TIGERS". Rugby League Week.
  10. ↑ "Seumanufagai and Akauola re-sign with Wests Tigers". Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Samoa train on squad announced". Zero Tackle.
  12. ↑ "WESTS TIGERS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  13. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  14. ↑ Aaron Winder (9 September 2015). "Tonga smash Samoa 36-4". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  15. ↑ "Wests Tigers re-sign Ava Seumanufagai". Weststigers.com.au. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "Tigers Place Stars on Ice for NRL Auckland Nines". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  17. ↑ Dan Talintyre. "Unfiltered: Ava Seumanufagai". weststigers.com.au.
  18. ↑ Seumanufagai signs on
  19. ↑ Robbie Farah gets punched by former Tigers teammate Ava Seumanufagai
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