Eloni Vunakece

Eloni Vunakece

Vunakece playing for the Wyong Roos in 2013.
Personal information
Born (1987-05-27) 27 May 1987
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 102 kg (16 st 1 lb)
Playing information
Position Prop

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013 Toulouse Olympique 2 2 0 0 8
2016– Sydney Roosters 9 0 0 0 0
Total 11 2 0 0 8
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–17 Fiji 9 2 0 0 8
As of 6 May 2017
Source: [1]

Eloni Vunakece (born 27 May 1987) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League. He plays at prop. He previously played for Toulouse Olympique in the Challenge Cup.

Background

Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Vunakece is of Fijian descent[2] and played his junior rugby league for the Holy Cross Rhinos and Leichhardt Wanderers, before being signed by the Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers.

Vunakece is married and has two daughters and one son.[3]

Playing career

Early career

From 2006 to 2011, Vunakece played for the Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers,[4][5][6][7][8][9] while also having a stint with the Western Suburbs Magpies New South Wales Cup side in 2011.[10] In September 2011, he signed a 1-year contract with French team Toulouse Olympique in the Elite One Championship.[11] In 2012, he re-signed with Toulouse on a 1-year contract.[12][3]

2013

In April, Vunakece played in 2 games for Toulouse in the 2013 Challenge Cup, scoring 2 tries.[13] At the conclusion of the 2012/2013 Elite One Championship season, he returned to Australia to play with the Wyong Roos in the New South Wales Cup.[14] In October and November, he played 5 games for Fiji in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, scoring 1 try.[15][16]

2015

On 2 May, Vunakece played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the 2015 Melanesian Cup.[17] At the end of the 2015 season, he got the chance to join the Sydney Roosters first-grade squad for the 2016 pre-season.[18]

2016

In Round 4 of the 2016 NRL season, Vunakece made his NRL debut for the Roosters against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.[19][20] On 7 May, he again played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the 2016 Melanesian Cup, where he played at lock and scored a try.[21] In September, he was named at prop in the 2016 Intrust Super Premiership NSW Team of the Year.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Eloni Vunakece - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  2. ↑ "Vunakece eyes RLWC spot in Bati outfit - Fiji Times Online". Fijitimes.com. 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  3. 1 2 "Baby boost for Vunakece". French Footy. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "2007 Jersey Flegg Gains and Losses - The Front Row Forum :: Rugby League". Forums.leagueunlimited.com. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  5. ↑ "Big win for Bati - The Front Row Forum :: Rugby League". Forums.leagueunlimited.com. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  6. ↑ "News & Star | Sport | Town | Ex-Workington ace James Pickering set to line up for Fijians against his old club". Newsandstar.co.uk. 29 November 2008. Archived from the original on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  7. ↑ "ELONI VUNAKECE | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  8. ↑ J. "Eloni Vunakece | Procarlos Sports Photography". Procarlos.photoshelter.com. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  9. ↑ "Eloni Vunakece | Procarlos Sports Photography". Procarlos.photoshelter.com. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  10. ↑ "ELONI VUNAKECE | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. 2011-03-12. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  11. ↑ "Un pilier expérimenté s’engage au TO | Toulouse Olympique XIII". To13.com. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  12. ↑ Thomas Sartorel. "Eloni VUNAKECE de retour à Toulouse | Toulouse Olympique XIII". To13.com. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  13. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  14. ↑ "VB NSW Cup rd #23 preview - Auckland vs. Wyong - AUCKLAND VULCANS". Fox Sports Pulse. 2013-08-16. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  15. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  16. ↑ "Civoniceva, Wes Naiqama to lead Fiji Bati". Fijilive.com. 19 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  17. ↑ "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  18. ↑ "Eloni Vunakece". Roosters.com.au. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  19. ↑ "UPDATED: NRL team lists: Round 4". NRL.com. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  20. ↑ NRL. "NRL Late Mail | Round 4". Roosters. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  21. ↑ "PNG stuns Fiji in a thriller". nrl.com. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  22. ↑ NSWRL.com.au (2016-03-26). "2016 Intrust Super Cup Team of the Year". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
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