Tony Puletua

Tony Puletua
Personal information
Full name Anthony Puletua
Nickname TP
Born (1979-06-25) 25 June 1979
Auckland, New Zealand
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Weight 112 kg (17 st 9 lb)[1]
Playing information
Position Second-row, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1997–08 Penrith Panthers 211 40 0 0 160
2009–13 St. Helens 137 40 0 0 160
2014–15 Salford Red Devils 26 3 0 0 12
2015 → Hull KR (loan) 13 1 0 0 4
Total 387 84 0 0 336
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1998–07 New Zealand 22 4 0 0 16
2008–13 Samoa 9 1 0 0 4
2011–12 Exiles 2 0 0 0 0
As of 20 July 2013
Source: RLP

Anthony "Tony" Puletua (born 25 June 1979) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League. A New Zealand and Samoan international, Puletua previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition, primarily as a prop in the second row.

Puletua joined Hull Kingston Rovers, on loan in 2015 from the Salford Red Devils. He made 13 appearances, scoring one try for Hull KR, and retired on 18 September 2015.

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. On 4 October 2006, TP was selected to be a part of the Perinth Panthers' Team Legends. Used to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Panthers, Puletua was alongside Penrith legends Mark Geyer, Brad Fitler and Rhys Wesser.

St Helens

Puletua joined St. Helens at the end of the 2008 season on a three-year deal.[2][3][4][5]

Salford Red Devils

Puletua joined the Salford Red Devils for the 2014 season. He made 26 appearances for the club in 2014, but was not registered as a player for the 2015 season due to salary cap issues.

Hull KR

Puletua playing for Samoa

Puletua joined Hull Kingston Rovers mid-season in 2015 on a season-long loan from Salford, and announced that he would retire from the game following his spell with Hull KR.[6]

Representative football

Puletua represented the New Zealand national team on 22 occasions following his debut in 1998, including the 2000 World Cup. His last selection was for New Zealand against Australia in the ANZAC Test on 20 April 2007 as a replacement for the injured David Kidwell. After that, he switched his allegiance to Samoa.

Puletua was named in the Samoa squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and played in three matches.[7] In 2009 he was named as part of the Samoan side for the Pacific Cup.[8]

Puletua was called up to the Samoan squad as an injury replacement during the 2013 World Cup.[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. 23 April 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Dragons chasing Puletua". Fox Sports. 21 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  4. ↑ "Penrith players in coaching meltdown". Fox Sports. 29 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  5. ↑ "Lewis set to become bunny". Fox Sports. 2 April 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  6. ↑ Puletua joins Robins on loan. Hullkr.co.uk (26 May 2015). Retrieved on 2016-09-22.
  7. ↑ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  8. ↑ Poching names strong Samoan squad therhinos.co.uk, 6 October 2009
  9. ↑ Samoa call up new Salford star Tony Puletua skysports.com, 5 November 2013
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