Antonio Kaufusi(born 27 November 1984) is a former professionalrugby leaguefootballer. AnAustraliaandTongainternational andQueenslandState of Originrepresentativeprop,he played for theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs,Melbourne Storm,North Queensland Cowboysand theNewcastle Knightsin theNRL,and theLondon Broncos,Huddersfield Giantsand theBradford Bullsin theSuper League.[2]
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| Born | 27 November 1984 Matahau,Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 112 kg (17 st 9 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop,Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editKaufusi was born inMatahau,Tonga.His junior club was Brothers in Bundaberg and he played rugby union forNudgee Collegein Brisbane in 2002.[3]
Playing career
editMelbourne Storm
editKaufusi made his first-grade début in round 22 against theBulldogson 10 August 2003.
In 2006 Kaufusi was called up to the Australian tri-nations squad afterReni Maituareceived an ankle injury in the first test against New Zealand. He played at prop forward inhis first Grand Final in 2006,when the Storm were defeated by theBrisbane Broncos,15–8.[4]
He played State of Origin forQueensland,making his début in game one 2007.
A serious knee injury prevented Kaufusi from participating in the Storm's victorious2007 premiershipwinning team.[5]He played in the2008 NRL Grand Finaldefeat by Manly.[6]
He was named in theTongasquad for the2008 Rugby League World Cup.[7]
Cowboys
editIn 2009, theNorth Queensland Cowboyssigned Kaufusi on a large contract.[8]His stint with the Cowboys was short though, being released a year later.
Knights
editOn 25 June 2010, Kaufusi was released from his contract with the North Queensland Cowboys to join theNewcastle Knightsfor the rest of 2010 and a further two years.[9][10][11][12]He made a winning début for the Knights in round 18 against theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
London Broncos
editOn 18 August 2011, Kaufusi signed a 3-year deal with theLondon Broncosin theSuper Leagueafter the 2012 Knights coach,Wayne Bennett,released him from his contract a year early.[13]
Huddersfield Giants
editKaufusi played forHuddersfield Giantsin 2014.
Bradford Bulls
editOn 2 May 2014, Kaufusi was loaned toBradford Bullsfor the rest of the 2014 season.[14][15]
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
editOn 13 November 2014, Kaufusi signed a 2-year contract with theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogsstarting in 2015, to return to Australia.[16]
References
edit- ^"Antonio Kaufusi - Career Stats & Summary".Rugby League Project. 27 November 1984.Retrieved25 April2017.
- ^Donaghy, Dave (21 August 2008)."Melbourne Storm prop Antonio Kaufusi heads for North Queensland".The Herald Sun.Retrieved24 March2009.
- ^Ricketts, Steve (6 September 2002). "Nudgee pair crack both the codes".Brisbane Courier Mail– via EBSCOHost.
- ^"Kaufusi Brings up Game 150".Bulldogs. 23 May 2015.Retrieved11 October2022.
- ^Donaghy, Dave (4 October 2007)."Antonio Kaufusi trains to ease Grand Final pain".The Herald Sun.Retrieved24 March2009.
- ^"Grand final: As it happened".Fox Sports.5 October 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 4 December 2012.Retrieved5 October2008.
- ^"Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads".BBC. 8 October 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 13 October 2008.Retrieved9 October2008.
- ^"Cowboys capture Storm prop Kaufisi".Stuff. 31 January 2009.Retrieved28 December2020.
- ^"Knights sign ex-Test prop Kaufusi".Dailytelegraph.com.au.Retrieved25 April2017.
- ^"Tate signs with Cowboys | Townsville Bulletin Sport - Cowboys".www.townsvillebulletin.com.au.Archived fromthe originalon 19 September 2012.Retrieved26 January2022.
- ^Proszenko, Adrian (20 June 2010)."Knights ride to the rescue of Kaufusi".The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^Keeble, Brett (20 June 2010)."Stone banks on Kaufusi revival".Theherald.com.au.Retrieved25 April2017.
- ^"Harlequins sign Shane Rodney and Antonio Kaufusi".BBC News.18 August 2011.Retrieved6 July2022.
- ^"RUGBY-LEAGUE.COM | Rugby-League.com".Superleague.co.uk.Retrieved25 April2017.
- ^"Super League: Bradford Bulls bring in prop Antonio Kaufusi from Huddersfield Giants | Rugby League News".Sky Sports.Retrieved25 April2017.
- ^"Kaufusi Joins the".Bulldogs. 13 November 2014.Retrieved25 April2017.