Motu Tony
 | ||||||
| Tony playing for Hull in 2008 | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iosefo Motu Tony | |||||
| Born | 29 May 1981 Saleimoa, Samoa | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) | |||||
| Weight | 91.5 kg (14 st 6 lb)[1] | |||||
| Position | Fullback, Wing, Five-eighth | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2001–03 | New Zealand Warriors | 55 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 92 |
| 2004 | Brisbane Broncos | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2004 | Castleford Tigers | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2005–09 | Hull F.C. | 100 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| 2010–12 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 177 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 208 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2001–06 | New Zealand | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Source: Rugby League Project | ||||||
Iosefo Motu Tony[2] (born 29 May 1981 in Saleimoa, Samoa) is a retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative utility back or hooker, he previously played in the National Rugby League for the Auckland and Brisbane clubs before playing in Super League for English clubs Wakefield Trinity, Castleford, Hull (with whom he won the 2005 Challenge Cup) and Whitehaven.
Background
Tony attended De La Salle College where he played for the First XIII rugby league team. He played for the Marist Saints in the Auckland Rugby League competition before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors. He played for the Marist-Richmond Brothers in the 2000 Bartercard Cup and also toured Australia with the New Zealand Residents that year.[3][4]
Professional playing career
National Rugby League
Tony made his professional debut for the New Zealand Warriors in 2001. He went on to play 55 games for the club, including his appearance at five-eighth in the Warriors' 2002 NRL grand final loss to the Sydney Roosters. In 2004 he moved to the Brisbane Broncos but only played in three games for the club before leaving to play in Super League.
Super League
Tony initially played for English club Castleford.[5] In 2005 he joined Hull. Tony played fullback for Hull in the 2005 Challenge Cup final, scoring a try in the victory against Leeds Rhinos. He was part of the New Zealand side that won the Gillette Tri-Nations in 2005, beating Australia in the final 24–0. Hull reached the 2006 Super League Grand final to be contested against St Helens RLFC and Tony played on the wing in his side's 4-26 loss. He played in 109 games for Hull before crossing codes to play for National 2 (North) Rugby Union club Hull RUFC.[6] Following the end of the Rugby union season Tony signed for Whitehaven. Tony had represented the New Zealand Kiwis 18 times between 2001 and 2006.[7]
In 2008 he chose to represent Samoa and was named in the Samoa training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup but withdrew due to injury.[8] In July 2010 it was announced that Tony had signed for a 1-month trial with Championship union side Nottingham Rugby.[9]
On 28 October 2010, Super League club Wakefield Trinity announced the signing of Tony. On 12 June 2010, Tony made his debut for Trinity at fullback in their 13–10 home victory over Huddersfield.
References
- ↑ "Official site of the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats". web page. Wakefield wildcats. 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ↑ TONY, IOSEFO MOTU 2001 – 2006 – KIWI #686 nzleague.co.nz
- ↑ Johns named halfback and captain AAP Sports News (Australia), 10 October 2000
- ↑ NZ Residents end trip with a flourish The Press, 27 July 2000
- ↑ "Statistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk". thecastlefordtigers. 31 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ↑ "Tony makes the switch". Sky Sports. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ↑ Roll of Honour nzrl.co.nz, Accessed 18 August 2009
- ↑ "Samoa name World Cup Squad". League Unlimited. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ↑ "Nottingham hand trial to Whitehaven full-back Motu Tony". BBC Sport. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
7.http://wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/2010/10/wildcats-capture-kiwi-international/