Ava Seumanufagai Explained

Ava Seumanufagai
Fullname:Ava Seumanufagai[1]
Birth Date:1991 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Wellington, New Zealand
Height:189cm (74inches)
Weight:115kg (254lb)
Year1start:2013
Year1end:17
Appearances1:105
Tries1:5
Goals1:0
Fieldgoals1:0
Points1:20
Year2start:2018
Year2end:19
Appearances2:13
Tries2:0
Goals2:0
Fieldgoals2:0
Points2:0
Club3:Leeds Rhinos
Year3start:2019
Year3end:20
Appearances3:33
Tries3:4
Goals3:0
Fieldgoals3:0
Points3:16
Year4start:2021
Year4end:22
Appearances4:23
Tries4:0
Goals4:0
Fieldgoals4:0
Points4:0
Club5:Leigh Leopards
Year5start:2023
Year5end:present
Appearances5:17
Tries5:1
Goals5:0
Fieldgoals5:0
Points5:4
Source:[2] [3] [4]
Updated:9 November 2023

Ava Seumanufagai (born 3 June 1991) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who is the captain-coach of Campbelltown City Kangaroos. He has previously played for Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Super League, Wests Tigers, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL and the Leeds Rhinos in the European Super League.

Background

Seumanufagai was born in Wellington, New Zealand and is of Tokelau and Samoan descent.

He played his junior football for the Wainuiomata Lions and the Hills District Bulls before being signed by the Parramatta Eels.

Playing career

Early career

Seumanufagai played for the Parramatta Eels NYC team in 2010 and 2011, scoring 2 tries in 43 games.[5] 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.[6] [7]

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.[8] In Round 13 against the Penrith Panthers, Seumanufagai scored his first NRL try in the Tigers 20–18 win at Penrith Stadium.[9] It was his sole try from 17 matches for the season.

2014

On 30 July, Seumanufagai re-signed with the Tigers on a one-year contract.[10] [11] 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."[12] 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.[13]

2015

On 31 January and 1 February, Seumanufagai played for the Tigers in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.[14] He made 23 appearances in the 2015 NRL season, all from the interchange bench as well as scoring 1 try for the Tigers.[15] He was named as a reserve in Zero Tackle's Team of the Year.[16] On 30 September, he re-signed with the Tigers for a further two 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."[17]

2016

In the pre-season, Seumanufagai again played in the Auckland Nines.[18] 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.[19]

2017

Seumanufagai again played in the Auckland Nines.[20] On 2 May, he signed a two-year contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, starting in 2018.[21] In Round 10 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Seumanufagai was sinbinned for punching former Tigers teammate Robbie Farah in the head.[22] In Round 15 against his future club Cronulla, Seumanufagai played his 100th NRL match in the Tigers 24–22 loss at Shark Park.[23] Seumanufagai finished his last season with the Tigers with 2 tries from 18 matches.

2018

In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL season, Seumanufagai made his club debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against the North Queensland Cowboys, playing off the interchange bench in the 20–14 loss at 1300SMILES Stadium.[24]

Seumanufagai played for Cronulla's feeder club side Newtown in the 2018 Intrust Super Premiership NSW grand final against Canterbury-Bankstown at Leichhardt Oval which Newtown lost 18–12.[25]

2019

Seumanufagai joined Leeds Rhinos on a two-year deal in May 2019.[26] In his first season he made 13 appearances for the Rhinos scoring one try after making his debut in David Furner's last match in charge – a defeat to Salford on 3 May.[27]

2020

During the disrupted 2020 season Seumanufagai made a further 17 appearances scoring three tries.[28] He played in the Challenge Cup Final where Leeds triumphed 17–16 over Salford.[29] On 27 December 2020 the club announced that they were releasing Seumanufagai from the final year of his contract due to "family reasons" as the travel restrictions in place were preventing him from seeing his young daughter.[30]

2021

He made a total of 16 appearances for Canterbury in the 2021 NRL season as the club finished last and claimed the Wooden Spoon.[31]

2022

Seumanufagai played a total of seven matches for Canterbury in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table.[32]

2023

In January, Seumanufagai signed a one-year deal to join the newly promoted Leigh side.[33] He played 15 games for Leigh in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished fifth on the table and qualified for the playoffs.[34]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mick Lewis and Chris Bradbury . District Reps – Round 4 Teams, Round 3 Reports – Parramatta Eels . https://archive.today/20130410022003/http://www.parraeels.com.au/news-display/District%20Reps%20%E2%80%93%20Round%204%20Teams,%20Round%203%20Reports/2116 . dead . 10 April 2013 . Parraeels.com.au . 2009-03-05 . 2013-09-04.
  2. Web site: Players. Love Rugby League. 27 December 2020. 3 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190403181023/https://www.loverugbyleague.com/stats/players/. dead.
  3. Web site: Ava Seumanufagai – Career Stats & Summary. Rugby League Project. 2015-12-27.
  4. Web site: Rhinos boost pack with Seumanufagai signing. Phil. Daly. 10 April 2019. 27 December 2020.
  5. Web site: Grandstand Forums. rleague.com. 2013-09-04. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100113110246/http://www.rleague.com//db/player/v/vea_atelea/index.php. 13 January 2010.
  6. Web site: Wayne Cousins . Weststigers.com.au . Tigers go down fighting to Jets in NSW Cup Grand Final . 10 November 2012 . 30 September 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131228214947/http://www.weststigers.com.au/news-display/Tigers%20go%20down%20fighting%20to%20Jets%20in%20NSW%20Cup%20Grand%20Final/64669 . 28 December 2013.
  7. Web site: Newtown Jets Defeat Balmain Ryde; Eastwood Tigers in NSW Cup to Kick Off NRL Grand Final Day. Foxsports.com.au. 2015-12-27.
  8. Web site: Coverage of Tigers v Eels. The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 2015-12-27.
  9. Web site: Wests Tigers rally for famous victory, over Penrith Panthers. The Australian. 2015-12-27.
  10. Web site: Seumanufagai signs on at Wests Tigers – Tigers. Weststigers.com.au. 30 July 2014. 2015-12-27.
  11. Web site: AVA SEUMANUFAGAI RE-SIGNS WITH TIGERS. Rugby League Week. 26 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402111157/http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/ava-seumanufagai-re-signs-tigers/. 2 April 2015. dead.
  12. News: Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser. Seumanufagai and Akauola re-sign with Wests Tigers. 3 March 2015. 30 July 2014.
  13. Web site: Samoa train on squad announced. Zero Tackle. 12 October 2014. 14 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141014081012/http://www.zerotackle.com/nrl/samao-train-on-squad-announced-14837/. dead.
  14. Web site: WESTS TIGERS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD. Rugby League Week. 2015-01-23. 2015-12-27.
  15. Web site: Custom Match List. Rugby League Project. 2015-12-11. 2015-12-27.
  16. Web site: The Daily Telegraph. London. Tonga smash Samoa 36-4. Aaron Winder. 12 September 2015. 9 September 2015.
  17. Web site: Weststigers.com.au. Wests Tigers re-sign Ava Seumanufagai. 30 September 2015. 30 September 2015.
  18. Web site: Tigers Place Stars on Ice for NRL Auckland Nines. The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 2016-02-02.
  19. Web site: weststigers.com.au. Unfiltered: Ava Seumanufagai. Dan Talintyre. 9 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170109185708/http://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2016/12/21/unfiltered_ava_seuma.af_unfiltered.html. 9 January 2017. dead.
  20. Web site: 2017 Auckland Nines squads: Every player named for the tournament. The Roar. 28 February 2017. 16 August 2017.
  21. Web site: NRL: Wests Tigers prop Ava Seumanufagai to join Cronulla Sharks. 2 May 2017.
  22. Web site: Subscribe – couriermail. couriermail.com.au.
  23. Web site: Daniel Mortimer emerges from NRL wilderness to lift Cronulla Sharks to victory. Adam. Pengilly. 17 June 2017. Brisbane Times.
  24. Web site: Couriermail.com.au | Subscribe to The Courier Mail for exclusive stories. couriermail.com.au. 27 December 2020.
  25. Web site: Canterbury Bulldogs beat Newtown Jets to win 2018 Intrust Super Premiership grand final. Fox Sports.
  26. News: Smith . Peter . Leeds Rhinos in focus – turning the spotlight on forward Ava Seumanufagai . 27 December 2020 . yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk . 5 July 2020.
  27. Book: Butcher . Tim . Spencer . Daniel . Rugby League Yearbook 2019–2020 . 2019 . 978-190134-7388 . 200–201.
  28. Book: Butcher . Tim . Spencer . Daniel . Rugby League Yearbook 2020–2021 . 2020 . 978-190134-7395 . 189.
  29. News: Challenge Cup final: Leeds beat Salford 17-16 after Luke Gale lands late winning drop-goal . BBC Sport . 15 October 2020.
  30. News: Rhinos agree to Seumanufagai release . BBC Sport . 27 December 2020.
  31. Web site: Canterbury Bulldogs set to sign Rabbitohs star Braidon Burns, Storm prop Max King for 2022 NRL season. wwos.nine.com.au.
  32. Web site: NRL 2022: Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs season review. sportingnews.com.
  33. Web site: Leigh Leopards sign prop Ava Seumanufagai from Canterbury Bulldogs. www.leighjournal.co.uk.
  34. Web site: Leigh Leopards 2023 season in review. www.leighleopards.co.uk.