Bunty Afoa Explained

Bunty Afoa
Fullname:Iulio Afoa[1]
Birth Date:1996 8, df=yes
Birth Place:Auckland, New Zealand
Height:188cm (74inches)
Weight:113kg (249lb)
Year1start:2016
Year1end:present
Appearances1:138
Tries1:8
Goals1:0
Fieldgoals1:0
Points1:32
Teama:Samoa
Yearastart:2016
Yearaend:22
Appearancesa:8
Triesa:0
Goalsa:0
Fieldgoalsa:0
Pointsa:0
Teamb:Samoa 9s
Yearbstart:2019
Appearancesb:3
Triesb:0
Goalsb:0
Fieldgoalsb:0
Pointsb:0
Source:[2]
Updated:26 May 2024

Iulio "Bunty" Afoa (born 20 August 1996) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Background

Afoa was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Samoan[3] descent and attended St Paul's College.

He played his junior rugby league for the Point Chevalier Pirates, before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors.

Playing career

Early career

From 2014 to 2016, Afoa Loni Lolohea played for the New Zealand Warriors' NYC team.[4] [5] In May 2015, he was selected as 18th man for the Junior Kiwis side to play the Junior Kangaroos.[6] Afoa played in his 50th Holden Cup match in 2015 and was named the Junior Warriors player of the year at the end of the season.[7]

2016

On 23 June, Afoa re-signed with the Warriors on a three-year contract until the end of 2019.[8] In Round 17 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Warriors against the Gold Coast Titans.[9] [10] On 8 October, he made his international debut for Samoa in their historical test match against Fiji in Apia.[11]

2017

In the 2017 NRL season, Afoa made 17 appearances as the club finished a disappointing 13th on the table.[12]

2018

Afoa made 23 appearances for New Zealand in the 2018 NRL season as the club qualified for the finals for the first time since 2011. Afoa played in the club's elimination final loss to Penrith.[13]

2019

Afoa played 20 games for New Zealand in the 2019 NRL season as the club missed out on the finals.

2020

On 18 February, Afoa was ruled out for the entire 2020 NRL season after suffering an ACL injury at pre-season training.[14]

2021

On 10 June, the New Zealand Warriors announced that Afoa had signed a new two-year contract. [15]

2022

In round 13 of the 2022 NRL season, Afoa was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul and later scored a try in New Zealand's 44-12 loss against Manly.[16] Afoa made a total of 24 appearances for the New Zealand club as they finished 15th on the table.[17]

2023

Afoa played 21 games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals.[18]

Statistics

!Season!Team!Pld!T!G!FG!P
2016 New Zealand Warriors428
20171714
201823
20192014
20212028
20222414
20232114
2024 *5
Totals 127832
*denotes season competing

source:[19]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NRL. Bunty Afoa - Warriors. Warriors.kiwi. 2016-07-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20160706070621/http://www.warriors.kiwi/team/profiles/bunty_afoa.html. 2016-07-06. dead.
  2. Web site: Bunty Afoa - Career Stats & Summary. Rugby League Project. 2016-07-16.
  3. Web site: NRL: Family first for Bunty Afoa - Sport - NZ Herald News. Nzherald.co.nz. 2016-07-15. 2016-11-30.
  4. Web site: A. Nyc Database. 2016-07-02.
  5. Web site: Tim Costello. LeagueUnlimited NYC Teams - 2016 Round 5. League Unlimited. 2016-03-29. 2016-07-02.
  6. Web site: Zero Tackle. Junior Kiwis squad named. Zero Tackle. 2015-04-26. 2016-07-02.
  7. http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/72086197/ben-matulino-wins-warriors-player-of-year-award-for-second-time Ben Matulino wins Warriors' player of year award for second time
  8. Web site: NRL. Kata secured - Warriors. Warriors.kiwi. 2016-07-02.
  9. Web site: Updated team lists: Warriors v Titans. NRL.com. 2016-02-28. 2016-07-02.
  10. Web site: NRL. NRL LATE MAIL | #Mannering250 - Warriors. Warriors.kiwi. 2016-07-02.
  11. Web site: Toa Samoa squad named for Fiji Test . Asia Pacific Rugby League . 3 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161008102917/http://www.asiapacificrl.com/2016/10/03/toa-samoa-squad-named-fiji-test/ . 8 October 2016.
  12. Web site: Official Player Numbers. Parramatta Eels.
  13. Web site: Warriors: 2017 by the numbers. www.nrl.com.
  14. Web site: Big blow for New Zealand Warriors, as Bunty Afoa is ruled out for NRL season. www.nzherald.co.nz.
  15. Web site: NRL 2021: Prop Bunty Afoa extends NZ Warriors contract through to end of 2023 season . NewsHub . 10 June 2021 . 17 September 2021.
  16. Web site: No DCE, no worries as Manly ‘man mountain’ stuns; star’s no-show for ‘diabolical’ Warriors: 3 Big Hits. www.foxsports.com.au.
  17. Web site: Warriors farewell 15 players after return to New Zealand. www.foxsports.com.au.
  18. Web site: NRL 2023: New Zealand Warriors season review. www.sportingnews.com.
  19. Web site: 2024-04-16 . Bunty Afoa . 2024-04-28 . Warriors . en.