John Folau (born 23 September 1994) is a rugby league and rugby union footballer who plays for the Sydney Rays in the National Rugby Championship competition.[2] He is a former Tonga international rugby league footballer.
 Folau with the Wentworthville Magpies in 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sione Folau[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 September 1994 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 112 kg (17 st 9 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre, Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editFolau was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is of Tongan descent and played his junior football for the Goodna Eagles,[3] Souths Acacia Ridge[4] and Minto Cobras, before being signed by the Parramatta Eels. Folau attended Marsden State High School and Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown, where he represented the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges rugby league team.[5]
Folau is the younger brother of former Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos player, and former NSW Waratahs and Wallabies player Israel Folau.[6]
Rugby league
editEarly career
editFrom 2012 to 2014, Folau played for the Parramatta Eels' NYC team.[7][8] In April 2013, he was 18th man for the Queensland Under-20s team.[9] In May 2014, he played for the Queensland Under-20s team.[10]
2014
editIn October 2014, Folau played for Tonga against Papua New Guinea.[1]
2015
editIn 2015, Folau moved on to the Eels' New South Wales Cup team, Wentworthville Magpies.[11] In Round 3 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Eels against the New Zealand Warriors.[12] On 4 April 2015, he re-signed with the Eels on a 2-year contract.[13] In May 2015, Folau was named 18th man for Tonga against Samoa in the 2015 Polynesian Cup.[14]
2018
editAfter being unable to break into the Parramatta first grade side, Folau signed a contract to join the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles for the 2018 Intrust Super Premiership NSW season.[15]
Rugby union
editNew South Wales Waratahs
editOn 4 September, Folau announced that he was quitting rugby league and switching to rugby union signing with the Sydney Rays.[16] Following Folau's move to the NRC, the New South Wales Waratahs signed Folau shortly before the start of the 2019 season, joining his brother, Israel Folau. He was released in June 2019 without ever playing a match for the team.[17][18]
References
edit- ^ a b "PNG & TONGA SQUADS NAMED FOR TEST MATCH". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- ^ "'I want to play with Izzy': John Folau switches to NRC". www.rugby.com.au. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "Eagles grounded by Folau move | Ipswich Queensland Times". Qt.com.au. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "NRL Player Profile". Archived from the original on 21 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "John Folau - Eels". Parraeels.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Garry, Chris (4 May 2014). "'Mini Izzy' John Folau is ready to carve his own path, outside brother Israel's". couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ "John Folau". NYC DATABASE. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015.
- ^ "supercoach banner Parramatta Eels young gun John Folau set to make his mark in Holden Cup grand final". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Under 20's Origin squads named". NRL.com. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ "Queensland name Under-20s Origin team". NRL.com. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ "TEAM LIST: Wentworthville Magpies Round 2 - Eels". Parraeels.com.au. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Late Mail: NRL Round Three - Eels". Parraeels.com.au. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Eels Re-Signing News - Eels". Parraeels.com.au. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- ^ "Tonga Named To Face Samoa In Pacific Test". Rugbyleagueweek.com.au. 26 April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- ^ "John Folau returns to enjoy his football with Blacktown Workers | Hawkesbury Gazette". Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ "'I want to play with Izzy': John Folau switches to NRC". www.rugby.com.au. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ^ Decent, Tom (6 June 2019). "'Divided loyalties': John Folau granted immediate release from Waratahs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ^ "'No Australian should be fired for their religion': Folau sues over axing". ABC News. 6 June 2019 – via www.abc.net.au.
External links
edit- 2015 Parramatta Eels profile Archived 6 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine