Ken Sio (born 29 October 1990) is a professional rugby league footballer who last played on the wing for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League.
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ken Sio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 October 1990 Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.81 m)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st 13 lb (95 kg)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 5 December 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He has previously played for the Parramatta Eels, the Newcastle Knights in the NRL, and Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.
Background
editSio was born in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia.
Playing career
editHaving played his junior football for the Wentworthville Magpies, Sio went on and played in the Under 20s Toyota Cup in the 2009 and 2010 seasons for the Parramatta Eels.
Going on to train with the first-grade side before breaking his leg in a trial game in 2011, Sio returned halfway through the season for the Cabramatta Two Blues in the Bundaberg Red Cup.[citation needed]
Parramatta Eels (2011–14)
editSio made his National Rugby League début in round 26 of the 2011 season, he played on the wing against the Gold Coast Titans, also scoring his début try in the same match.
In June 2011, he re-signed with the Parramatta Eels until 2014, along with teammates Matt Ryan and Joseph Paulo respectively.[4]
Sio was seen as the shining light in 2012, which was a terrible season for the Parramatta Eels as they finished last on the table for the first time since 1972, when he scored 13 tries and subsequently came 6th in the NRL's top try scorers table for the season.
He was injured in round 1 of the 2013 season against the Warriors, in which he was replaced by debutant, Vai Toutai. Sio returned from injury to play 20 games for Parramatta in 2013 and scored 10 tries but it was not enough to save Parramatta from a second consecutive wooden spoon.[5]
In the 2014 NRL season, Sio scored 13 tries in 12 games as Parramatta narrowly missed the finals.[6]
Hull Kingston Rovers (2015-16)
editOn 31 July 2014, Sio signed a contract to play for Super League club Hull Kingston Rovers from 2015.[7]
On 8 February 2015, he made his début for Hull Kingston Rovers in round 1 of the Super League season against the Leeds Rhinos. He then scored his first-ever Super League try against the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in round 2.
He represented the club in the 2015 Challenge Cup Final.
Sio suffered relegation from the Super League with Hull Kingston Rovers in the 2016 season, due to losing the Million Pound Game by the Salford Red Devils.
That same game proved to be his last appearance for Hull Kingston Rovers, as he went onto join the Newcastle Knights ahead of the 2017 NRL season.[citation needed]
Newcastle Knights (2017-18)
editOn 31 October 2016, Sio signed a 2-year contract to return to the National Rugby League with the Newcastle Knights.[8]
In the 2017 NRL season, Sio played 21 games and scored 5 tries as Newcastle finished last on the table for a third straight season.[9]
On 21 April 2018, in round 7 of the 2018 season, Sio scored his first hat-trick of tries for Newcastle in their 22-20 win over the Wests Tigers at Tamworth.[10]
Sio failed to come to terms with the Newcastle Knights over a new deal to remain at the club, after a well documented dispute over a contract that they had offered him previously. He then subsequently took the decision to make his return to the Super League.[citation needed]
Salford Red Devils (2019 - 2023)
editIt was revealed on 18 October 2018, that Sio had signed a three-year contract to play for Salford in the Super League ahead of the 2019 season. Sio made his début for Salford on 1 February 2019, in a 14-34 victory over Huddersfield at the John Smiths Stadium.
He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final defeat by St. Helens at Old Trafford.[11][12][13] In round 22 of the 2021 Super League season, and scored four tries for Salford in a 42-14 victory over Hull F.C.[14] At the end of the 2021 season the talented player finished as the competition's top try scorer.[15] In round 2 of the 2022 Super League season, he scored four tries in a 38-12 victory over Toulouse Olympique.[16] In round 19 of the 2022 Super League season, Sio scored a hat-trick in Salford's 32-6 win over Catalans.[17] In the 2023 Super League season, Sio played 24 games for Salford and scored 12 tries as the club finished 7th on the table.[18]
On 5 December 2023, Salford reported that he had departed on compassionate grounds, despite signing a new contract at the end of the 2023 season.[19]
International
editOn 25 June 2021 he played for the Combined Nations All Stars, and scored two tries, in their 26-24 victory over England, staged at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, as part of England's 2021 Rugby League World Cup preparation.[citation needed]
After missing out on initial selection, he was called up as a replacement into the Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[20]
References
edit- ^ a b "Ken Sio Hull Kingston Rovers". www.superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Players - Love Rugby League". Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Ken Sio - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 29 October 1990. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ "Profile at Eels". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Parramatta Eels work to erase bitter memories of 2013's wooden spoon season". Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Sangster, Tom (12 September 2014). "2014 NRL season reviews of the New Zealand Warriors and Parramatta Eels". News.com.au.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (31 July 2014). "Hull Kingston Rovers sign Ken Sio". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ NRL Digital Media (31 October 2016). "Knights sign Ken Sio - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ "Knights 2017 season review". NRL.com. 3 September 2017.
- ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "NRL 2018 - Round 7 - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ Unwin, Will (12 October 2019). "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
- ^ "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Salford 42-14 Hull: Four tries from Ken Sio inspires Red Devils to big win". www.loverugbyleague.com. 30 August 2021.
- ^ "Ken Sio leading the way once again". www.loverugbyleague.com. 21 February 2022.
- ^ "Salford Red Devils 38-12 Toulouse Olympique - Ken Sio runs in four tries". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Salford 32-6 Catalans Dragons: Ken Sio scores hat-trick to keep Red Devils' Super League play-off hopes alive". www.skysports.com.
- ^ "Salford Red Devils' 2023 season in review". www.salfordnow.co.uk. 2 October 2023.
- ^ "Salford Red Devils confirm departure of star winger weeks after penning new deal". Love Rugby League. 5 December 2023.
- ^ Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
External links
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