Tommy Talau (born 30 April 2000) is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and winger for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL).
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| Born | 30 April 2000 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre, Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 21 September 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editTalau was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is the son of former New Zealand and Samoan international, Willie Talau.
Talau played his junior rugby league for the Moorebank Rams. He attended Westfields Sports High School and joined the junior ranks of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. In 2018 he captained the Bulldogs' Under-18 team in the grand final of the S. G. Ball Cup. In the same year he was selected in the Australian Schoolboys rugby league team.[2] At the end of the 2018 season he moved from the Bulldogs to the Wests Tigers, signing a development contract.[3]
Career
edit2019
editTalau made his first-grade debut starting at centre in round 22 of the 2019 NRL season for the Wests Tigers in their 32-12 loss against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval.[4] He became the first player born in the 2000s to play for the Tigers.[5][6]
2020
editIn round 7 of the 2020 NRL season, Talau scored two tries as the Wests Tigers defeated Canterbury-Bankstown 34-6 at Bankwest Stadium.[7]
Talau played 12 games and scored eight tries for Wests Tigers in the 2020 NRL season as the club missed out on the finals by finishing 11th.[8]
2021
editTalau played a total of 22 games for the Wests Tigers and scored 11 tries in the 2021 NRL season as the club finished 13th and missed the finals.[9]
2022
editOn 25 October, Talau signed a one-year deal to remain at the club until the end of 2023. Talau missed the entire 2022 season with a ruptured ACL injury.[10]
2023
editOn 26 June, it was announced that Talau had signed a two-year deal to join Manly starting in 2024.[11] Talau played a total of twelve games for the Wests Tigers in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished with the Wooden Spoon for a second straight year.[12]
2024
editIn round 12 of the 2024 NRL season, Talau scored two tries for Manly in their 26-20 upset victory over Melbourne.[13] In round 14, Talau scored four tries for Manly in their 32-22 loss against Penrith.[14] Talau played 23 matches for Manly in the 2024 NRL season and scored 18 tries as they finished 7th on the table and qualified for the finals. Manly would be eliminated in the second week of the finals by the Sydney Roosters.[15]
References
edit- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ Encarnacion, Matt (15 August 2019). "Tommy Talau son of former Bulldog Willie to debut for Wests Tigers". Wide World of Sports (Nine). Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ Jackson, Andrew (30 July 2019). "Talau poised to follow in famous father's footsteps". New South Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Round 22 NRL team lists". NRL.com. 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Tommy Talau son of former Bulldog Willie to debut for Wests Tigers". WWOS.
- ^ "Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire refuses to give up on one last hurrah for Robbie Farah". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Talau brings wow factor". www.nrl.com.
- ^ "Wests Tigers doomed to another finals miss in 2021, Peter Sterling predicts". wwos.nine.com.au.
- ^ Conrad, Alex (6 October 2021). "Wests Tigers fans savage the club's new-look logo". News.com.au.
- ^ "New deal for Tommy Talau". www.weststigers.com.au.
- ^ "Sea Eagles secure Brooks on mega deal as club announces FOUR signings: Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "'Circus act' that summed up year from hell... and big call left for Benji: Wests Tigers Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Manly teen's dazzling debut; shades of past bad blood after scuffle ensues - What we learned". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "'Day of hat-tricks': Brian To'o and Tommy Talau achieve rare feat in chaotic Manly-Penrith clash". www.nine.com.au.
- ^ "The Mole's season review: Luke Brooks 'revels' at Manly Sea Eagles but 30 seconds of horror luck ends season". www.nine.com.au.