Fetuli Talanoa (born 23 November 1987) is a former Tonga international rugby league footballer who played as a wing or centre. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League (NRL) and for Hull F.C. in the Super League. He announced his retirement in April 2019.
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| Born | 23 November 1987 Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 99 kg (15 st 8 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editTalanoa was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He is of Tongan ancestry.
Playing career
editTalanoa began his playing career for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL[4] and also played for Souths feeder side The North Sydney Bears in The NSW Cup.[5]
With Norths, Talanoa played 38 games and scored 14 tries.[5]
In 2014, Talanoa signed for Super League club Hull FC. In 2016, he would play in Hull's 12-10 win over the Warrington Wolves in the 2016 Challenge Cup final. This was the first time that Hull had won the cup at Wembley Stadium after 8 previous attempts.[6][7]
In 2017, Hull won the Challenge Cup again with Talanoa scoring a try in the 18-14 win over the Wigan Warriors at Wembley Stadium.[8]
Talanoa announced his immediate retirement from playing on 9 April 2019 after discovering that a pre-season wrist injury which prevented him from making any appearances for Hull F.C. during the first half of the 2019 Super League season would require further surgery.[9]
International
editFetuli has appeared on several occasions for the Tonga with his first international appearances coming during the 2006 Federation Shield competition.
In August 2008, Talanoa was named in the Tonga training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[10] and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man Tonga squad.[11]
He was named in the New Zealand training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[12]
Honours
edit- Challenge Cup: (2) 2016, 2017
References
edit- ^ a b "Hull 1st Team Fetuli Talanoa". Hull FC. Hull FC. 2015. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ loverugbyleague
- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ "Rabbitohs re-sign Talanoa". League Unlimited. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ a b "South Sydney Rabbitohs North Sydney Bears Affiliated Players".
- ^ "Hull FC's Jamie Shaul's late try takes Challenge Cup away from Warrington". Guardian. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ^ "Challenge Cup final: Hull FC 12-10 Warrington Wolves". BBC. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ^ "Hull FC 18-14 Wigan recap as the Black and Whites claim back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs". Mirror. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Hull FC: Fetuli Talanoa retires ages 31 after latest injury". BBC Sport. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Tug-of-war over Mason". Sky Sports. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
- ^ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Kiwis select Sonny Bill". Sky Sports. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.