Motu Tony

Iosefo Motu Tony[4] (born 29 May 1981) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a fullback in the 2000s and 2010s. He previously played in the NRL for the New Zealand Warriors and the Brisbane Broncos before playing in the Super League for the Castleford Tigers, Hull F.C. (with whom he won the 2005 Challenge Cup) and the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, and in the RFL Championship for Whitehaven.[2]

Motu Tony
Tony playing for Hull F.C. in 2008
Personal information
Full nameIosefo Motu Tony
Born (1981-05-29) 29 May 1981
Saleimoa, Samoa
Playing information
Height176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight91.5 kg (14 st 6 lb)[1]
PositionFullback, Wing, Five-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2001–03 New Zealand Warriors 55 23 0 0 92
2004 Brisbane Broncos 3 2 0 0 8
2004 Castleford Tigers 9 1 0 0 4
2005–09 Hull F.C. 100 25 0 0 100
2010–12 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 10 1 0 0 4
Total 177 52 0 0 208
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2001–06 New Zealand 13 3 1 0 14
Source: [2][3]

Background

Tony was born in Saleimoa, Samoa.

He attended De La Salle College where he played for the First XIII rugby league team. He played for the Marist Saints in the Auckland Rugby League competition before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors. He played for the Marist-Richmond Brothers in the 2000 Bartercard Cup and also toured Australia with the New Zealand Residents that year.[5][6]

Professional playing career

National Rugby League

Tony made his professional début for the New Zealand Warriors in 2001. He went on to play 55 games for the club, including his appearance at five-eighth in the Warriors' 2002 NRL grand final loss to the Sydney Roosters. In 2004 he moved to the Brisbane Broncos but only played in three games for the club before leaving to play in the Super League.

Super League

Tony initially played for English club Castleford.[7] In 2005 he joined Hull F.C. Tony played fullback for Hull in the 2005 Challenge Cup Final, scoring a try in the victory against Leeds Rhinos. He was part of the New Zealand side that won the Gillette Tri-Nations in 2005, beating Australia in the final 24–0. Hull reached the 2006 Super League Grand final to be contested against St Helens R.F.C. and Tony played on the wing in his side's 4-26 loss. He played in 109 games for Hull before crossing codes to play for National 2 (North) Rugby Union club Hull RUFC.[8] Following the end of the Rugby union season Tony signed for Whitehaven. Tony had represented the New Zealand national rugby league team 18 times between 2001 and 2006.[9]

In 2008 he chose to represent Samoa and was named in the Samoa training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup but withdrew due to injury.[10] In July 2010 it was announced that Tony had signed for a 1-month trial with Championship union side Nottingham Rugby.[11]

On 28 October 2010, Super League club Wakefield Trinity announced the signing of Tony. On 12 June 2010, Tony made his début for Trinity at fullback in their 13–10 home victory over Huddersfield.

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References
  1. "Official site of the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats". web page. Wakefield wildcats. 2011. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  2. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. loverugbyleague
  4. TONY, IOSEFO MOTU 2001 – 2006 – KIWI #686 Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
  5. Johns named halfback and captain AAP Sports News (Australia), 10 October 2000
  6. NZ Residents end trip with a flourish The Press, 27 July 2000
  7. "Statistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk". thecastlefordtigers. 31 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2014.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  8. "Tony makes the switch". Sky Sports. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  9. Roll of Honour nzrl.co.nz, Accessed 18 August 2009
  10. "Samoa name World Cup Squad". League Unlimited. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  11. "Nottingham hand trial to Whitehaven full-back Motu Tony". BBC Sport. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
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