Manu Maʻu

Manu Maʻu (born 24 August 1988), also known by the nickname of "Tongan Terminator", is a rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for Hull F.C. in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both Tonga and New Zealand at international level.

Manu Maʻu
Personal information
Born (1988-08-24) 24 August 1988
Auckland, New Zealand
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight103 kg (16 st 3 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–19 Parramatta Eels 115 15 1 0 62
2020– Hull F.C. 3 1 0 0 4
Total 118 16 1 0 66
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015– Tonga 10 1 0 0 4
2016 New Zealand 6 1 0 0 0
As of 24 September 2019
Source: [1]

He previously played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL.

Background

Ma'u was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Tongan descent. He attended rugby league nursery St Paul's College, Auckland.

He played his junior football for the Richmond Rovers and Marist Saints.

Early years

Ma'u was an original member of Auckland's Roskill South-based "JDK", one of the many street gangs in New Zealand.[2] In 2007, after one of the gang was stabbed during an altercation, the gang gatecrashed a 21st birthday party in an alcohol-fuelled quest for vengeance, found the alleged perpetrators and "unleashed hell".[2] Two months later, Maʻu was arrested along with his brother, Semisi, and later sentenced to three years in prison for his part in the brawl.

Ma'u was released in 2009 to work and continue his rugby league career,[2] and joined the New Zealand Warriors' reserves team the Auckland Vulcans in the New South Wales Cup. But he found himself unable to play away games, as the Australian immigration department denied him a visa, citing his criminal history.[2] In 2013, after his manager and the Parramatta Eels battled for a year to gain the necessary visa, Ma'u moved to Australia to play in the New South Wales Cup for the Wentworthville Magpies, the Eels' reserves team.

A reformed man with a young family of his own, Ma'u was eager to put his past behind him and make the most of his opportunity with the Eels. Ma'u said "I want to repay Parramatta for their faith," "I want to build a future. I want my partner Alisi and my kids [Melino and Levi] to be proud of me and I want my family to realise I'm not that naughty boy that caused them pain."[3]

Playing career

2014

In February 2014, Ma'u was included in the Eels inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad.[4] In Round 1 of the 2014 NRL season, Ma'u made his NRL debut for the Parramatta Eels against the New Zealand Warriors at second-row. Ma’u won the Man of the Match award on debut in the Eels 36-16 win at Parramatta Stadium.[5][6] In Round 4 against the Penrith Panthers, Ma’u scored his first NRL career try in the 32-16 win at Parramatta Stadium.[7] On 5 June 2014, Ma’u extended his contract with the Eels for a further three years to the end of the 2017 season.[8] In Round 14 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium, Ma’u debut year in the NRL was over after suffering a fractured forearm in the Eels 22-12 win.[9] Ma’u finished off his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 13 matches and scoring a try for the Eels in the 2014 NRL season.

2015

On 31 January and 1 February, Ma'u played for the Eels in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.[10] On 2 May, Ma'u represented Tonga in their 2015 Polynesian Cup test-match against Pacific rivals Samoa, playing at second-row in Tonga's 18-16 loss at Cbus Super Stadium.[11] He finished off the 2015 season having played in 22 matches and scoring 5 tries for Eels.[12] On 8 September, he was named in the New Zealand train-on squad,[13] however didn't make the final squad so played for Tonga in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against the Cook Islands for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, playing at second-row in Tonga's 28-8 win at Campbelltown Stadium.[14]

2016

On 1 February 2016, Ma'u was named in the Eels' 2016 NRL Auckland Nines squad.[15] On 6 May 2016, Ma'u made his debut for New Zealand against Australia in the 2016 Anzac Test, starting at second-row in the 16-0 loss at Hunter Stadium.[16][17] On 15 September 2016 at the Eels presentation night, Ma’u was awarded with the Ken Thornett Medal as being the club's Players’ Player of the year.[18][19] Ma’u finished the 2016 NRL season with him playing in 22 matches and scoring 2 tries for the Eels. On 25 September 2016, Ma’u was rewarded for his solid season with the club by getting his contract extended to the end of the 2019 season.[20] On 4 October 2016, Ma’u was selected in the New Zealand Kiwis 24-man squad for the 2016 Four Nations.[21] Ma’u played in all 5 matches of the tournament including starting at second-row in the Kiwis 34-8 Four Nations Final loss against Australia at Anfield.[22][23]

2017

In the 2017 season, Ma'u played 24 games for Parramatta as they finished fourth on the table at the end of the season and qualified for the finals which was the club's first appearance since the 2009 season.[24][25]

Ma'u elected to switch his national allegiance Tonga in 2017. He was named in the Tonga squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and played in every match of their historic charge to the semi-finals.[26] He scored a try in their victory over arch-rivals Samoa.

2018

On 27 June 2018, Ma'u was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a fractured cheekbone in a middle of the season test match while playing for Tonga against Samoa. Even though Parramatta were running last at the time, Ma'u was cited as being one of the better players in the struggling side.[27]

2019

After missing the start of the season through injury, Ma'u made his return for Parramatta in Round 7 against Newcastle scoring a try in a 28-14 loss.[28] On 8 July 2019, it was announced that Ma'u had signed a 2-year deal with Hull F.C. in England starting in the 2020 Super League season.[29]

At the end of the 2019 regular season, Parramatta finished in 5th place on the table and qualified for the finals. In the elimination final against Brisbane, Ma'u kicked a goal in his last home game as Parramatta won the match 58-0 at the new Western Sydney Stadium. The victory was the biggest finals win in history, eclipsing Newtown's 55-7 win over St George in 1944. The match was also Parramatta's biggest win over Brisbane and Brisbane's worst ever loss since entering the competition in 1988.[30]

Ma'u played his final game for Parramatta the following week as the club were defeated 32-0 by Melbourne in the elimination semi final at AAMI Park.[31]

References
  1. "Manu Ma'u - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  2. "Parramatta Eels recruit Manu Ma'u rises from big house to the big time". smh.com.au. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  3. "Rising Eels star Manu Ma'u's free fairytale | Stuff.co.nz". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  4. "Squads For Auckland Nines". Rugby League Week. 2014-02-14. Archived from the original on 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  5. "Eels vs Warriors Late Mail - Eels". parraeels.com.au. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  6. "Eels thrilled with Ma'u debut". NRL.com. 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  7. Adrian Proszenko (2014-03-29). "Parramatta Eels beat Penrith Panthers 32-16". Theage.com.au. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  8. "Parramatta Eels Safeguard Future After Re-Signing Manu Mau, Kenny Edwards and Vai Toutai". Dailytelegraph.com.au. 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  9. "Parramatta Eels Overcome Jarryd Hayne Absence With Classy Victory Over Canterbury Bulldogs". Dailytelegraph.com.au. 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  10. "EELS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 2015-01-26. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  11. "Sam Kasiano Try Saving Tackle on Jorge Taufua Secures Pacific Test Win for Samoa Against Tonga". Foxsports.com.au. 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  12. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 2015-11-01. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  13. "League: Kiwis to manage Mannering's workload on England tour". The New Zealand Herald.
  14. "Tonga qualify for 2017 World Cup". NRL.com. 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  15. "Eels name 2016 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  16. "UPDATED: Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  17. "From watching the Kiwis in prison to making NZ debut for Manu Ma'u". Stuff.co.nz. 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  18. "Manu Ma'u claims Ken Thornett Medal". Parreels.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  19. "Your club's 2016 player of the year". Nrl.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  20. "NRL 2016: Manu Ma'u re-signs with Eels, Dragons' Luciano Leilua — Private Ryan". Fox Sports. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  21. "Four Nations: New Zealand Kiwis David Kidwell names rookies Jordan Rapana, Joseph Tapine". Fox Sports. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  22. "Fast start the key for Kiwis in Four Nations final, says Manu Ma'u". Stuff. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  23. "Four Nations rugby league: Australia Kangaroos beat New Zealand Kiwis live scores, updates, live blog, news". Fox Sports. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  24. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/market-watch-transfer-chat-eels-bargain-basement-gamble-thats-paid-off-big-time/news-story/6851bcc4ae2855f3c56aeef63873f8a2
  25. https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/Ny0xNjk2LTQtLS0tLS0yMDcxNi0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0=
  26. https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/mark-geyer-says-jason-taumalolo-has-changed-the-world-cup-forever/news-story/0708c55290b3d8d36727d7a453431a31
  27. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/eels/brad-arthur-has-given-his-players-nine-games-to-prove-they-deserve-to-keep-their-spots-at-the-parramatta-eels/news-story/8bcc362b8dc3595bff0122b8085d7bd8
  28. "Newcastle Knights show true colours in much-needed win against Parra". www.theherald.com.au.
  29. "Manu Ma'u: Parramatta Eels back-rower joins Super League side Hull FC from 2020". BBC.
  30. "Parramatta Eels eliminate Brisbane Broncos from the NRL Finals with a thumping 58-0 win". ABC.
  31. "Melbourne Storm crush Parramatta 32-0 in their semi-final to set up prelim against the Roosters". ABC.
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