Alex Elisala (17 August 1992 – 29 April 2013) was a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who was contracted to the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

at the time of his death. He primarily played as a .

Early life

Elisala was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand, and moved to

Woodridge, Queensland Woodridge is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Woodridge had a population of 12,579 people. Woodridge was home to a major timber reserve. Geography Booran is a neighbourhood with the subur ...

, Australia when he was one year old. Of Samoan descent, he played his junior rugby league for the Logan Brothers, before moving to

Townsville, Queensland Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

. Whilst there he attended

Ignatius Park College Ignatius Park College is an Independent school, independent Catholic school, Catholic secondary school for boys, located in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The school is affiliated with Edmund Rice Education Australia network that operates un ...

, and became close friends with future Cowboys teammate Michael Morgan.

Playing career

Elisala played 69 games for the Cowboys in the National Youth Competition from 2010 to 2012. He started his NYC career as a , and before moving into the position. He represented the Queensland under-20 team on 21 April 2012. In 2013, Elisala progressed into the Cowboys' NRL training squad. He began the season playing for their feeder team, the

Mackay Cutters The Mackay Cutters are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Mackay, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup in 2007, alongside th ...

, in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

. On 20 April 2013, he debuted for the Samoan national team in their

Pacific Rugby League International The Pacific Rugby League International is a rugby league test match that has been played between two Pacific Island nations during the National Rugby League's annual representative weekend since 2013. The fixture was held at Penrith Stadium for ...

match against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Death

In the early hours of Sunday, 28 April 2013, paramedics and police were called to a Mackay CBD hotel where Elisala, 20, was found unconscious and not breathing after plunging from a hotel balcony. Elisala was admitted to

Mackay Base Hospital The Mackay Base Hospital is the major hospital for the Central Queensland Region situated in Mackay, Queensland, Australia. It is located around from Mackay city centre. The Hospital offers general services to a population of approximately 135 0 ...

, and put on life support. He died the following evening after his condition worsened and his life support system was turned off. Elisala had most recently played for the Cutters on Saturday night, scoring a try in their 22–22 draw with the

Tweed Heads Seagulls The Tweed Heads Seagulls, often referred to simply as Tweed or Seagulls or Tweed Seagulls, is a rugby league club based in Tweed Heads, New South Wales. It is one of only two non-Queensland teams to play in the Queensland Cup, along with the ...

Reaction

The Mackay Cutters retired jersey number 14, which Elisala had worn regularly off the interchange bench, for the remainder of the 2013 season. A minute's silence was observed at

Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...

on 4 May 2013 prior to the Cowboys' NRL match against the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

. The Cowboys players also wore black armbands during the game to honour Elisala. Following the suicide of

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

-contracted

Mosese Fotuaika Mosese Fotuaika (25 March 1992 – 28 February 2013) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who was contracted to the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League. He primarily played . He was of Tongan and New Zealand Māori desc ...

on 28 February 2013, Elisala's death by suicide provoked scrutiny of the NRL's welfare systems for young players.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elisala, Alex 1992 births 2013 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Samoa national rugby league team players Mackay Cutters players Rugby league hookers Suicides in Queensland Rugby league players from Auckland 2013 suicides Suicides by jumping in Australia