Antonio Winterstein (born 30 May 1988) is a former professional

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 played for the North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. A Samoan international captain, he was a member of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL premiership and

2016 World Club Challenge The 2016 World Club Series (also known as the 2016 Dacia World Club Series due to sponsorship by Dacia) was the second edition of the World Club Series and saw three Super League teams and three National Rugby League (NRL) teams participate. T ...

winning sides.

Background

Born in

Auckland, New Zealand 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 ...

he moved to Brisbane in his early years, playing junior rugby league for

Logan Brothers Logan Brothers was a firm of boat and yacht design and builders. Although their Auckland yard lasted only from 1890 to 1910, it was the most significant yacht- and boat-building business in the Southern Hemisphere during its time, dominating the ...

, and attended Marsden State High School, where his classmates included future NRL stars Israel Folau and Chris Sandow. Winterstein joined the Sydney Roosters

Jersey Flegg Harry "Jersey" Flegg (6 April 1878 in Bolton, Lancashire23 August 1960 in North Sydney, New South Wales) was an English-Australian rugby league identity. Both a player and administrator, he was a leading figure in the birth of the sport in Aust ...

side in 2007 and played for their inaugural NYC in 2008.

Playing career

2009

Following the 2008 Toyota Cup (Under-20s) season, Winterstein returned to Brisbane to be closer to family and was invited to train with the Broncos during the off-season. He was selected to play in Round 1 of the

2009 NRL season The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership ...

against his future club the North Queensland Cowboys, and scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

on début. He scored 16 tries and played almost every game of his first NRL season. He was later named in the New Zealand train-on squad for the 2009 Four Nations series.

2010

Winterstein's streak of 31 consecutive first grade games since his debut was cut in early April 2010 when coach

Ivan Henjak Ivan Henjak (born 9 March 1963)http://broncos.com.au/index.php?page_id=individual_player&player_id=157&team_id=1 Accessed on 23 December 2008. Quote: "Born Croatia 9th Mar 1963" is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and ...

dropped him and

Ben Te'o Ben Te'o (born 27 January 1987) is a former profesional rugby union and rugby league footballer who last played as a er for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. He previously played for both the Wests Tigers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs with wh ...

for turning up to training late in the lead up to the match against the Dragons, which the Broncos lost. As punishment, Winterstein was relegated to second division for a week, and returned the following week against Cronulla. At the end of the

2010 NRL season The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 Octobe ...

, Winterstein's last with Brisbane, he was part of the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

squad for the

2010 Four Nations The 2010 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was played in Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2010. The tournament was the second time the Four Nations had been held, following on from the 2009 edition held in England and France. ...

but not selected to play in any of the tournament's matches.

2011

Winterstein moved to the North Queensland Cowboys on a 3-year deal with starting from the

2011 NRL season The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The NRL ...

. Winterstein broke his jaw in the Cowboys first trial of the year in February against his former club Brisbane, which resulted in him missing the first month of the NRL. Winterstein returned for the Cowboys in Round 5 against the Gold Coast Titans, playing Centre and starring in the win. After 9 NRL games in 2011, Winterstein tore his pectoral muscle and damaged his shoulder badly in the Round 14 clash against the eventual Premiers Manly. Winterstein was ruled out for the remainder of the season, having played 9 games and scored 4 tries.

2012

In 2012 Winterstein edged out fellow Kiwi international Kalifa Faifai Loa for the Cowboys final wing spot, as the club signed talented Grand Final centre

Kane Linnett Kane Linnett (born 11 January 1989) is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a or forward for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League. He has previously played for the Sydney Roosters and the North Queensland Cowboys ...

from the Roosters. Winterstein stayed injury-free in season 2012 and played in all 26 games for the Cowboys; scoring 8 tries. While Wintersteins preferred position is right centre, he was forced to play the majority of the season on the left wing. Winterstein was awarded for his second season with the Cowboys club with a spot in New Zealand's one-off test squad to play against Australia on 13 October 2012. Winterstein made the New Zealand Four Nations squad in 2010 but missed out on selection in 2011 due to injury. On 7 December 2012, it was announced that Winterstein had re-signed with the Cowboys on a three-year-deal, which will keep the Samoan international at the Townsville-based club until at least the 2016 NRL season.

2013

Antonio made his debut for

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 ...

in the Pacific Rugby League International 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 ...

on 20 April 2013. He was selected for Samoa again later in the year to feature in Samoa's

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...

campaign. Winterstein inspired Samoa to the World Cup quarter-finals scoring 5 tries in 4 games. 3 of those tries came against 'The Kumuls' in the group stage.

2014

On 7 October 2014, Winterstein was selected for the Samoa's 24-man squad for the 2014 Four Nations series.

2015

On 4 October 2015, Winterstein was a member of the Cowboys'

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

winning side, starting on the wing in the side's 17–16 victory over the Brisbane Broncos. Winterstein finished the season as the Cowboys' top tryscorer, with a career-high 16 tries.

2016

On 21 February 2016, Winterstein was a member of the Cowboys' World Club Challenge winning side, starting on the wing in the side's 38–4 victory over the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

Headingley Stadium Headingley Stadium is a stadium complex in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, comprising two separate grounds; Headingley Cricket Ground and Headingley Rugby Stadium, linked by a two-sided stand housing common facilities. The grounds a ...

. He was originally selected on the wing for the World All Stars in the NRL All Stars game but would later withdraw with teammate Matthew Wright replacing him, albeit on the bench. On 22 April 2016, Winterstein re-signed with the Cowboys until the end of 2018. On 7 May 2016, Winterstein played for

in the 2016 Polynesian Cup against

, where he played on the wing and scored a try in the 18–6 win 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 ...

2017

On 3 May 2017, Winterstein was named captain for

in their test against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 6 May 2017. In the Cowboys' preliminary final win over the Sydney Roosters, Winterstein played his 150th game for the club. On 1 October, he started on the wing in the Cowboys'

2017 NRL Grand Final The 2017 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2017 National Rugby League season and was played on Sunday October 1 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between minor premiers the Melbourne Storm and ...

loss to the Melbourne Storm. He finished the season with just 4 tries from 19 games, his lowest try tally since 2011.

2018

In Round 2 of the

2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...

, Winterstein played his 200th NRL game. On 25 July 2018, after playing 16 games in the

, Winterstein announced his retirement from rugby league, effective immediately, on advice from the club medical staff due to a persistent knee injury.

Achievements and accolades

Team

2014 NRL Auckland Nines The 2014 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the first NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 30 October 2014. ...

: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners *

2015 NRL Grand Final The 2015 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2015 NRL season and was played on Sunday 4 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys. North Queensland won the match ...

: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners *

: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners

Statistics

NRL

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2018 season''

International

Personal life

Winterstein and his wife Brooke Winterstein (née Peninton) have four daughters, Milanah, Harlan, Novah and Finnlay. Winterstein comes from a very large rugby league family. His uncles are

Paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...

and

Tony Tuimavave Antonio (Tony) Emil Tuimavave is a Samoan former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, who was the head coach of the Ponsonby Ponies from 2010, primarily as a also as a . He was nicknamed The Chief because he ...

, and he is a cousin of

Evarn Tuimavave Evarn Tuimavave (born 28 June 1984) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played as a . Playing career Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuimavave played his junior football for the Pt Chev Pirates, Richmond Rovers and ...

, current

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

player

Carlos Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

and

Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

forward Frank Winterstein. In 2021 Antonio took up coaching for Norths Thuringowa Devils U17s, the first ever under 17s side the club has had. In 2022 Antonio became a coach for PSM academy.

References

External links

North Queensland Cowboys profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winterstein, Antonio 1988 births Living people Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent Brisbane Broncos players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand rugby league players North Queensland Cowboys players NRL All Stars players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league wingers Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan rugby league players Rugby league players from Logan, Queensland Tuimavave family