Enari Tuala (born 19 October 1998) is an Australian 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 11 ...

footballer who plays as a er or for the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

in the NRL. He previously played for 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 ...

in the

National Rugby League 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 ...

, and has represented the

Prime Minister's XIII Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose tea ...

Background

Tuala was born in Cairns,

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, and is of Samoan descent. He played his junior rugby league for the Edmonton Storm, before being signed by the

Playing career

Early career

After being signed by the

, Tuala moved to

Townsville 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 ...

, where he attended Kirwan State High School and played for the

Townsville Stingers Townsville Stingers Rugby League Club are an Australian rugby league football club based in Townsville formed in 1998. The team played in the Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is ...

' Cyril Connell and

Mal Meninga Cup The Mal Meninga Cup, known as the Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup due to sponsorship, is a junior rugby league football competition based in Queensland, played between teams made up of players aged under 18. The competition, administered by the Q ...

sides. In 2014, Tuala represented the Queensland under-16 team. In 2015, Tuala scored a hat trick in the Stingers' Mal Meninga Cup Grand Final victory and was selected for the Queensland under-18 team. Later that year, he scored twice in Kirwan's

ARL Schoolboy Cup The NRL Schoolboy Cup is the premier Education in Australia#Secondary schools, secondary schools rugby league competition in Australia, held annually since 1975. Formerly known under such names as the Amco Shield, Commonwealth Bank Cup, Arrive Al ...

final victory over

Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown is a Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day school for boys, located in Blacktown, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History The College was founded in 1952 by the Patrician Bro ...

. In 2016, Tuala played for North Queensland's

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

side, scoring 12 tries in 15 games. He was again selected for the Queensland under-18 side but was later ruled out through injury.

2017

In early 2017, Tuala trained during the pre-season with North Queensland's first grade squad. He played in their first NRL trial against the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

, scoring a try in the 11-10 win. In May, Tuala played for the

Junior Kangaroos The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. The ...

against the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

, before re-signing with the North Queensland club on a two-year contract until the end of 2019. In round 24 of the

2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...

, he made his NRL debut for the Cowboys against the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...

2018

In Round 13 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 ...

against

Manly Warringah 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 ...

, Tuala scored his first NRL try in North Queensland's 26-12 win at

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by th ...

. On October 6, Tuala made his senior representative debut for the

, coming off the bench and assisting a try in the side's 34–18 win over the

PNG Prime Minister's XIII Papua New Guinea Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PNG PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Papua New Guinean players from the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League, PNG Hunte ...

. A week later, on 13 October, he scored a double in the

40–24 win over the

2019

Tuala played just seven NRL games for North Queensland in 2019. He spent the majority of the season playing for the Northern Pride 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 fou ...

. On 13 September, it was announced that he would not be re-signed by the North Queensland club.

2020

Tuala joined the

on a one-year contract ahead of the 2020 season. Tuala played 20 games for Newcastle in the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-seaso ...

and scored 11 tries. He played in Newcastle's first finals game since 2013 which was a 46-20 loss against South Sydney in the elimination final.

2021

In round 20 of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Tuala scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for Newcastle in a 34-24 victory over Canberra. In round 22, he scored two tries for Newcastle in a 16-14 victory over Cronulla-Sutherland. In week one of the 2021 Finals Series, Tuala scored a

for Newcastle in their 20-28 loss against

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

in the elimination final.

2022

In round 21 of the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

, Tuala scored two tries for Newcastle in a 14-10 victory over fellow cellar dwellers the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional 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 joint-venture ...

. On 16 August, it was announced that Tuala had been stood down from the Newcastle club for not meeting team standards. Tuala had played in the club's loss against

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

in round 22 but failed to make the team bus which was heading to the airport the next morning.

Statistics

NRL

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2019 season''

References

External links

North Queensland Cowboys profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuala, Enari 1998 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian people of Samoan descent North Queensland Cowboys players Newcastle Knights players Northern Pride RLFC players Prime Minister's XIII players Junior Kangaroos players Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from Cairns