Steve Matai
Stephen Matai (born 5 August 1984) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL )from 2005 to 2016. A New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand national representative centre, he played for Australian club the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. Matai helped the Sea Eagles win the 2008 NRL season, 2008 and 2011 NRL season, 2011 Premierships. He was also part of the New Zealand national squad that won the nation's maiden title at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Known particularly for his uncompromising defence, in 2020, Matai was voted the National Rugby League's hardest hitter over the past 30 years. Background Of Samoan people, Samoan descent, Matai was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 5 August 1984. He is the first cousin of former NRL player, Kiwi and Samoan international Junior Sa'u. Matai grew up with former Warriors and ex-Kiwi teammate Jerome Ropati. Matai played rugby league for Mount Albert Grammar in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, and which has a total population of as of It is the most populous city of New Zealand and the fifth-largest city in Oceania. The city lies between the Hauraki Gulf to the east, the Hunua Ranges to the south-east, the Manukau Harbour to the south-west, and the Waitākere Ranges and smaller ranges to the west and north-west. The surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with 53 volcanic centres that make up the Auckland Volcanic Field. The central part of the urban area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitematā Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have a harbour on each of two sepa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Richmond Rovers
The Richmond Rovers Rugby League Club is a rugby league club based in Grey Lynn, New Zealand. The premier team is called the Richmond Bulldogs/Richmond Rovers and compete in Auckland Rugby League's first grade Fox Memorial competition. They have won the first grade championship on 12 occasions. Early history The club was formed in 1913 by employees at Mr. B. W. Davis' Boot Factory and Elliott's, following a scratch game in 1912. They didn't in fact play an official game until 1914 when they affiliated with the Grafton Athletic club and entered a team in the 4th grade and played in the Grafton Athletic colours. In 1883 the land surrounding Grey Lynn Park was subdivided and the houses were built. The area that is now Grey Lynn Park was too steep to build houses on and so, in 1914, the area was drained and flattened so sport could be played. Flood lights were installed at the park in the 1950s. Richmond's first ever first grade game was against Athletic (Maritime) on April 22, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2005 NRL Season
The 2005 NRL season was the 98th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the eighth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen teams contesting the 2005 Telstra Premiership, which culminated in a grand final between the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys. Season summary In 2005 the NRL's salary cap was $3.25 million for the 25 highest-paid players in a club. The season was statistically the closest season ever, with just sixteen points separating the Parramatta Eels (1st) and Newcastle Knights (15th). It was also notable in that the previous four premiers failed to qualify for the finals ( Bulldogs, Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights). In the middle of 2005 the NRL reached a broadcasting rights agreement with Foxsports and Channel 9 worth $500 million over six years, representing a 65% increase in direct television income. The Knights recorded their worst eve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval, currently known as 4 Pines Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Brookvale, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League, with a capacity of 18,000. By the end of the 2023 season, Brookvale had hosted 720 first grade premiership games. History In the late nineteenth century, the suburb of Brookvale was known as Greendale. The name Brookvale was later adopted as that was the name of the home built by the original grantee of the land, William Francis Parker. It was in this area that Dan Farrell built his stone house called "Inverness" which was later to become Manly Leagues Club. The area known as Lot 47 A (Land Titles Office Vol. 1524 Fol. 122) was sold to Jane Malcolm in April 1907. Land title records suggest that between 1907 and 1911, Malcolm carried out a subdivision of Lot 47A into four blocks. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League season and currently hosts the majority of their home games at fortress Brookvale Oval in Brookvale. They train at the New South Wales Academy of Sport in Narrabeen and their Centre of Excellence in Brookvale. The team colours are maroon and white, and they are commonly known as ''Manly''. The club competed in the NSWRL, ARL, or NRL competitions in all respective seasons from 1947 until 1999. At the end of 1999, they entered into a joint venture with the North Sydney Bears to form the Northern Eagles, which rugby league statisticians regard as a separate club. The Northern Eagles competed in the 2000 and 2001 NRL seasons, after which the joint venture collapsed. The Manly Warringah club (who held the NRL licence) competed in the NRL as t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wynnum Manly Seagulls
The Wynnum Manly Seagulls are an Australian rugby league football club based at Kougari Oval, in Brisbane's bayside suburb of Manly West, Queensland, Manly West, which neighbours the suburb of Wynnum, Queensland, Wynnum. They competed in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership, Brisbane Rugby League from 1951 to 1997. Since 1996 they have competed in the Queensland Cup. Their jersey is red, green and white. From 1995 to 2005 they were known as the Wynnum Seagulls. History Wynnum-Manly entered the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisbane premiership in 1931 but withdrew after two seasons due to the Great Depression. After World War II, the Seagulls re-entered in 1951 as the Wynnum-Manly District Rugby League Football Club, with Jim Cloherty as President until 1964. Before relocating to Kougari Oval in 1967, the club played at Kitchener Park, which now houses the Wynnum Manly Junior Rugby League Club. Wynnum-Manly won only nine matches in their first th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trevor Gillmeister
Trevor Gillmeister (born 13 March 1964) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who is employed as a rugby league analyst at Channel 7 Brisbane. During his playing days, Gillmeister played for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Penrith Panthers and the South Queensland Crushers, as well as representing Queensland and Australia. He played mostly in the second row, though he also spent time at prop, hooker and lock. Gillmeister was known as The Axe to fans of the game because of his punishing tackles. "The Axe" was also the name of the column he wrote for '' The Sunday Mail'' in Brisbane. Today, Gillmeister works as the Asbestos Awareness Ambassador for the Queensland Government and works alongside Accent Benchtops. He has also been the Queensland Maroons' defensive coach since 2006. Background Gillmeister was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australila. Growing up, Gillmeister played football with the Gladstone club in central Queensland. Playi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at Suncorp Stadium in nearby Milton. The club has won six premierships, including two New South Wales Rugby League premierships, a Super League premiership and three NRL premierships. The Broncos have also won two World Club Challenges, and four minor premierships in multiple competitions. In 2024, it reportedly had more members than any other NRL club with 53,672. The club was founded in April 1987 as part of the Winfield Cup's national expansion, becoming, along with the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants, one of Queensland's first two participants in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. The Broncos later became the dominant force in the competition before playing a significant role in the Super League War of the mid-1990s, then contin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sydney Roosters
Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen New South Wales Rugby League premiership, New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and National Rugby League titles, and several other competitions. First founded as the Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club (ESDRLFC), it is the only club to have played in every season at the elite level. The Sydney Roosters have won 15 premierships, equal to the record of the St George Dragons. Only the South Sydney Rabbitohs have won more premierships. The club holds the record for having won more matches than any other in the league, the most minor premierships and the most World Club Challenge trophies. Currently coached by Trent Robinson and captained by James Tedesco, the Roosters play hom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Queensland Maroons
The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales in the State of Origin series. The team is currently coached by Billy Slater and is captained by Cameron Munster, and is administered by the Queensland Rugby League. They play all of their home matches at Brisbane's Lang Park (known due to naming rights as Suncorp Stadium). Since 1908, a rugby league team representing Queensland has been assembled from players based in the state to compete annually against New South Wales. The team used to play matches against other high-profile foreign and domestic touring teams, but has not played anyone other than New South Wales in several decades. From 1980 onwards, when Queensland was first allowed to select players of local origin even if they were currently at clubs outside its b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ipswich Jets
The Ipswich Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Ipswich, Queensland. Their name comes from nearby RAAF Base Amberley, one of the largest airbases in Australia. The Jets compete in the Queensland Cup competition. Originally in the 1980s their colours were green and white, but in recent years gold has been added to the combination. History Ipswich were one of the earliest teams to join the Queensland Rugby League after it was founded as the Queensland Amateur Rugby Football League in 1909. Ipswich even contested two of the QARFL's first three grand finals, winning the title in its first year in the competition in 1910. But a long absence from the competition started shortly thereafter, and Ipswich was not represented in Queensland's top league again until the mid-1980s. From 1982 to 1985, an Ipswich representative team competed in the statewide comps. The following year, an Ipswich team was introduced to the Brisbane Rugby League premiership. They were c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league, rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League, Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fifteen teams, thirteen of which are based in Queensland, with one based in New South Wales and one in Central Province (Papua New Guinea), Central Province, Papua New Guinea. The competition is the present-day embodiment of Queensland's top-level club competition. It replaced the Winfield State League in 1996 and accompanied the Brisbane Rugby League premiership, Brisbane Rugby League, before becoming the premier competition in 1998, following the disbanding of the Brisbane Rugby League premiership, Brisbane Rugby League. History Origin and establishment Since its inaugural season in 1922, the Brisbane Rugby League premiership, Brisbane Rugby League was the premier competition in the state of Queenslan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |