Albert Vete () (born 24 January 1993) is a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who last played as a forward for the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

. He previously played for the

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

and the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

, and

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

in the

. He has also spent time on loan from Castleford at

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

and

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

in League 1.

Background

Vete was born in

Auckland 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 ...

, New Zealand. He is of Tongan descent. Vete was educated at

Saint Kentigern College Saint Kentigern College is a private co-educational Presbyterian secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. The school is operated by the Saint Kentigern Trust Board. Established in 1953, the college is semi co-educational, with a single-gender ...

, playing

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and captaining their first XV to the Auckland title.

Playing career

Early years

Vete switched to rugby league in 2012, signing with the New Zealand Warriors and playing in their under 20's side while studying towards a Bachelor of Physical Education. Vete was part of the Junior Warriors side that played in 2013 Holden Cup Grand Final against the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

juniors, playing at prop and scoring a try in the 30–42 loss. On 13 October 2013, Vete played for 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 Sup ...

against 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. Th ...

at prop in the Kiwis' 26–38 loss. In 2014 Vete joined the full-time squad and played in 19 games in the

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

for the Warriors.

2015

In Round 1 of the

2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followe ...

, Vete made his first grade

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

debut for the New Zealand Warriors against the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

off the interchange bench in the Warriors 24–14 loss at

Hunter Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre, currently known as McDonald Jones Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, Australia. The ground is home to the Newcastle Knight ...

. On 2 May 2015, Vete played for Tonga against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

in the

Polynesian Cup The Polynesian Cup is a rugby league football test match played between Samoa and Tonga first played in 2010. The matches in 2015, 2016 and 2018 were played as double-headers with the Melanesian Cup. Results See also *Polynesia Cup – sim ...

, playing off the interchange bench in Tonga's 16–18 loss at Cbus Super Stadium. On 7 July 2015, Vete re-signed with the Warriors on a 2-year contract to the end of the 2017 season. In Round 20 against the

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 sea ...

, Vete scored his first NRL career try in the Warriors 32–12 loss at

Mt Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium, currently known as Go Media Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League a ...

. Vete finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 2 tries. On 17 October 2015, Vete played for Tonga in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

for the

2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...

. He played at prop in Tonga's 28–8 win at

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Leumeah, a suburb in South Western Sydney, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. Formerly known as Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, it is currently the home ground ...

2016

In February, Vete played for the Warriors in the

2016 NRL Auckland Nines The 2016 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the third NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 6–7 February 2016 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. As with previous tournaments, it wa ...

. On 2 May, The New Zealand Herald reported five players were stood down from an international test match for mixing prescription drugs with energy drinks on a night out. The recipe can emulate the effect of illicit drugs. Vete was one of the players named who was involved in the activity.

2018

In July, Vete was a mid season trade from the

Warriors A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

. He made his

debut against St. George Illawarra in their round 17 clash.

2019

In the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

, Vete made only one appearance which came against St. George Illawarra in round 16 where Melbourne won 16–14.

2020

Vete made only six appearances for Melbourne 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-season ...

. He did not play in the finals series or the

2020 NRL Grand Final The 2020 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2020 National Rugby League season held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on October 25. The match was contested between minor premiers Penrith Panthers and second-placed Me ...

for Melbourne. At the end of the season, he signed a contract to join

Hull KR Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

2021

In round 18 of the

2021 Super League season Super League XXVI, known as the 2021 Betfred Super League XXVI for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Super League and 127th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The 2021 season was originally scheduled to begin on 11 March 2021 ...

, Vete was controversially sent to the sin bin during Hull KR's 34–28 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

. In the elimination play off match against

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

, Vete was sent to the sin bin during Hull KR's 19–0 victory. Vete made a total of 13 appearances including the club's semi-final defeat against the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

2022

On 29 August, it was announced that Vete would be one of eleven players who were to depart

at the end of the 2022 season. On 24 September, it was announced that he had signed a two-year deal to join

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

2023

On 5 April 2023 it was reported that he would join

on a short-term loan deal.

2024

On 19 Apr 24

confirmed that Vete had been released by the club

References

External links

Melbourne Storm profileNew Zealand Warriors profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vete, Albert 1993 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Castleford Tigers players Doncaster R.L.F.C. players Featherstone Rovers players Hull Kingston Rovers players Junior Kiwis players Melbourne Storm players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand Warriors players People educated at Saint Kentigern College Point Chevalier Pirates players Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league props Tonga national rugby league team players Tongan expatriate rugby league players in Australia Tongan expatriate rugby league players in England Tongan expatriate rugby league players Tongan rugby league players