Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (born 17 August 1995) is a New Zealand professional

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 plays as a er or 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 ...

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 ...

(NRL) and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

at international level. He previously played for 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 ...

and the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

in the NRL.

Background

Watene-Zelezniak was born in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton (, ) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's List of c ...

, and is from

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

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 ...

n and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

descent and is from the

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

Iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. Watene-Zelezniak lived in

Ngāruawāhia Ngāruawāhia () is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located north-west of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato River, Waikato and Waipā Rivers, adjacent to the Hakarimata Rang ...

, before moving to

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

as a 5-year old. He played his junior rugby league for the St Clair Comets, before being signed by the

. He attended St.Dominic’s College, Penrith and

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 ...

. Watene-Zelezniak is the great-grandson of former

New Zealand rugby league The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...

captain and politician,

Steve Watene Steve Watene (birth unknown) is a former professional 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 play ...

. Dallin is the younger brother of former

and

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

winger

Malakai Watene-Zelezniak Malakai Watene-Zelezniak (born 27 August 1991) is a former rugby league footballer who played on the . He played for the Penrith Panthers in two separate spells, and the Wests Tigers in the NRL. Watene-Zelezniak briefly played rugby union for ...

Playing career

In April 2013, Watene-Zelezniak re-signed with the Panthers on a 2-year contract. On 26 June 2013, in the curtain raiser to Game 2 of the

2013 State of Origin series The 2013 State of Origin series was the 32nd time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. It was the first series to be administered by the ...

, Watene-Zelenziak played for New South Wales under 18’s against Queensland under 18’s at

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

, scoring a hattrick of tries in the 56-6 smashing win. On 6 October 2013, Watene-Zelezniak played in the Panthers 2013 Holden Cup Grand Final against the

, playing on the wing in the 42–30 victory. Watene-Zelezniak was also selected to play for both the

Australian Schoolboys The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball. Other popular team sports in Australia such as cricket, basketball, association footbal ...

team and

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 ...

team. He eventually chose to play for the Junior Kiwis. On 13 October 2013, Watene-Zelezniak played for the Junior Kiwis 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 ...

, playing on the wing and scoring 2 tries in the 38–26 loss at

WIN Stadium Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawa ...

2014

In 2014, Watene-Zelezniak moved on to play in the Panthers

NSW 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 ...

team, before being included in the Panthers first grade squad. In Round 5 of the

2014 NRL season The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Leagu ...

, Watene-Zelezniak made his NRL debut for the

against the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

, scoring 2 tries on debut in the Panthers 12–6 win at

Penrith Stadium Penrith Stadium, currently known as BlueBet Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthe ...

. While playing in the Panthers NSW Cup side, Watene-Zelezniak was hit with a 4-match suspension after he performed an eye gouge on a

Wyong Roos The Wyong Rugby League Football Club are an Australian rugby league club based on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. The club competed in the New South Wales Cup from 2013 to 2018 and still competes in the Cen ...

player during their 32–24 win. Watene-Zelezniak finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 10 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Panthers in the

. On 7 October 2014, Watene-Zelezniak's impressive late season form saw him included in the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

24-man squad for the 2014 Four Nations. However he was later ruled out after he suffered a foot injury at training.

2015

On 5 February 2015, Watene-Zelezniak extended his contract with the Panthers until the end of 2016. On 28 April 2015, Watene-Zelezniak was ruled out of making his international debut for New Zealand in the

2015 Anzac Test The 2015 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. It was the 16th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 19 ...

after he was charged with a dangerous throw on

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

player

Wade Graham Wade Graham (born 25 October 1990) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward and captained the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for at international level ...

. The suspension denied Watene-Zelezniak his New Zealand debut for the second time in 6-months. In Round 18, against the

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 Lea ...

, Watene-Zelezniak suffered a collapsed lung during the Panthers 24–4 loss at

and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Watene-Zelezniak finished off 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 ...

with him playing in 16 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Panthers. On 10 November 2015, Watene-Zelezniak extended his contract with the Panthers until the end of 2017.

2016

In February, Watene-Zelezniak was named in the Panthers'

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 ...

squad. On 6 May 2016, Watene-Zelezniak made his international debut for New Zealand against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

2016 Anzac Test The 2016 Anzac Test (known as the Downer Anzac Test due to sponsorship) was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle. It was the 17th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the ...

, playing on the wing in the 16–0 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 ...

. Watene-Zelezniak finished the

2016 NRL season The 2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 19th 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, ...

with him playing in all of the Panthers 26 matches and scoring 12 tries. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak

At the end of season, Watene-Zelezniak was selected in the New Zealand 24-man squad for the 2016 Four Nations. Watene-Zelezniak played in one match in the tournament, playing at fullback in the Kiwis 18-all draw against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Derwent Park Derwent Park is a Rugby League Stadium and former motorcycle speedway in Workington, England situated beside the Cumbrian River Derwent. It is used mostly for rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Workington Town who play in Leagu ...

2017

On 3 April 2017, Watene-Zelezniak extended his contract with the Panthers to the end of the 2020 season. On 5 May 2017, Watene-Zelezniak played for New Zealand against

in the

2017 Anzac Test The 2017 Anzac Test was a Test match (rugby league), rugby league test match played between Australia national rugby league team, Australia and New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand at Canberra Stadium. It was the 18th and last Anzac ...

, playing on the wing in the 30–12 loss at

Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium, commercially known as GIO Stadium Canberra, is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sp ...

. On 22 July 2017, Watene-Zelezniak was involved in an ugly incident at a junior rugby league match. The Kiwi international who was volunteering as a touch judge between his junior club the St Clair Comets and the St Mary Saints was abused by an official from St Mary's after he put his flag up to signify a St Mary’s player had stepped into touch, the altercation would become physical, with the official putting his hands around the Panthers star’s neck and wrestling with him. "It was very ugly and parents and officials had to take the kids across the field before a few people eventually broke it up," an eyewitness explained. The official was later copped with a lifetime ban from Junior Rugby League. Watene-Zelezniak finished 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, ...

with him playing in 24 matches and scoring 9 tries for the Panthers. On 5 October 2017, Watene-Zelezniak was named in the 24-man New Zealand Kiwis squad 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 ...

. On 11 November 2017, in the Kiwis entertaining clash against

, Watene-Zelezniak scored his first try for the Kiwis in the shock 28–22 loss at

Waikato Stadium FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, th ...

. Watene-Zelezniak played in 3 matches and scored 1 try for the Kiwis in their disappointing World Cup campaign.

2019

On 9 June 2019, Watene-Zelezniak was released from his contract with the

effective immediately to sign with the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

. Watene-Zelezniak made a total of 10 appearances for Canterbury in his first year at the club. During the mid-way part of the season, Canterbury found themselves sitting last on the table and in real danger of finishing with the wooden spoon. However, for the third straight season, Canterbury achieved four upset victories in a row over Penrith, the

, South Sydney and

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

who were all competing for a place in the finals series and were higher on the table. Canterbury ended the season in 12th place.

2020

In round 12 of 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 ...

against arch rivals Parramatta, Watene-Zelezniak played the ball in the opposite direction giving a penalty to Parramatta in which they scored off the next play. Canterbury would go on to lose the match 18-16 at

ANZ Stadium Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...

leaving them on the bottom of the table. He made a total of 18 appearances for Canterbury in the

. The club finished in 15th place on the table, only avoiding the

Wooden Spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

by for and against.

2021

In round 1 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 ...

, he scored two tries for Canterbury in a 32-16 loss against Newcastle. On 20 June, Watene-Zelezniak played his final game for Canterbury in round 15 against

which ended in a 36-10 defeat. He then signed a three-and-a-half-year deal to join the

effective immediately. On 2 July, Watene-Zelezniak played his first game for the

in a one point loss to St. George Illawarra.

2022

He made a total of 19 appearances for the New Zealand Warriors in the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season was 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 ...

as they finished 15th on the table. In October he was named in the New Zealand squad for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received � ...

. In the second group stage match at the

, Watene-Zelezniak scored four tries in New Zealand's 68-6 victory over Jamaica.#

2023

In round 8 of the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season was the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, the longest in league history, followed by a finals series ...

, Watene-Zelezniak scored two tries in New Zealand's 30-22 loss against

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In round 14, Watene-Zelezniak scored two tries for New Zealand in their 30-8 victory over the

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

. In round 17, Watene-Zelezniak scored four tries as New Zealand defeated St. George Illawarra 48-18. In round 20, Watene-Zelezniak scored two tries for New Zealand in their 44-12 victory over

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central ...

. In round 25, Watene-Zelezniak 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 Wick ...

in the clubs 29-22 victory over Manly. He played 24 games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2023 NRL season and scored 27 tries as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals. He played in all three finals games as the club reached the preliminary final before being defeated by Brisbane. He earned a place in the Dally M team of the year. Finishing with fellow Kiwi's Teammate Jamayne Issako, as Wingers of the year.

2024

In round 26 of the

2024 NRL season The 2024 NRL season was the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, followed by a finals series contested by the top eight ...

, Watene-Zelezniak scored his 100th first grade try in the New Zealand Warriors 30-28 victory over Cronulla. Watene-Zelezniak played 22 games for the club throughout the season and scored 15 tries as they missed the finals. On 18 October 2024, Watene-Zelezniak had re-signed with the Warriors until the end of 2027.

2025

On 12 February, it was announced that Watene-Zelezniak would be ruled out indefinitely after dislocating his wrist during the New Zealand Warriors trial game against Cronulla.

Statistics

source

Personal life

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak with his brother started a watch company called W Zelezniak. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is the younger brother of former NRL player

References

External links

Canterbury Bulldogs profilePenrith Panthers profileNRL profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watene-Zelezniak, Dallin 1995 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Australian company founders Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Junior Kiwis players New Zealand emigrants to Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team captains New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand people of Polish descent New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players Penrith Panthers players People from Ngāruawāhia People educated at Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Hamilton, New Zealand Rugby league wingers Waikato Tainui people