David Hala (born 25 October 1989) 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 plays for the

Redcliffe Dolphins Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisbane R ...

in the

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 ...

. He previously played for the

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 ...

and the Gold Coast Titans in the

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 ...

. He made his NRL debut in round 21 of the 2009 NRL season. He was recorded as the Broncos strongest ever player bench pressing a new record of 187 kg, the previous being Brad Thorn's 175 kg.

Background

Hala was born in

Redcliffe, Queensland Redcliffe is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. It also refers colloquially to the Redcliffe Peninsula as a whole, a peninsula jutting into Moreton Bay which contain ...

, Australia. He is of Tongan descent.

Playing career

Hala played his junior rugby league for the

, before he was signed by 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 ...

for an $80,000 contract.

2008

In 2008, Hala played for the

under-20s team.

2009

In 2009, Hala played for the

under-20s team. Whilst playing for the under-20s team he then was selected to make his debut 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 ...

in a 0–56 loss to Canberra in round 21. He played one game in 2009 in the

from the bench.

2010

In 2010, Hala played for the Redcliffe Dolphins before he suffered a season-ending injury he did not play first grade the whole of the 2010 season.

2011

In 2011, Hala started the year playing for the Redcliffe Dolphins then, in round 9, he got selected to play first grade for the Brisbane Broncos in the round nine clash against 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 ...

and in round 15, he scored his first NRL career try, against the St George Illawarra Dragons. He played 15 games all off the bench in 2011 for a try and also played in the 3 finals games for the Brisbane Broncos.

2012

In 2012, Hala started the year injured and, in round 12, he played against the Melbourne Storm from the interchange bench and suffered a season-ending knee injury. He played one game in 2012, that game was from the interchange bench.

2013

In 2013, Hala played every game for the Broncos from round 5, against the Gold Coast Titans, until round 18, against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, where he injured his shoulder and was forced to have season ending surgery. He played 13 games in 2013 12 from the bench and started once against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Hala was selected for

as 18th man in the 2013 Polynesian Cup 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 ...

. But due to a late injury to Nafe Seluini, he was added to the bench.

2014

In 2014, Hala played for both Broncos and Redcliffe throughout the season. He played in rounds 3, 9–11, 15–16 and 18 for the Broncos that year. He scored two tries for the Broncos against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks when he left the field Brisbane were leading 22–0 and then went on to lose 22–24. On 29 October 2014, he was released from his contract with the Broncos. On 3 November 2014, he signed with the Gold Coast Titans on a two-year contract starting in 2015.

2015

In round 22, Hala made his Gold Coast debut in the Titans' 36–14 loss to the

. Hala made one further appearance for the Gold Coast as the club finished 14th on the table.

2016

He left the Gold Coast in July 2016, re-joining the

Post playing

As of 2017, Hala was training as a

Shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

athlete after retiring from the NRL.

References

External links

Broncos Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hala, David 1989 births Living people Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent Australian rugby league players Brisbane Broncos players Burleigh Bears players Gold Coast Titans players Redcliffe Dolphins players Rugby league players from Queensland Rugby league props Tonga national rugby league team players Tongan rugby league players People from South East Queensland 21st-century Australian sportsmen