Iosia Soliola (born 4 August 1986) 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 played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who last played for 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 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). He played for

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 ...

and

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 ...

at international level. He previously played as a for 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 ...

in the NRL, and as a forward for St Helens 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 ...

, with whom he won the

2014 Super League Grand Final The 2014 Super League Grand Final was the 17th official Grand Final and conclusive and deciding match of Super League XIX. It was held on Saturday 11 October 2014, at Old Trafford, Manchester with a 6pm kick-off time. The game was played between ...

. Whilst playing in Europe he gained selection for the

Exiles Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

Background

Soliola 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 Samoan descent. After making his début in Jersey Flegg, Soliola moved onto

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

in which he played with Eli Hayes and won a premiership with the Roosters in 2004.

Professional playing career

2000s

In 2005, Soliola made his NRL début for the Roosters against South Sydney, and went on to play 19 games for the club that season. He was chosen to make his international début at the age of 19 for

in the Tri-nations series of 2005, however was forced to pull out due to injury. Soliola then went on to represent New Zealand in the 2006 Tri-nations tournament. In 5 games, Soliola scored 4 tries including a double against the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

at the

Telstra Dome Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was completed ...

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 ...

. Soliola was selected to play for the New Zealand national team at centre in the 2007 ANZAC Test loss 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 ...

. He was dropped to premier league in the middle of the 2007 season before returning to first grade in round 14 and regained his form before he badly injured his knee in round 22 against the

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 ...

. He missed the rest of the 2007 season. Soliola returned from his lengthy spell on the sidelines in the off season to come off the bench in the Roosters' opening centenary clash against South Sydney in round 1. He also represented the Kiwis in the 100 year centenary test match where he scored one try. In August, 2008 Soliola was named in the New Zealand training squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams. It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest ...

, and in September, 2008 he was selected in the final 24-man

. He was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a shoulder injury. The Sydney Roosters confirmed that Soliola had signed a three-year deal to play with English

club St. Helens midway through the

2009 NRL Season The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiersh ...

. Soliola played his last match for the tri colours against the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

, ending his 6-year stint with the club. Soliola also represented the Kiwis in the

2009 Four Nations The 2009 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (officially known as the Gillette Four Nations due to sponsorship) was the first Rugby League Four Nations since its expansion from the Tri-Nations tournament. Played in England and France over three ...

tournament.

2010s

Soliola officially made his début for St. Helens in 2010 making the

2010 Super League Grand Final The 2010 Super League Grand Final was the 13th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League XV. Held on Saturday 2 October 2010, at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium, the match was contested by English clubs ...

. Iosia Soliola was selected for the

squad for the inaugural

Rugby League International Origin Match International Origin was an annual series of rugby league football matches between England and the Exiles. The International Origin was created by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to ensure that the English national side had a good strong mid-seas ...

against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In the 2011 game Soliola was supposed to play in the 2nd Row alongside

Willie Manu Viliami Makamaile "Willie" Manu (born 20 March 1980) is a former Tonga international rugby league footballer. He played as a second-row forward, he previously played in the National Rugby League for Australian clubs the Wests Tigers, South Syd ...

, but due to the birth of

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

' Matt King's baby, Soliola was moved by coach Brian McLennan to the centre. New Exiles coach Daniel Anderson selected Soliola at centre for Game 1 of the International Origin. However he was moved into the loose forward role for Game 2 in which the Exiles won 32-20. He played in the

2011 Super League Grand Final The 2011 Super League Grand Final was the 14th official Grand Final and the championship-deciding game of the Super League XVI season. It was held on Saturday, 8 October at Manchester, England's Old Trafford stadium. The match was contested by ...

defeat by the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. He captained

in the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams. It took place between the 26 October and 30 November and was hosted by England and Wales (although some games were played in France and Ire ...

. On 12 April 2014, Iosia announced he would end his

career at the conclusion of the 2014 season., He agreed join the

in 2015 on a two-year deal. St Helens reached the

, and Soliola was selected to play at second-row forward, scoring a try in their 14-6 victory over the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

2015

Soliola came back to Australia to play with the

. In his first season back 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 ...

, Soliola made 19 appearances and scored 4 tries.

2016

In 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, ...

, Soliola was part of the Canberra side which made it through to their first preliminary final in nearly 20 years. Canberra went on to lose the match against Melbourne 14-12.

2017

In 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, ...

, Soliola was suspended for 5 weeks after a high shot on Melbourne's

Billy Slater William Slater (born 18 June 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. Slater is the current coach of the Queensland Maroons, whom he coached to victories in the 2022 and 2023 State o ...

. On 2 September 2017, Soliola made his 150th appearance in the

for Canberra in their match 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 ...

2018

On 3 July, Soliola signed a two-year contract extension to keep him at Canberra until the end of the 2020 season.

2019

Soliola made 26 appearances for Canberra 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 ...

as the club reached the grand final for the first time in 25 years. Soliola played at prop in the club's

2019 NRL Grand Final The 2019 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2019 National Rugby League season and was played at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between defending premiers the Sydney Roosters and the Canberra ...

defeat by the

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 ...

. Soliola was awarded the Ken Stephen Medal at the official awards ceremony following the game for his involvement with the community in relation to

2020

After playing the first eight games 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 ...

for the Raiders, Soliola suffered a horrific facial fracture during their 22-16 win against St. George Illawarra on 3 July. He returned from the injury for Canberra's round 20 match against the

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 ...

and played a part in the side's finals campaign. On 6 October it was announced Soliola had re-signed with Canberra for the 2021 NRL season. He played in all three of Canberra's finals games including the preliminary final defeat against Melbourne.

2021

On 28 September, Soliola announced his retirement from rugby league.

References

External links

Canberra Raiders profileSydney Roosters profileSaints Heritage Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soliola, Iosia 1986 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Canberra Raiders players Exiles rugby league team players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in Australia New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand rugby league players Ponsonby Ponies players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league second-rows Samoa national rugby league team captains Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan rugby league players St Helens R.F.C. players Sydney Roosters players