Jayson Bukuya (born 21 April 1989) is a

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

former 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 played as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

or forward for 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 ...

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 ...

. Bukuya previously played for

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 ...

and 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 ...

. He has part of the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

team that won their maiden premiership title in the 2016 season. Bukuya also played a prominent role for

Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, New South Wales, Newtown, a suburb of Inner West (Sydney), Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after t ...

during their 2019 campaign, where they lifted the highly coveted Canterbury Cup.

Background

Bukuya was born in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. Bukuya is of Fijian descent. He attended

Sandgate District State High School Sandgate District State High School (SDSHS) is a secondary school located in Deagon, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It educates grade levels seven to twelve. It was opened in January 1959 but the first classes – five, A1, A2, B1, C1 and C ...

and

St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe St Patrick's College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located on the waterfront in Shorncliffe, north of Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia. Established by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1952, the ...

. He was also an Aspley and Norths Brisbane junior.

Playing career

2008-13

Bukuya made his

debut for the

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

in 2008. Bukuya played all 4 games for

at the 2008 World Cup, and was again named in the Fiji squad for 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 ...

. During his first stint with the Sharks, Bukuya played in 59 NRL games, and scored 13 tries.

2014

He joined the

for the 2014 season. He finished off the year playing 18 NRL games and scoring 2 tries. On 1 November 2014, Bukuya was released from his Warriors' contract on compassionate grounds to return to

Sydney 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 ...

2015-2019

On 11 November 2014, Bukuya signed a two-year deal to rejoin the

. In 2016, he was a part of the Sharks maiden premiership winning grand final team. In 2017, Bukuya was part of the Cronulla side which qualified for the finals but were eliminated in week one after suffering a shock defeat by

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 ...

15–14. In 2018, Bukuya made 21 appearances for Cronulla as the club reached the preliminary final before being defeated by

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 ...

22–6. Bukuya made a total of 16 appearances for Cronulla 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 ...

. Bukuya played for Cronulla's feeder club Newtown in their

2019 Canterbury Cup NSW The 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW season was the eleventh season of the New South Wales Cup, the top rugby league competition administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. The competition acts as a second-tier league to the ten New South Wales-based ...

grand final victory over

Wentworthville Wentworthville is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wentworthville is located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Wentworthville is split betw ...

at the

Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, currently known as CommBank Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium (1986) which in turn ...

. The following week, Bukuya played for Newtown in the

NRL State Championship The NRL State Championship is a rugby league match contested by the premiers of the two elite second-tier competitions in Australia, the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup. The match has been played as a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand ...

victory over the

Burleigh Bears The Burleigh Bears are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Gold Coast, Australia. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. Since their admission to the competition in 1997, 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 ...

Post playing

On 13 June 2020, Bukuya announced his retirement from rugby league effective immediately. On 18 July 2020, Bukuya played for Dubbo CYMS against North Sydney in the first round of a state-wide open competition.

Statistics

References

External links

Cronulla Sharks profileSharks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bukuya, Jayson 1989 births Living people Australian people of Fijian descent Australian rugby league players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Fiji national rugby league team captains Fiji national rugby league team players New Zealand Warriors players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Brisbane Rugby league second-rows People educated at St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe 21st-century Australian sportsmen