Joseph Tapine (pronounced ; ) (born 4 May 1994) 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 captains and plays as a or forward 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 ...

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 ...

and New Zealand Māori at international level. Tapine previously played for 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 ...

in the NRL. He played in the backrow as a or forward earlier in his career.

Background

Tapine was born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand, and is of Māori descent. Tapine played his junior rugby league for the Harbour City Eagles. He then joined the

Wellington Orcas The Wellington Rugby League Team (also known as the Wellington Orcas) are a rugby league team that represents the Wellington Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby League competitions. They currently compete in the National Competition. History 1 ...

in the

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 ...

National Competition.

Playing career

Early career

In 2013, Tapine joined the

on a 1-year contract before re-signing for a further 3 years during the year. He played for the Knights'

NYC New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive wit ...

team in 2013 and 2014. On 13 October 2013, Tapine 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 ...

, starting at second-row 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 Round 9 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 ...

, Tapine made his

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

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 ...

, playing off the interchange bench in the 32-10 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 ...

. Tapine finished off his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 7 matches for the Knights. On 2 September 2014, Tapine was named on the

interchange bench Interchange (or, colloquially, the bench or interchange bench) is a team position in Australian rules football, consisting of players who are part of the selected team but are not currently on the field of play. Interchange numbers AFL As of th ...

in the 2014 NYC Team of the Year. On 18 October 2014, Tapine again played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos, starting at second-row in the 15-14 win 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 ...

. On 24 November 2014, Tapine was charged with occasioning grievous bodily harm following an incident in September 2014 which left another man with a broken jaw.

2015

On 23 June 2015, Tapine had assault charges dropped after a magistrate found prosecutors could not prove he was not acting in self-defence. In Round 22 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 ...

, Tapine scored his first NRL career try in the 38-22 loss at

. Tapine improved on his previous season, playing in 13 matches and scoring 1 try in 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 ...

On 27 September 2015, Tapine played in the Knights'

2015 New South Wales Cup The 2015 New South Wales Cup season, was the second tier rugby league competition held in New South Wales, after the National Rugby League. The 2015 season kicked off on 7 March 2015 and was won by the Newcastle Knights. Clubs In 2015, 12 clubs ...

Grand Final against the

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 ...

in the 20-10 victory at

Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, west of Sydney CBD. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure the most notable were the Parramatta E ...

2016

On 11 February 2016, Tapine signed a 3-year contract with the

starting in 2017. After facing spending the year being banished from the Knights first grade squad to waste away in the NSW Cup, however, on 23 February 2017, the Knights agreed to release him from the remainder of his contract, freeing him to join the Raiders immediately. In Round 3, Tapine made his club debut for the Canberra Raiders against the

, playing off the interchange bench in the 24-24 all draw. In Round 12 against 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 ...

, Tapine scored his first and second club tries for the Raiders in the 32-20 win 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 ...

. Tapine 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 25 matches and scoring 4 tries in his first year with the Canberra Raiders. On 4 October 2016, Tapine was selected in the

New Zealand Kiwis 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 native bird of that name. The team's colours ar ...

24-man squad for the

2016 Four Nations The 2016 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (known as the 2016 Ladbrokes Four Nations, for sponsorship purposes) was the fifth staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament and was played in England in October and November. The series was c ...

. On 11 November 2016, Tapine made his international debut for the New Zealand Kiwis 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 ...

, playing off the interchange bench in the shock 18-18 all draw at

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 ...

. Tapine played in 2 matches in the tournament including playing in the 2016 Four Nations Final match 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 ...

, off the interchange bench in the 34-8 loss at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

2017

Tapine 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 22 matches and scoring 3 tries for the Raiders. Tapine was named in the New Zealand Kiwis 24-man 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 4 November, he scored his first international try for New Zealand against Scotland in the 74-6 smashing win at

Christchurch Stadium Rugby League Park is a sports stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as Apollo Projects Stadium, and non-commercially as Christchurch Stadium. The stadium was originally known as the Addington Sho ...

. Tapine played in all 4 matches and scored 1 try in the Kiwis shock disappointing campaign.

2018

On 24 June 2018, Tapine played for New Zealand 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 historical test match set in Denver, USA, starting at second-row in the 36-18 loss at

Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 to 2002. The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of th ...

. Tapine played in 16 matches and scored 6 tries for the Raiders in the

2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...

. After being sidelined at the end of the year due to a broken thumb on 1 October 2018, Tapine was selected in the Kiwis 23-man squad for their tour of England and the test match against Australia. Tapine played in 2 matches of the

Baskerville Shield The Baskerville Shield is a trophy awarded to the winner of rugby league test series between England and New Zealand. It named in honour of Albert Henry Baskerville, who organised the first ever tour by New Zealand of Great Britain in 1907. T ...

matches against England. On 24 October 2018, Tapine extended his contract with the Raiders for another 4-years, to the end of the 2023 season.

2019

On 15 February, Tapine represented the Maori All Stars against the Indigenous All Stars in the 2019 All Stars match, playing off the interchange bench in the 34-14 loss at

AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, currently known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the suburb of East Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victor ...

. Tapine made a total of 17 appearances for Canberra as the club reached the grand final for the first time in 25 years. Tapine played at lock in the

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 ...

as Canberra were defeated 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 ...

2020

Tapine played 21 games and scored 4 tries 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 played in all three of Canberra's finals games including the preliminary final loss against Melbourne.

2021

Tapine made a total of 19 appearances for Canberra in 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 ...

. The club would finish the year in 10th place on the table and miss out on the finals.

2022

Tapine played a total of 25 matches for Canberra 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 the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals. Tapine played in both finals matches as Canberra were eliminated in the second week by

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 ...

2023

Tapine played a total of 24 matches for Canberra in 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 ...

as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals. Tapine played in the clubs elimination finals loss against

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

2024

Tapine played 24 games for Canberra in 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 ...

as the club finished 9th on the table.

Statistics

References

External links

Canberra Raiders profileNRL profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapine, Joseph 1994 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Canberra Raiders players Junior Kiwis players Mount Pritchard Mounties players 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 players New Zealand rugby league players Newcastle Knights players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Wellington City Rugby league second-rows Wellington rugby league team players