Mason Lino (born 4 February 1994) is a Samoan 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 and for

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

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 ...

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 the international level. He previously played 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 ...

and 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 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 ...

Background

Lino was born in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

, Samoa.

Early years

Lino was a

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

junior and attended

Avondale College Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central Auckland, New Zealand, suburb of Avondale, Auckland, Avondale. With a roll of students from years 9–13 (ages 12–18), it is the third largest secondary schoo ...

.Mason Lino
''warriors.kiwi'' Lino is of Samoan and Chinese descent.

Playing career

2012

Lino trialled for the New Zealand Warriors' NYC squad in 2012, earning a place in the squad. He finished the season as the team's top points-scorer with 144 points in 23 games. He attended an

rookie camp on the 24 and 25 November 2012.

2013

Lino scored 147 points for the Junior Warriors in 2013, taking his total to 281 from 41 appearances. The side lost the 2013 Holden Cup Grand Final 30–42. He also 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 ...

in their 26–38 defeat by 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 ...

on 13 October 2013. He was named in the Samoan train-on 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 ...

. He did not make the squad after the cut to 25 players.

2014

In 2014, he co-captained the Junior Warriors Holden Cup team in their 34–32 grand final victory over 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 ...

, kicking five conversions out of six and finishing the match on the pitch despite suffering a partial

shoulder dislocation A dislocated shoulder is a condition in which the head of the humerus is detached from the glenoid fossa. Symptoms include shoulder pain and instability. Complications may include a Bankart lesion, Hill-Sachs lesion, rotator cuff tear, or i ...

. He finished his Holden Cup career with 503 points from 62 appearances, becoming the third most-capped Junior Warrior behind Ben Henry and John Palavi.Late Mail:Lino to Make NRL Debut
''warriors.kiwi'' Mason Lino

2015

Lino had signed with

AS Carcassonne Association Sportive of Carcassonne are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Carcassonne in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in the south of France. They play in the French Super XIII and are one of th ...

for the 2015 season, but the contract was cancelled after his shoulder dislocation in the 2014 Holden Cup grand final. Instead, Lino re-signed with the Warriors, for 2015, to play in their

New South Wales 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 ...

squad. He made his NRL debut on 22 August 2015 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 ...

, replacing an injured Chad Townsend.

2016

On 8 October, Lino made his international debut for

in their test match against Fiji in Apia.

2017

Lino played for the Warriors in the

2017 NRL Auckland Nines The 2017 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the fourth NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 4–5 February 2017 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Just like previous tournaments, it ...

. In June, Lino signed a further two-year contract, committing both parties until the end of the 2019 season. On 28 August 2017, Lino was named in The 2017

Intrust Super Premiership NSW 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 of the year.

2018

Lino played in 8 NRL games for the Warriors in the 2018 season. In September, he signed a 2-year contract with the

starting in 2019.

2019

In Lino's first season for the Knights, he debuted in round 4 against the St. George Illawarra Dragons. He played 12 games for the Knights, scored two tries and kicked 33 goals.

2020

In 2020, Lino only managed to play in five games for Newcastle before being released at the end of the season. In November, he signed a three-year contract with

side

starting in 2021.

2021

Lino played 24 games for Wakefield Trinity in the 2021 Super League season as the club finished 10th on the table.

2022

Lino played 24 games for Wakefield Trinity in the 2022 Super League season which saw the club narrowly avoid relegation as they finished 10th.

2023

Lino played 22 games for Wakefield Trinity in the

Super League XXVIII Super League XXVIII, known as the 2023 Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of the Super League and 129th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The season began on 16 February 2023, and ended with the Grand Final ...

season as the club finished bottom of the table and were relegated to the

RFL Championship The Rugby Football League Championship, (known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second highest division of rugby league in British rugby league system, Britain (with one team in the league also being based in France) ...

which ended their 24-year stay in the top flight.

2024

Lino played 19 games for Wakefield in the 2024 RFL Championship season as the club won all three trophies which were the 1895 Cup, the league leaders shield and

grand final.

Honours

Wakefield Trinity

RFL 1895 Cup The Rugby Football League 1895 Cup is an annual rugby league knockout tournament for clubs in the RFL Championship and RFL League One. History and format There have been many cup competitions for the lower leagues of rugby league. In 2002 the ...

: 2024 *

RFL Championship Leaders' Shield The RFL Championship Leaders' Shield is a shield awarded to the team finishing the season top of Championship in the sport of rugby league football. Currently the Shield is awarded to the team finishing top of the Championship at the end of the re ...

: 2024

Statistics

References

External links

Newcastle Knights profileNew Zealand Warriors profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lino, Mason 1994 births Living people Junior Kiwis players Marist Saints players New Zealand sportspeople of Chinese descent New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England New Zealand Warriors players Newcastle Knights players People educated at Avondale College Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Apia Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Samoan people of Chinese descent Samoan rugby league players Sportspeople of Chinese descent