Matt Ikuvalu (born 9 November 1993) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters in the

Background

Ikuvalu was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, New South Wales, Australia, and is of Tongan and European descent. He played junior rugby league for the Gosford Kariong Storm. He later transferred to the Erina Eagles while attending Narara Valley High School. Ikuvalu played for

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

in the Under 20's competition, The Toyota Cup, in 2011 and 2012.

Career

2018

Ikuvalu made his first grade debut in round 13 of 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 ...

against the Wests Tigers.

2019

Ikuvalu joined the Sydney Roosters in their World Club Challenge 20-8 victory over Wigan before the start of 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 ...

2020

In round 9 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 ...

, Ikuvalu was called into the Sydney Roosters team 15 minutes before kick off due to an injury suffered by Brett Morris in the warm up. Ikuvalu went on to score five tries in the 42-16 win over North Queensland. He became the first Sydney Roosters player since 1955 to score five tries in a game.

2021

In round 9 of 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 ...

, he scored a hat-trick for the Sydney Roosters in their 31-18 loss against Parramatta. In round 14 of the

, he scored two tries in a 35-34 victory over the Gold Coast. In round 18, he scored two tries in a 34-18 victory over North Queensland. On 27 July, it was announced that he would be ruled out from playing for an indefinite period after suffering a syndesmosis injury. At the conclusion of the 2021 season, Ikuvalu was released from the final year of his contract to take up a deal with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, following his assistant coach at the Roosters Craig Fitzgibbon in departing the club for Cronulla-Sutherland.

2022

In round 23 of the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is 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 s ...

, he scored two tries for Cronulla in a 40-6 victory over rivals Manly in the battle of the beaches game.

Statistics

NRL

: ''Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2022 season''

References

External links

Roosters profileNRL Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikuvalu, Matt 1993 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Rugby league wingers Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Sydney Sydney Roosters players Wyong Roos players