Patrick Politoni (born 17 March 1991) is a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

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 plays as a for 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 ...

in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league, rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League, Queensland Rugby ...

. He previously played for 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 ...

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 the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the ...

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

He was born in

Leichhardt, New South Wales Leichhardt () is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and is the administrative centre for the local government ...

, Australia. Politoni is of Tongan descent.

Playing career

He played his junior football for the Leichhardt Juniors, before being signed by the

. He played for the Tigers' Toyota Cup team from 2009 to 2011, playing over 30 games before moving on to the Tigers'

NSW 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 ...

reserve-grade side in 2012. In round 11 of the

2012 NRL season The 2012 NRL season was the 105th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the first run by the newly formed Australian Rugby League Commission. The main competition, called the 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership due to spon ...

, Politoni made his

debut for the Tigers against 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 ...

. Politoni was considered to be a similar player in style to Wests Tigers first choice hooker

Robbie Farah Robert Peter Farah () (born 23 January 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international, Lebanese international and captain of New South Wales Blues team, he has played th ...

. "I always make sure I watch game highlights of Robbie Farah to see what he does." Making just one appearance in first grade for 2012, Politoni finished the season playing for feeder team Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers in the

grand final. In 2013, Politoni joined the

, however he did not commence the season in the first-grade training squad, and made no appearances in first-grade. On 20 April, he played for

in their

Pacific Rugby League International 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 ...

clash with fierce Pacific rivals

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 ...

. Later in the year, Politoni played for Tonga in their

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 ...

campaign. He made just one appearance, and that was against Pacific rivals the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

in their inter-group match, which Tonga won by a narrow six-point margin. In round 17 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 ...

, Politoni made his debut for

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 ...

. Politoni made ten appearances for Cronulla in the

as the club finished last on the table. On 2 May 2015, Politoni played for Tonga in their

Polynesian Cup The Polynesian Cup is a rugby league football test match played between Samoa and Tonga first played in 2010. The matches in 2015, 2016 and 2018 were played as double-headers with the Melanesian Cup. Results See also *Polynesia Cup – sim ...

clash with Pacific rivals Samoa. In October that year, Politoni played for Tonga in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against the

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 ...

. In 2017, Politoni joined the Gold Coast. He made four appearances for the Gold Coast 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, ...

as the club endured a horror year on and off the field finishing second last. On 31 March 2019, Politoni was sent off for punching

Townsville Blackhawks The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...

halfback Michael Parker-Walshe in the face knocking him out during a game between

and Townsville. On 4 April 2019, Politoni was suspended for 3 matches after pleading guilty for punching an opposition player.

References

External links

NRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politoni, Pat 1991 births Living people Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent Australian rugby league players Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers players Burleigh Bears players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Gold Coast Titans players Queensland Residents rugby league team players Newtown Jets NSW Cup players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Sydney Tonga national rugby league team players Tongan rugby league players Wests Tigers players 21st-century Australian sportsmen