Robert Tanielu (born 19 June 1982) is a New Zealand former 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. He previously played with 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He retired in January 2007 following medical advice after sustaining his second serious neck injury. Rob Tanielu now lives with his 3 kids, Alize, Memphis and Knight and wife, Janelle Tanielu. He also coaches multiple teams, and do what he does best, play rugby league.

Background

Robert Tanielu was born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand.

Early life

Tanielu was a Sydenham Swans junior in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby le ...

and represented 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 2001.Sydenham old boy in
''The Press'', 3 July 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanielu, Robert 1982 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Brisbane Broncos players Junior Kiwis players Melbourne Storm players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent North Queensland Cowboys players Queensland Residents rugby league team players Rugby league players from Christchurch Rugby league props Sydenham Swans players