Iosia Soliola (born 4 August 1986) is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL). He played for New Zealand and Samoa at international level. He previously played as a for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, and as a forward for St Helens in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

, with whom he won the 2014 Super League Grand Final. Whilst playing in Europe he gained selection for the

Exiles Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

Background

Soliola was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He is of Samoan descent. After making his début in Jersey Flegg, Soliola moved onto Premier League in which he played with Eli Hayes and won a premiership with the Roosters in 2004.

Professional playing career

2000s

In 2005, Soliola made his NRL début for the Roosters against South Sydney, and went on to play 19 games for the club that season. He was chosen to make his international début at the age of 19 for New Zealand in the

Tri-nations series The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a ...

of 2005, however was forced to pull out due to injury. Soliola then went on to represent New Zealand in the 2006 Tri-nations tournament. In 5 games, Soliola scored 4 tries including a double against the Australians at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne. Soliola was selected to play for the

New Zealand national team New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

at centre in the 2007 ANZAC Test loss against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He was dropped to premier league in the middle of the 2007 season before returning to first grade in round 14 and regained his form before he badly injured his knee in round 22 against the Wests Tigers. He missed the rest of the 2007 season. Soliola returned from his lengthy spell on the sidelines in the off season to come off the bench in the Roosters' opening centenary clash against South Sydney in round 1. He also represented the Kiwis in the 100 year centenary test match where he scored one try. In August, 2008 Soliola was named in the New Zealand training squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

, and in September, 2008 he was selected in the final 24-man New Zealand. He was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a shoulder injury. The Sydney Roosters confirmed that Soliola had signed a three-year deal to play with English

club St. Helens midway through the

2009 NRL Season The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership ...

. Soliola played his last match for the tri colours against the North Queensland Cowboys, ending his 6-year stint with the club. Soliola also represented the Kiwis in the

2009 Four Nations The 2009 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (officially known as the Gillette Four Nations due to sponsorship) was the first Rugby League Four Nations since its expansion from the Tri-Nations tournament. Played in England and France over thr ...

tournament.

2010s

Soliola officially made his début for St. Helens in 2010 making the 2010 engage super league championship final. Iosia Soliola was selected for the

squad for the inaugural

Rugby League International Origin Match International Origin was an annual series of rugby league football matches between England RL and the Exiles. The International Origin was created by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to ensure that the English national side had a good strong mid ...

against England. In the 2011 game Soliola was supposed to play in the 2nd Row alongside

Willie Manu Viliami Makamaile "Willie" Manu (born 20 March 1980) is a former Tonga international rugby league footballer. He played as a second-row forward, he previously played in the National Rugby League for Australian clubs the Wests Tigers, South Syd ...

, but due to the birth of Warrington Wolves'

Matt King Matthew or Matt King may refer to: Matthew * Matthew King (composer) (born 1967), British composer and pianist * Matthew King (cricketer) (born 1977), Australian cricketer * Matthew Yang King (born 1974), American actor, voice actor, director, prod ...

's baby, Soliola was moved by coach Brian McLennan to the centre. New Exiles coach Daniel Anderson selected Soliola at centre for Game 1 of the International Origin. However he was moved into the loose forward role for Game 2 in which the Exiles won 32-20. He played in the

2011 Super League Grand Final The 2011 Super League Grand Final was the 14th official Grand Final and the championship-deciding game of the Super League XVI season. It was held on Saturday, 8 October at Manchester, England's Old Trafford stadium. The match was contested by ...

defeat by the Leeds Rhinos at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. He captained Samoa in the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's 2013 Festival of World ...

. On 12 April 2014, Iosia announced he would end his

career at the conclusion of the 2014 season., He agreed join the Canberra Raiders in 2015 on a two-year deal. St Helens reached the 2014 Super League Grand Final, and Soliola was selected to play at second-row forward, scoring a try in their 14-6 victory over the Wigan Warriors at

2015

Soliola came back to Australia to play with the Canberra Raiders. In his first season back 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 ...

, Soliola made 19 appearances and scored 4 tries.

2016

In 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, w ...

, Soliola was part of the Canberra side which made it through to their first preliminary final in nearly 20 years. Canberra went on to lose the match against Melbourne 14-12.

2017

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, w ...

, Soliola was suspended for 5 weeks after a high shot on Melbourne's Billy Slater. On 2 September 2017, Soliola made his 150th appearance in the

for Canberra in their match against the Melbourne Storm.

2018

On 3 July, Soliola signed a two-year contract extension to keep him at Canberra until the end of the 2020 season.

2019

Soliola made 26 appearances for Canberra in 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 ...

as the club reached the grand final for the first time in 25 years. Soliola played at prop in the club's

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 Ra ...

defeat by the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium. Soliola was awarded the

Ken Stephen Medal Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

at the official awards ceremony following the game for his involvement with the community in relation to rugby league.

2020

After playing the first eight games 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 ...

for the Raiders, Soliola suffered a horrific facial fracture during their 22-16 win against

St. George Illawarra The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

on 3 July. He returned from the injury for Canberra's round 20 match against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and played a part in the side's finals campaign. On 6 October it was announced Soliola had re-signed with Canberra for the 2021 NRL season. He played in all three of Canberra's finals games including the preliminary final defeat against Melbourne.

2021

On 28 September, Soliola announced his retirement from rugby league.

References

External links

Canberra Raiders profileSydney Roosters profileSaints Heritage Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soliola, Iosia 1986 births Living people Canberra Raiders players Exiles rugby league team players Expatriate rugby league players in Australia Expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand rugby league players Ponsonby Ponies players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league second-rows Samoa national rugby league team captains Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan rugby league players Samoan sportspeople St Helens R.F.C. players Sydney Roosters players