Sione Finefeuiaki (born 2 November 1979) is a Tongan 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 who last played in the

Newcastle Rugby League The Newcastle Rugby League is a local rugby league football competition in Newcastle, Australia. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1910. A Newcastle rugby league team, Newcastle representative team was al ...

competition, as a .

Background

Finefeuiaki was born in

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 ...

and lived in his native country until the age of 16. Finefeuiaki played

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

at Liahona High School, as rugby league was not played. After moving to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, he played rugby union for Otahuhu in 1998, picking up the under 21s player of the year award. Moving to Marist in 1999, he then played rugby league in 2000 for Pakuranga, moving to

Hibiscus Coast Raiders The Hibiscus Coast Raiders are a rugby league club based on the Hibiscus Coast, New Zealand. They compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition and between 2000 and 2005 were also involved in the Bartercard Cup competition. Histor ...

in 2001.

Playing career

Finefeuiaki was signed by 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 ...

, playing in reserve grade in 2001. An ankle injury late in 2001 forced him to miss the entire 2002 season. Returning to New Zealand, Finefeuiaki rejoined the

in the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Ze ...

competition, where he attracted the attention of

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 ...

recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan who invited him to join Melbourne's pre-season program ahead of the

2004 NRL season The 2004 NRL season (also known as the 2004 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra) was the 97th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the seventh run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen clubs competed dur ...

. He signed a contract with Melbourne until the end of the 2005 season but failed to make a single appearance for the Storm before joining the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...

. Finefeuiaki finished third in the South Pacific Body Building Championships during his injury rehabilitation in 2002.

References

External links

Manly Sea Eagles profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finefeuiaki, Sione 1979 births Living people Cessnock Goannas players Tongan rugby league players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Rugby league props Western Suburbs Rosellas players