Antonio Kaufusi

Antonio Kaufusi (born 27 November 1984) is a Tongan former professional rugby league footballer. An Australia and Tonga international and Queensland State of Origin representative prop, he played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Melbourne Storm, North Queensland Cowboys and the Newcastle Knights in the NRL, and the London Broncos, Huddersfield Giants and the Bradford Bulls in the Super League.[2]

Antonio Kaufusi
Personal information
Born (1984-11-27) 27 November 1984
Matahau, Tonga
Playing information
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003–08 Melbourne Storm 78 6 0 0 24
2009–10 North Qld Cowboys 33 2 0 0 8
2010–11 Newcastle Knights 33 2 0 0 8
2012–13 London Broncos 56 8 0 0 32
2014 Huddersfield Giants 17 1 0 0 4
2014(loan) → Bradford Bulls 4 0 0 0 0
2015 Canterbury Bulldogs 7 0 0 0 0
Total 228 19 0 0 76
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006 Australia 1 0 0 0 0
2007 Queensland 1 0 0 0 0
2008 Tonga 3 0 0 0 0
2012 Exiles 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Background

Kaufusi was born in Matahau, Tonga. His junior club was Brothers in Bundaberg and he played rugby union for Nudgee College in Brisbane in 2002.[3]

Playing career

Melbourne Storm

Kaufusi made his first-grade début in round 22 against the Bulldogs on 10 August 2003.

In 2006 Kaufusi was called up to the Australian tri-nations squad after Reni Maitua received an ankle injury in the first test against New Zealand. He played at prop forward in his first Grand Final in 2006, when the Storm were defeated by the Brisbane Broncos, 15–8.

He played State of Origin for Queensland, making his début in game one 2007.

A serious knee injury prevented Kaufusi from participating in the Storm's victorious 2007 premiership winning team.[4] He played in the 2008 NRL Grand Final defeat by Manly.[5]

He was named in the Tonga squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[6]

Cowboys

In 2009, the North Queensland Cowboys signed Kaufusi on a large contract.[7] His stint with the Cowboys was short though, being released a year later.

Knights

On 25 June 2010, Kaufusi was released from his contract with the North Queensland Cowboys to join the Newcastle Knights for the rest of 2010 and a further two years.[8][9][10][11] He made a winning début for the Knights in round 18 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

London Broncos

On 18 August 2011, Kaufusi signed a 3-year deal with the London Broncos in the Super League after the 2012 Knights coach, Wayne Bennett, released him from his contract a year early.[12]

Huddersfield Giants

Kaufusi played for Huddersfield Giants in 2014.

Bradford Bulls

On 2 May 2014, Kaufusi was loaned to Bradford Bulls for the rest of the 2014 season.[13][14]

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

On 13 November 2014, Kaufusi signed a 2-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting in 2015, to return to Australia.[15]

References
  1. "Antonio Kaufusi - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 27 November 1984. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  2. Dave Donaghy (21 August 2008). "Melbourne Storm prop Antonio Kaufusi heads for North Queensland". The Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  3. Steve Ricketts (6 September 2002). "Nudgee pair crack both the codes". Brisbane Courier Mail – via EBSCOHost.
  4. Dave Donaghy (4 October 2007). "Antonio Kaufusi trains to ease Grand Final pain". The Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  5. "Grand final: As it happened". Fox Sports. 5 October 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  6. "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 8 October 2008. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  7. "Cowboys capture Storm prop Kaufisi". Stuff. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  8. "Knights sign ex-Test prop Kaufusi". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  10. Proszenko, Adrian (20 June 2010). "Knights ride to the rescue of Kaufusi". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. KEEBLE, BRETT (20 June 2010). "Stone banks on Kaufusi revival". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  12. "Harlequins sign Australian pair". BBC News. 18 August 2011.
  13. "RUGBY-LEAGUE.COM | Rugby-League.com". Superleague.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  14. "Super League: Bradford Bulls bring in prop Antonio Kaufusi from Huddersfield Giants | Rugby League News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  15. "Kaufusi Joins the". Bulldogs. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
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