Esan Marsters

Esan Marsters (born 17 August 1996) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He has played for the Cook Islands, New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level.

Esan Marsters
Personal information
Full nameEsan Nike Marsters-Saivale
Born (1996-08-17) 17 August 1996
Auckland, New Zealand
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight102 kg (16 st 1 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017–19 Wests Tigers 61 17 96 0 260
2020– North Queensland 12 2 0 0 8
Total 73 19 96 0 268
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–17 Cook Islands 2 1 0 0 4
2018–19 New Zealand 6 3 5 0 22
2019–20 New Zealand Māori 2 0 0 0 0
As of 25 September 2020
Source: [1]

He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League.

Background

Marsters was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Cook Island and Māori descent.

He played for Mount Albert Lions in New Zealand, later saying, "I played in the halves growing up. I was a five-eighth, like Benji. That’s where I get my ball skills from. Then I moved over to Sydney from Auckland when I was 17 and got switched to the centres. I was bigger than a lot of the other kids and they wanted to use me out wide."[2] Marsters picked up a contract with the Sydney Roosters to train with their SG Ball team. After spending a season with Roosters SG Ball team he was cut and signed a contract with the Wests Tigers NYC team.

Playing career

Early career

In 2015 and 2016, Marsters played for the Wests Tigers' NYC before graduating to their Intrust Super Premiership NSW team in 2017.

Marsters played for the Cook Islands in their 2015 match against Tonga. In 2016 he represented the Junior Kiwis in a match against the Junior Kangaroos.[3]

2017

On the 6th of May, Marsters represented the Cook Islands in their 2017 Pacific Rugby League Tests match.

In Round 13, Marsters made his NRL debut for the Wests Tigers against the St George Illawarra Dragons, playing off the interchange bench in the 16-12 loss at ANZ Stadium. After playing on the bench for his first 2 games, he was in the starting team for the rest of the season, where he was described as, "a revelation at right centre".[4] He scored 5 tries from 13 games in his rookie year.

2018

Marsters was said to be one of the most improved players in the game in 2018, and, "has been stellar in 2018, to the point he made his New Zealand Test debut and has claims on being one of the form centres right across the NRL."[5] He was one of two players to appear in every game for the Tigers and was their top point-scorer with 124.[6] The Daily Telegraph named in their team of the year, saying, "he was the only centre to crack 3000 metres gained and his 126 metres per match was the biggest average of any centre who played at least 15 games. He also lead all centres in offloads with 49 and was fifth in tackle busts with 65."[7]

2019

In round 4, Marsters missed all three attempts at goal in a 9-8 loss to the Penrith Panthers, despite the Tigers scoring two tries to the Panthers one. In round 9, Marsters scored two tries and kicked 3 goals in a 30-4 win over the Panthers.[8][9] In Round 20, he scored 2 tries in a 28-4 win over the North Queensland Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval.[10]

On 10 October, the Tigers released Marsters from the final year of his contract.[11] On 14 October, he signed a three-year deal with the North Queensland Cowboys.[12]

2020

In February, Marsters was a member of the Cowboys' 2020 NRL Nines winning squad.[13]

In round 1, he made his debut for the Cowboys in their 21–28 loss to the Brisbane Broncos.[14] In Round 6, he scored his first try for the Cowboys in a 20–36 loss to the Wests Tigers.[15] Following their round 10 loss to the Penrith Panthers, Marsters was dropped by interim head coach Josh Hannay.[16] It was said, "Brought to Townsville to sharpen the Cowboys lacking backline and provide more attacking threats on the edges, Marsters struggled to live up to the hype. Defensive lapses plagued his start at the club, with his combination on the right side with Kyle Feldt the worst in the competition for conceding tries."[17] He made just two more appearances for the Cowboys in 2020, scoring a try in their round 18 loss to the Melbourne Storm.[18] Interim coach Josh Hannay explaining his absence by saying, "He is an extremely gifted player, Esan, but he can clock off at times out on the field. We have had some honest discussions around his work rate and consistency in that area."[17]

Achievements and accolades

Individual

Team

Statistics

NRL
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season[20]
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2017 Wests Tigers 1350—020
2018 Wests Tigers 2435675.68%012
2019 Wests Tigers 2494065.57%036
2020 North Queensland 1220—08
Career totals 73 19 96 71.11% 0 268

International
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2015 Cook Islands 100—00
2017 Cook Islands 110—04
2018 New Zealand 530—012
2019 New Zealand 10583.33%010
Career totals 8 4 5 83.33% 0 26

Personal life

Marsters cousin, Steven, is a professional rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[21]

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. Esan Marsters. "Benji, Ivan and Me". PlayersVoice. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018.
  3. "Marsters named in Junior Kiwis squad". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  4. Martin Gabor. "Why Marsters was born to win". nrl.com.
  5. Chris Kennedy. "Stat Attack: The 17 most-improved players of 2018". nrl.com.
  6. "Wests Tigers 2018". Rugby League Project.
  7. "Team of the Year". The Daily Telegraph. p. 94.
  8. "Wests Tigers rue missed chances as Esan Marsters' goal-kicks go begging". Sporting News.
  9. "Panthers hit crisis after Tigers flogging". 7 News.
  10. "Wests Tigers beat North Queensland Cowboys 28-4 in NRL round 20". ABC.
  11. https://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2019/10/10/esan-marsters-to-depart-wests-tigers/
  12. https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2019/10/14/cowboys-sign-kiwi-international-marsters/
  13. https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2020/02/15/nines-final-team-list-final-v-dragons/
  14. https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/03/13/fifita-steals-the-show-as-broncos-spoil-cowboys-party/
  15. "Wests Tigers start fast to blow away Cowboys". Wests Tigers. 20 June 2020.
  16. "Hannay hopeful Cowboys have overcome 'soft underbelly'". NRL. 24 July 2020.
  17. Matthew Elkerton. "Cowboys coach Josh Hannay recalls Esan Marsters after honest conversations". Townsville Bulletin.
  18. "'Best and worst' of a Cowboys recruit seen in Melbourne Storm loss". The Daily Telegraph. 13 September 2020.
  19. https://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2018/09/03/2018-presentation-night-awards-winners/
  20. http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/esan-marsters/summary.html
  21. "Why Marsters was born to win". NRL. 9 August 2017.
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