Luciano Leilua

Luciano Leilua (born 8 June 1996) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a lock and second-row for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Luciano Leilua
Personal information
Born (1996-06-08) 8 June 1996
Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight114 kg (17 st 13 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–19 St. George Illawarra 43 8 0 0 32
2020– Wests Tigers 20 7 0 0 28
Total 63 15 0 0 60
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019– Samoa 9s 4 0 0 0 0
2019– Samoa 1 0 0 0 0
As of 26 September 2020
Source: [1]

Background

Leilua was born in Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia, and is of Samoan descent.[2] He is the younger brother of Wests Tigers player Joseph Leilua.[3]

Leilua played his junior rugby league for Hurstville United, before being signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Playing career

Early career

From 2014 to 2016, Leilua played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons' NYC team.[4][5] On 25 July 2014, he re-signed with the Dragons on a 2-year contract until the end of 2016.[6] In November and December 2014, he played for the Australian Schoolboys.[7]

2016

In Round 22 of the 2016 NRL season, Leilua made his NRL debut for the Dragons against the Brisbane Broncos.[8][9] In September, he was named at second-row in the 2016 NYC Team of the Year.[10]

2018

Leilua made 16 appearances for St George in the 2018 NRL season as the club reached the finals after finishing 7th on the table. In week one, Leilua scored a try as St George defeated Brisbane 48-18 in an upset victory at Suncorp Stadium. The following week, Leilua played in St George's 13-12 elimination final loss against South Sydney.[11]

2019

Leilua made a total of 22 appearances for St George in the 2019 NRL season as the club endured one of their worst ever seasons finishing in 15th place on the table.[12] On 30 November, Leilua signed a three-year deal to join the Wests Tigers.[13]

2020

Leilua made his debut for Wests against St. George Illawarra in round 1 of the 2020 NRL season at WIN Stadium. Wests went on to win the match 24-14 with Leilua scoring a second half try.[14] He scored his first double in round 10 in a record 48-0 "thrashing" of the Bribane Broncos,[15]

One of three Tigers players to appear in all 20 of their games, his 7 tries were the third most for the club and the most of any Wests forward, and equal best amongst forwards in the NRL.[16] He attributed his run of performances to the 5 kilos he dropped in the pre-season, saying, "I've just got to take that into the pre-season and make sure I stay in shape … don't gain any daddy weight. Besides not making the finals I feel I've had a pretty good year. Madge has played a big part in my footy this year. He's given me a lot of confidence and belief."[17]

References
  1. "Luciano Leilua - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  2. Walter, Brad (28 April 2015). "Newcastle Knights star Joseph Leilua chooses Samoa over chance to push Origin claims". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. Jennings, Mitch (3 August 2016). "Younger Leilua to debut for Dragons". Illawarra Mercury. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. "L". NYC Database. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  5. Costello, Tim (1 March 2016). "LeagueUnlimited NYC Teams - 2016 Round 1". League Unlimited. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  6. "Dragons Re-Sign Local Australian Schoolboys". St George Illawarra Dragons. National Rugby League. 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. Tarbert, Kristine (14 August 2014). "Robert Jennings picked for the Australian Schoolboys rugby league team". Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  8. "Updated team lists: Dragons v Broncos". NRL.com. National Rugby League. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  9. "Late Mail: Round 22 v Brisbane Broncos". St George Illawarra Dragons. National Rugby League. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  10. "2016 Holden Cup Team of the Year announced". NRL.com. National Rugby League. 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  11. "St George Illawarra Dragons 2018 season review". www.nrl.com.
  12. "Paul McGregor facing the axe as St. George Illawarra Dragons coach following horror season". Sporting News.
  13. "Wests Tigers sign Luciano Leilua". Wests Tigers.
  14. "Benji brilliant as Tigers down dropsy dragons". www.foxsports.com.au.
  15. Matt Encarnacion. "Tigers claim biggest NRL win over Broncos". Nambucca Guardian.
  16. "Stats". nrl.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020.
  17. Alicia Newton. "First-time father Luciano Leilua fully committed to Tigers". nrl.com.
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