Tino Fa'asuamaleaui
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (/ˈfəsuːəməlaʊi/) (born 16 February 2000) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock forward for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. He previously played for the Melbourne Storm in 2019 and 2020.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Tino Fa'asuamaleaui | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 16 February 2000 Orange, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 197 cm (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 112 kg (17 st 9 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 19 November 2020 Source: [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He has also played for the Prime Minister's XIII as well as the Queensland Maroons.
Background
Fa'asuamaleaui was born in Orange, New South Wales, Australia and is of Samoan descent. His father, Fereti, was contracted to the Sydney City Roosters and played reserve grade for them in the mid-1990s.[2]
Fa'asuamaleaui was raised in Widgee, Queensland, where he attended James Nash State High School, Gympie. He played his junior rugby league for the Gympie Devils and was then signed by the Brisbane Broncos as a teenager.[3]
Playing career
Early career
In 2016, Fa'asuamaleaui played for the Central Crows in the Cyril Connell Cup and was selected to represent the Queensland under-16 side.[4]
In 2017, after starting the season with the Sunshine Coast Falcons Mal Meninga Cup side, he signed with the Melbourne Storm, playing for their NYC side.[5][6] In June, he was selected for the Queensland under-18 side[7]
In 2018, Fa'asuamaleaui began the season playing for the Storm's Queensland Cup feeder side, the Sunshine Coast Falcons, before switching to the club's other feeder, the Easts Tigers, midway through the year.[8] In June, he was again selected for the Queensland under-18 side.[9] In July, he came off the bench in the Queensland under-20's first ever win over New South Wales.[10] In October, he scored two tries in the Junior Kangaroos 40–24 win over the Junior Kiwis.[11]
2019
In Round 16 of the 2019 NRL season, Fa'asuamaleaui made his NRL debut for Melbourne Storm against the Dragons.[12] On 7 October, Fa’asuamaleaui was named on the bench for the U23 Junior Australian side. He then followed up by making his international test debut for Toa Samoa. On 19 December, Fa'asuamaleaui signed a 3 year deal with the Gold Coast Titans starting in 2021.
2020
Fa’asuamaleaui played off the bench in the Storm's 2020 NRL Grand Final win over the Penrith Panthers in a 26-20 win.
After the grand final season he was rewarded by making his Queensland Maroons debut in the 2020 State of Origin series Game 1 at the Adelaide Oval.
References
- Rugby League Project
- https://www.qrl.com.au/news/20182/05/30/just-call-me-tino/
- https://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/gympies-12-all-time-greatest-sporting-exports/3631575/
- https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2016/05/16/queensland-under-16-team/
- https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/qrl-icon-scott-sattler-hails-storm-teenager-tino-faasuamaleaui-as-one-to-watch/news-story/9c9dadc6a7ac02199fa1b61679886a84
- https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news/2017/08/29/rd.26-nyc-team-announcement/
- https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2017/06/12/queensland-under-18-team/
- https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/qrl-icon-scott-sattler-hails-storm-teenager-tino-faasuamaleaui-as-one-to-watch/news-story/9c9dadc6a7ac02199fa1b61679886a84
- https://www.qrl.com.au/news/20182/05/21/queensland-under-18-team/
- https://www.qrl.com.au/news/20182/07/02/rising-stars-feature-for-queensland-under-20s/
- https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/10/13/junior-kangaroos-defeat-new-zealand-despite-incredible-try/
- "Round 16 NRL team announcements". NRL.com. 3 July 2019.