Wes Naiqama

Wes Naiqama (born 19 October 1982) is a Fijian Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the London Broncos in the English Championship. He won 14 caps for the Fiji national rugby league team.[3] He primarily played as a centre, fullback and winger, but can also fill in at second-row. He is the older brother of St. Helens player and fellow Fiji international, Kevin Naiqama.[4]

Wes Naiqama
Personal information
Full nameWaisele Ligani Naiqama
Born (1982-10-19) 19 October 1982
Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight96 kg (15 st 2 lb)
PositionCentre, Fullback, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005–07 St. George Illawarra 38 16 48 0 160
2008–12 Newcastle Knights 75 15 60 0 180
2013–14 Penrith Panthers 8 2 1 0 10
2015–16 London Broncos 40 12 138 0 324
Total 161 45 247 0 674
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006–14 Fiji 14 7 52 0 132
Source: [1][2]

Background

Naiqama was born in Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia.

Playing career

Early career

Naiqama played his junior football for the Arncliffe Scots and attended James Cook Boys Technology High School before being signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons. In 2002, he scored 38 points, 5 tries and 9 goals in a Jersey Flegg game for the Dragons against the North Sydney Bears.

St. George Illawarra Dragons

In Round 4 of the 2005 NRL season he made his NRL debut for the Dragons against the Canberra Raiders.[5]

Naiqama in 2012 playing for the Newcastle Knights in the NSW Cup.

Newcastle Knights

In 2007, Naiqama signed a contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2008, to be a part of the new Brian Smith era at the Knights. In 2008, Naiqama regularly started in the centres or at fullback. He was also chosen as the replacement goal kicker after Kurt Gidley. He was frequently used as a bench utility player in 2009 and 2010 before gaining his spot back in the starting team in 2011, playing in career best form as a centre or fullback. In Round 16 of the 2011 season, Naiqama got the chance to captain the Newcastle Knights for the first time after captain Kurt Gidley and vice-captain Jarrod Mullen were both injured at the same time. He again was named captain in Round 17. In June 2011, after career best form, Naiqama re-signed with the Knights for 3-years after rejecting a contract with his former club, the St. George Illawarra Dragons.[6] In 2012, after injuries and form loss, Naiqama was dropped to NSW Cup after Round 9 by new Knights coach Wayne Bennett.

Penrith Panthers

On 13 July 2012, Naiqama was released from the remaining two years of his contract with the Newcastle Knights and signed a 2-year contract with the Penrith Panthers starting in 2013.[7]

London Broncos

On 27 August 2014, Naiqama signed a 2-year contract with the London Broncos in the 2015 Kingstone Press Championship.

On 21 December 2015, Naiqama became the captain of London Broncos.[8]

Naiqama playing for Fiji in 2008

Representative career

Naiqama made his Fiji debut in 2006. In 2008, Naiqama was named in the Fiji squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[9]

On 3 November 2011, the annual RLIF Awards dinner was held at the Tower of London and Naiqama was named Fiji's Player of the Year.[10]

He was named vice-captain for Fiji's 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign.[11]

In October 2014, Naiqama captained Fiji in their Hayne/Mannah Cup test match against Lebanon.

Personal life

In December 2006, Naiqama was arrested but not charged over an alleged assault in Sydney's King Cross.[12]

His relationship with Australian/Fijian pop star Paulini Curuenavuli ended in 2006 with domestic violence speculations, and the singer has admitted to writing a song about the situation and abuse.[13]

On 28 February 2007, Naiqama was convicted by a Sydney court for driving a car while his license was disqualified. The court sentenced Naiqama to serve a maximum of eight months periodic detention, with a non-parole period of four months. This was the fourth time Naiqama had been convicted of such an offence.[14][15]

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. loverugbyleague
  3. Keeble, Brett (3 September 2010). "Knights name Kevin Naiqama to make NRL debut". Newcastle Herald. Australia: Fairfax Media. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  4. "YOUNG GUN GETS FIRST RUN". Newcastle Knights. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  5. http://www.rleague.com//db/player/n/naiqama_wes/index.php
  6. http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/nrl-premiership/wes-naiqama-re-signs-with-newcastle-knights-on-a-new-three-year-deal/story-fn2mcuj6-1226084329481
  7. "Knights Release Wes Naiqama". Newcastle Knights. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  8. "Naiqama named Broncos captain | Total Rugby League". www.totalrl.com. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  9. "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  10. "Slater scoops player award". Sky Sports. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 December 2006. "Dragons' Naiqama lands in trouble again"
  14. The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 February 2007. "Weekends off for league: Naiqama gets PD"
  15. Sydney Morning Herald, 8 June 2007. Story: "Wes Naiqama gets sentence reduced on appeal"
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.