Albert Vete ( to, ʻAlipate Vete) (born 24 January 1993) is a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a and for

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

in the Betfred Super League. He previously played for the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Background

Vete was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. He is of Tongan descent. Vete was educated at Saint Kentigern College, playing

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and captaining their first XV to the Auckland title.

Playing career

Early years

Vete switched to rugby league in 2012, signing with the New Zealand Warriors and playing in their under 20's side while studying towards a Bachelor of Physical Education. Vete was part of the Junior Warriors side that played in 2013 Holden Cup Grand Final against the Penrith Panthers juniors, playing at prop and scoring a try in the 30–42 loss. On 13 October 2013, Vete played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos at prop in the Kiwis' 26–38 loss. In 2014 Vete joined the full-time squad and played in 19 games in the New South Wales Cup for the Warriors.

2015

In Round 1 of the

2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followed ...

, Vete made his first grade

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

debut for the New Zealand Warriors against the Newcastle Knights off the interchange bench in the Warriors 24–14 loss at Hunter Stadium. On 2 May 2015, Vete played for Tonga against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

in the

Polynesian Cup The Pacific Rugby League International is a rugby league test match that has been played between two Pacific Island nations during the National Rugby League's annual representative weekend since 2013. The fixture was held at Penrith Stadium for t ...

, playing off the interchange bench in Tonga's 16–18 loss at

Cbus Super Stadium Robina Stadium, also known by its sponsored name Cbus Super Stadium, is a rectangular football stadium in the Gold Coast suburb of Robina, Queensland. The main usage is as the home ground to the National Rugby League's Gold Coast Titans; t ...

. On 7 July 2015, Vete re-signed with the Warriors on a 2-year contract to the end of the 2017 season. In Round 20 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Vete scored his first NRL career try in the Warriors 32–12 loss at Mt Smart Stadium. Vete finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 2 tries. On 17 October 2015, Vete played for Tonga in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

for the

2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...

. He played at prop in Tonga's 28–8 win at Campbelltown Stadium.

2016

In February, Vete played for the Warriors in the

2016 NRL Auckland Nines The 2016 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the third NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 6–7 February 2016 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. As with previous tournaments, it was ...

. On 2 May, The New Zealand Herald reported five players were stood down from an international test match for mixing prescription drugs with energy drinks on a night out. The recipe can emulate the effect of illicit drugs. Vete was one of the players named who was involved in the activity.

2018

In July, Vete was a mid season trade from the

Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

. He made his Melbourne Storm debut against

St. George Illawarra The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

in their round 17 clash.

2019

In the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

, Vete made only one appearance which came against

in round 16 where Melbourne won 16–14.

2020

Vete made only six appearances for Melbourne in the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-season ...

. He did not play in the finals series or the

2020 NRL Grand Final The 2020 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2020 National Rugby League season held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on October 25. The match was contested between minor premiers Penrith Panthers and second-placed Melbo ...

for Melbourne. At the end of the season, he signed a contract to join

Hull KR Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

2021

In round 18 of the

2021 Super League season Super League XXVI, known as the Betfred Super League XXVI for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Super League and 127th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The 2021 season was originally scheduled to begin on 11 March 2021, ho ...

, Vete was controversially sent to the sin bin during Hull KR's 34–28 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

. In the elimination play off match against

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, Vete was sent to the sin bin during Hull KR's 19–0 victory. Vete made a total of 13 appearances including the club's semi-final defeat against the Catalans Dragons.

2022

On 29 August, it was announced that Vete would be one of eleven players who were to depart Hull Kingston Rovers at the end of the 2022 season. On 24 September it was announced that he had signed a two-year deal to join

References

External links

Melbourne Storm profileNew Zealand Warriors profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vete, Albert 1993 births Living people Castleford Tigers players Hull Kingston Rovers players Junior Kiwis players Melbourne Storm players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players People educated at Saint Kentigern College Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league props Tonga national rugby league team players Tongan sportspeople