Aaron Aspin Heremaia (born ) is a New Zealand former professional

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 11 ...

footballer who last played as a

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

-kicking or for the

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two r ...

in the Super League.

Background

Heremaia was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand.

Playing career

Educated at Tangaroa College and a

Manurewa Marlins The Manurewa Marlins are a rugby league club based in Manurewa, New Zealand. In 2018 the Marlins will compete in Auckland Rugby League's Sharman Cup competition. Between 2000 and 2003 they competed in the national Bartercard Cup competition. ...

junior, Heremaia started his career in 2001 playing for the Hibiscus Coast Raiders in the Bartercard Cup whilst on a

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 ...

development contract. where he played under successful coaches Tony Benson and

Brian McClennan Brian "Bluey" McClennan (born 16 February 1962) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He was previously the head coach of the New Zealand national team (with whom he won the 2005 Tri-nations) and then England' ...

. Heremaia however failed to be picked up by the Warriors. In 2004 Heremaia moved to Australia to play in the

NSWRL Premier League The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

, where he represented the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

and

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in t ...

in successive years. In 2006 he moved to England to play for the Leigh Centurions in the National League One, again linking up with Tony Benson. That year Heremaia was part of the team that won the

Northern Rail Cup The Championship Cup, (known as the Northern Rail Cup for sponsorship reasons), and previously known as the National League Cup, was a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom's Rugby League Championships. Although the F ...

. He has also conditionally signed but never played for the

in 2007 and Halifax in 2008. Returning to New Zealand and the

, Heremaia was able to make the

Auckland Vulcans The Auckland Vulcans were an Auckland based rugby league club that participated in the New South Wales Cup. They were administered by the Rugby League Development Foundation. The team was selected from the Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial C ...

team for 2008, playing in the

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

. From here he was able to impress the

and was signed to a contract for the 2009 season. He made his

first grade First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by ...

début in Round Twelve against the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

. He was re-signed by the Warriors until the end of the 2011 season. Heremaia joined

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

in 2012 on a two-year deal with an option for a third. On 8 May 2014,

announced that they would release Heremaia at the end of the 2014 season. One day after Hull announced Aaron would leave at the end of the season, the

announced he will arrive at the club at the end of the 2014 season to play in 2015.

Representative career

Heremaia played for the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

in 2001. He made his début for the New Zealand Māori side in 2002. He regularly appeared for the side while based in New Zealand and captained New Zealand Māori on several occasions. For the 2010 Anzac Test, Heremaia was selected to play for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

from the interchange bench in their loss against Australia.

References

External links

Widnes Vikings profileNew Zealand Warriors profileLeigh Centurions profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heremaia, Aaron 1982 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players East Coast Bays Barracudas players Hibiscus Coast Raiders players Hull F.C. players Junior Kiwis players Leigh Leopards captains Leigh Leopards players Manurewa Marlins players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia Newtown Jets NSW Cup players People educated at Tangaroa College Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Auckland Widnes Vikings players