Brian To'o (born 18 August 1998) is a

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 ...

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 er for the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

in the

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 ...

. He won both the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

and the 2022 NRL Grand Finals with the

Panthers Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

. He has represented the NSW Blues in

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

and

at Test and 9's level.

Background

To'o was born in Sydney. His parents are of Samoan and distant

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

descent. To’o grew up in the Sydney suburb of

Mount Druitt Mount Druitt is a suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a large ...

and was educated at Rooty Hill High School. He played his junior rugby league for

St Marys Saints The St Marys Saints are an Australian rugby league club who were formed in 1908.St Marys''/ref> They were the founding Member of the Penrith District Rugby League. They have previously competed in the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup, winning three titles in ...

Career

2019

To'o made his NRL debut in round 10 of 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 ...

for Penrith against 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 ...

. To'o scored his first try in the top grade in Round 14 of the

against South Sydney at

ANZ Stadium ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand ...

in a 19–18 victory. In Round 18 against St George, To'o scored two tries as Penrith won the match 40–18 at Panthers Stadium. To'o made a total of 15 appearances for Penrith in the

as the club finished tenth on the table and missed out on the finals for the first time since 2015.

2020

In round 8 of 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 ...

, To'o was taken from the field during Penrith's 19–12 victory over

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, 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 j ...

Bankwest Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadi ...

. It was later revealed To'o would be ruled out for two months with a grade-three syndesmosis injury. He played a total of 16 games for Penrith in the

as the club claimed the Minor Premiership and reached the 2020 NRL Grand Final. To'o played in the grand final and scored a second half try in Penrith's 26–20 loss against Melbourne.

2021

In round 4 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 46–6 victory over Manly-Warringah at

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by th ...

. On 30 May, he was selected by New South Wales for game one of the 2021 State of Origin series. At the time of his selection, To’o lead the league in both run metres and post-contact metres for players in any position. He scored two tries in the opening game of the series as New South Wales defeated Queensland 50–6. In round 15, To'o scored two tries for Penrith in a 38–12 victory over the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. On 27 July, To'o was ruled out for at least six weeks after suffering a syndesmosis injury in Penrith's victory over Brisbane. In round 25, To'o scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in Penrith's 40–6 victory over Parramatta. On 27 September, To'o was named Dally M Winger of the year alongside Manly's

Reuben Garrick Reuben Garrick (born 30 June 1997) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a er and fullback for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League, NRL. He has played at representative level for the Prime Minister's XII ...

. To'o played a total of 21 games for Penrith in the 2021 NRL season including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final victory over South Sydney.

2022

In round 2 of the 2022 NRL season, To'o was taken from the field during Penrith's victory over St. George Illawarra. It was later announced that To'o would miss six to eight matches with a knee injury. To'o made his return to the Penrith side in round 9 against

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

which ended in a 22–20 defeat. On 29 May, To'o was selected by New South Wales to play in game one of the

2022 State of Origin series The 2022 State of Origin series was the 41st annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Queensland had won 22 times, NSW 16 times, with two series drawn. Game I Game One was a ...

. In round 24, To'o scored two tries for Penrith in a 46-12 victory over the

. In the 2022 Qualifying Final, To'o scored two tries in Penrith's 27-8 victory over

. To'o played in Penrith's 2022 NRL Grand Final victory over

scoring two tries as Penrith finished 28-12 winners. In October he was named in the Samoa squad for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £2 ...

. To'o played in every game for Samoa at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup including the final against Australia. To'o scored a second half try as Samoa lost 30-10. In November he was named in the 2021 RLWC Team of the Tournament.

Honours

Individual *

Dally M The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...

Winger of The Year: 2021 Club *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Minor Premiership Winners * 2020 NRL Grand Final Runner-up * 2021 NRL Grand Final Winners *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Minor Premiership Winners * 2022 NRL Grand Final Winners Representative * 2021 State of Origin series Winners

Personal life

To’o proposed to Moesha Crichton-Ropati at Suncorp Stadium amid the immediate post-match celebrations by the Penrith team of their grand final victory on 3 October 2021.

References

External links

Penrith Panthers profileSamoa profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Too, Brian 1998 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian people of Chinese descent Australian people of Samoan descent Samoa national rugby league team players Penrith Panthers players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from Sydney