David Fusitu'a (born 16 October 1994) is a 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 112 ...

footballer who plays as a and for

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

and for both

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 ...

and

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 ...

at international level.

Background

Fusitu'a was born in

Auckland, New Zealand 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 ...

Early years

Fusitu'a attended

Kelston Boys' High School Kelston Boys' High School ("KBHS") (Te kura tuarua o nga tamatane o kerehana) is an all-boys state secondary school in Kelston, a suburb in the Waitakere region of Auckland, New Zealand. It was created in 1963 when the roll of Kelston High Scho ...

and played junior football for the

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

Playing career

Fusitu'a was signed by 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 played for the Junior Warriors in 2012 as a 17-year-old. In 2013 he played in the side that lost the

Holden Cup The NRL Under-20s (known commercially as the Holden Cup due to sponsorship from Holden) was the top league of professional rugby league for players aged 20 years or younger in Australasia. Contested by sixteen teams, the Under-20s competition co ...

Grand Final and also spent time with 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 ...

in the NSW Cup. Fusitu'a played for New Zealand under-18s in 2011 and the Junior Kiwis in 2012 and 2013. Fusitu'a was named in the train on squad for

for the 2013 World Cup but was not selected in the final squad.

2014

In February 2014, Fusitu'a was selected for the Warriors inaugural

2014 Auckland Nines The 2014 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the first NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 30 October 2014. ...

squad. In Round 2 of the 2014 NRL The best of, Fusitu'a made his first grade debut for the

on the wing, replacing the injured

Manu Vatuvei Manu Mapuhola Mafi-Vatuvei (born 4 March 1986), also known by the nickname "The Beast", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and convicted methamphetamine importer who was both a Tonga and New Zealand international repres ...

in the Warriors 31–12 loss at

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

. In Round 8 in the ANZAC Day match against the Meplbourne Storm at

AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district. When completed ...

, he scored his first first grade try in the Warriors 16–10 win and he finished off his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 12 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Warriors in the

2014 NRL season The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Leagu ...

. On 9 September 2014, Fusitu'a was selected for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

2014 Rugby League Four Nations The 2014 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was the fourth staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament played in Australia and New Zealand over three weeks from Saturday, 25 October to Saturday, 15 November 2014. The series was contested ...

train on squad. On 12 December 2014, Fusitu'a re-signed with the

on a 2-year contract, keeping him at the club to the end of the 2017 season.

2015

Fusitu’a played in 3 matches and scored 2 tries for the Warriors in an injury-riddled

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 ...

2016

In February, Fusitu'a 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 ...

. In Round 7 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Fusitu’a made his return to the Warriors first grade team for the first time since Round 19 of the 2015 season, playing on the wing and scoring a try in the 24–20 win at Westpac Stadium. On 7 May 2016, Fusitu'a made his International debut for

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 2016 Polynesian Cup where he played at fullback in the 18–6 loss at

Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...

. In Round 14, Fusitu'a scored a career high 4 tries against the Newcastle Knights in their 50–14 win in Hunter Stadium. Fusitu’a finished the

2016 NRL season The 2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 19th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...

with him playing in 18 matches and scoring 11 tries for the Warriors. On 4 October 2016, Fusitu’a was selected in the

24-man squad for the

2016 Four Nations The 2016 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (known as the 2016 Ladbrokes Four Nations, for sponsorship purposes) was the fifth staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament and was played in England in October and November. The series was c ...

. On 6 October 2016, Fusitu'a extended his contract with the Warriors to the end of the 2019 season. On 11 November 2016, Fusitu’a made his international debut for

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, playing on the wing and scoring 2 tries in the shock 18-18 all draw at Derwent Park. On 20 November 2016, Fusitu’a would make his second appearance the Kiwis, playing in the 2016 Four Nations Final against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on the wing in the 34–8 loss at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

2017

In Round 1, against the Newcastle Knights, Fusitu’a scored his first career hattrick of tries in the 26–22 win at Mt Smart Stadium. Fusitu’a finished the

2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, w ...

with him playing in all of the Warriors 24 matches and scoring 12 tries. On 4 October, Fusitu’a was selected in the 24-man squad for

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 ...

after defecting from New Zealand. On 11 November, in the highly entertaining clash against New Zealand, he scored a hattrick of tries as Tonga pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, defeating the Kiwis 28–22 at Waikato Stadium. In the next match against

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, Fusitu’a scored a double in the nail biting 24–22 victory at Lancaster Park. Fusitu’a played in 4 matches and scored 5 tries for Tonga in their outstanding tournament.

2018

Following a breakout performance for Tonga in the World Cup, in 2018 Fusitu'a produced the finest NRL season of his career to date with the Warriors. He appeared in 23 games and scored 23 tries, (including two hat-tricks and five doubles), finishing as the NRL's top tryscorer for 2018. The Warriors finished in the top 8 for the first time since 2011, with Fusitu'a scoring a try in their qualifying final loss to Penrith. In the annual NRL.com Player's Poll, he earnt 21% of the Best Winger votes, the second highest behind

Josh Addo-Carr Josh Addo-Carr (born 28 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level. He began his career with ...

who polled 27%. His meteoric rise was cemented in August when the Warriors signed him to a long-term deal, ensuring he would stay with the club until the end of 2023. He was named on the wing again for

in their historic first-ever Test match with the

Australian Kangaroos The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian ...

on 20 October 2018, played in front of a sold-out crowd at

Mount Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

, Auckland.

2019 & 2020

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 ...

, he made 16 appearances and scored five tries as the club missed out on the finals. 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 ...

, Fusitu'a was limited to only seven appearances as the

again missed out on the finals.

2021

On 18 October, he signed a two-year deal with English side

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

despite having two years remaining on his contract with the

2022

In round 1 of the 2022 Super League season, he made his club debut for Leeds in their 22-20 loss 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 ...

Achievements and accolades

Individual * 2018:

Ken Irvine Medal 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 be ...

- Dally M Top Try Scorer (23)

References

External links

New Zealand Warriors profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fusitua, David 1994 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Junior Kiwis players Leeds Rhinos players Marist Saints players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand people of Tongan descent New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players People educated at Kelston Boys' High School Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers Tonga national rugby league team players Rugby league players from Auckland