David Hala (Born 25 October 1989) 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 for the

Redcliffe Dolphins The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisba ...

in the

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

. He previously played for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

and the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

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 made his NRL debut in round 21 of the

2009 NRL season The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership ...

. He was recorded as the Broncos strongest ever player bench pressing a new record of 187 kg, the previous being

Brad Thorn Bradley Carnegie Thorn (born 3 February 1975) is a rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Born in New Zealand, he represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a 22-season career as a pla ...

's 175 kg.

Background

Hala was born in

Redcliffe, Queensland Redcliffe is a town and suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It also refers colloquially to the Redcliffe Peninsula as a whole, a peninsula jutting into Moreton Bay which contains several other suburbs. Since the 1880s, Red ...

, Australia. He is of Tongan descent.

Playing career

Hala played his junior rugby league for the

, before he was signed by 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 ...

for an $80,000 contract.

2008

In 2008, Hala played for the

under-20s team.

2009

In 2009, Hala played for the

under-20s team. Whilst playing for the under-20s team he then was selected to make his debut against the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

in a 0-56 loss to Canberra in round 21. He played one game in 2009 in the

from the bench.

2010

In 2010, Hala played for the Redcliffe Dolphins before he suffered a season-ending injury he did not play first grade the whole of the 2010 season.

2011

In 2011, Hala started the year playing for the Redcliffe Dolphins then, in round 9, he got selected to play first grade for the Brisbane Broncos in the round nine clash against the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

and in round 15, he scored his first NRL career try, against the

St George Illawarra Dragons 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- ...

. He played 15 games all off the bench in 2011 for a try and also played in the 3 finals games for the Brisbane Broncos.

2012

In 2012, Hala started the year injured and, in round 12, he played against the Melbourne Storm from the interchange bench and suffered a season-ending knee injury. He played one game in 2012, that game was from the interchange bench.

2013

In 2013, Hala played every game for the Broncos from round 5, against the

, until round 18, against the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

, where he injured his shoulder and was forced to have surgery. He played 13 games in 2013 12 from the bench and started once against the

. Hala was selected for

as 18th man in the

Pacific Rugby League International 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 ...

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 2013. But due to a late injury to

Nafe Seluini Nafe Seluini is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Intrust Super Cup. He previously played for the Penrith Panthers and the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. Playing career A Mangere E ...

, he was added to the bench.

2014

In 2014, Hala played for both Broncos and Redcliffe throughout the season. He played in rounds 3, 9-11, 15-16 and 18 for the Broncos that year. He scored two tries for the Broncos against the

when he left the field Brisbane were leading 22-0 and then went on to lose 22-24. On 29 October 2014, he was released from his contract with the Broncos. On 3 November 2014, he signed with the

on a two-year contract starting in 2015.

2015

In round 22, Hala made his Gold Coast debut in the Titans' 36-14 loss to the

. Hala made one further appearance for the Gold Coast as the club finished 14th on the table.

2016

He left the Gold Coast in July 2016, re-joining the

References

External links

Broncos Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hala, David 1989 births Living people Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent Australian rugby league players Brisbane Broncos players Burleigh Bears players Gold Coast Titans players Redcliffe Dolphins players Rugby league players from Queensland Rugby league props Tonga national rugby league team players