Fetuli Talanoa (born 23 November 1987) is a former

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 played as a or . He played for the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian 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 pla ...

in the

National Rugby League 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 ...

(NRL) and for

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 the

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 ...

. He announced his retirement in April 2019.

Background

Talanoa 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 ancestry.

Playing career

Talanoa began his playing career for the

in the NRL and also played for Souths feeder side The

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 the ...

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 reserve ...

With Norths, Talanoa played 38 games and scored 14 tries. In 2014, Talanoa signed for

club

Hull FC 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 wer ...

. In 2016, he would play in Hull's 12-10 win over the

Warrington Wolves The Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England, that competes in the Super League. They play rugby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2004. Founded as Warrington Z ...

in the 2016 Challenge Cup final. This was the first time that Hull had won the cup at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

after 8 previous attempts. In 2017, Hull won the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

again with Talanoa scoring a try in the 18-14 win over the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

. Talanoa announced his immediate retirement from playing on 9 April 2019 after discovering that a pre-season wrist injury which prevented him from making any appearances for Hull F.C. during the first half of the

2019 Super League season Super League XXIV, known as the Betfred Super League XXIV for sponsorship reasons, was the 2019 iteration of and the 24th season of the Super League and 125th season of rugby league in Great Britain. Twelve teams competed over 29 rounds, incl ...

would require further surgery.

International

Fetuli has appeared on several occasions for the

with his first international appearances coming during the 2006

Federation Shield The inaugural Federation Shield rugby league competition was held in 2006. This competition is organised by the Rugby Football League and was contested by England, France, Samoa and Tonga. England defeated Tonga 32-14 in the final to lift the Feder ...

competition. In August 2008, Talanoa was named in the Tonga training squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final b ...

, and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man

squad. He was named in the New Zealand training squad for the

Honours

: (2) 2016, 2017

References

External links

Hull F.C. profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talanoa, Fetuli 1987 births Living people Hull F.C. players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers South Sydney Rabbitohs players Tonga national rugby league team players Tongan rugby league players New Zealand expatriate rugby league players Expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia Tongan expatriate sportspeople in England Tongan expatriate sportspeople in Australia Tongan expatriate rugby league players Expatriate rugby league players in Australia