John Haitrosene "Hitro" Okesene () (born 22 September 1970), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "Nitro",Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' is a 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 played in the 1990s and 2000s and represented three countries; Western Samoa, American Samoa and New Zealand.

Background

He 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. His brother

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

also played international rugby league.

Playing career

His early years saw him play in both Auckland competitions, for the Manukau club, and for Carlisle in the English competition during the New Zealand off-season. In 1994 he captained the Counties Manukau Heroes in the

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

, and in 1995 was part of the inaugural

Auckland 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 ...

squad.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

, 1994. p.94 He stayed with Auckland for another two seasons before moving the England to play in the Super League. He played for both the

Hull Sharks 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 Kingston upon Hull, West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League ...

and the

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "smal ...

before settling at lower division club,

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

. There, as in Auckland, he became a cult figure.

Representative career

Okesene was a Junior Kiwi in 1988 and 1989. In 1988 he also represented

Western 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 and Apolima); ...

in the

Pacific Cup The Pacific Cup was a rugby league football competition for national teams from the Pacific region. History The Pacific Cup was started in 1975 by Keith Gittoes of the New South Wales Rugby League.American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

at the 1992 Pacific Cup alongside his brother Paul. He played at either or and represented the

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 ...

on five occasions both on the 1994 tour of Australia and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, and at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.

Retirement

In 2003 he retired due to knee troubles and became coach of the Ellenborough Rangers who competed in the Cumbria Amateur Rugby League. He was replaced in 2005 but remains in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

, working in the construction industry.''Superleague'', Issue 1 2011. p.p.20-21.

Personal life

Now residing in Cumbria Okesene lives with his wife, Donna and they have three children named Shakayla, Giovanna and Lerocco

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okesene, Hitro 1970 births Living people American Samoa national rugby league team players Auckland rugby league team players Carlisle RLFC players Counties Manukau rugby league team players Featherstone Rovers players Hull F.C. players Junior Kiwis players Manukau Magpies players New Zealand builders New Zealand people of American Samoan descent New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players New Zealand people of Niuean descent Rugby league props Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Auckland Samoa national rugby league team players XIII Catalan players Workington Town players