Joseph Sonny Vagana (born 21 January 1975), 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 "Big Joe", 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 112 ...

footballer who played as a Prop forward in the 1990s and 2000s. During his career Vagana played for the

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 ...

, and the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

, and also represented both

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 ...

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 ...

in international competition.

Background

Joe 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 the cousin of fellow rugby league international

Nigel Vagana Nigel Faletoese Vagana (born 7 February 1975), also known by the nicknames of "Pablo", and "Chiko", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a and . A New Zealand national rugby league team, New Z ...

, and the New Zealand

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

er Linda Vagana.

Playing career

Auckland Rugby League

Whilst a student at St Pauls College, Vagana played rugby league for the

Richmond Rovers The Richmond Rovers Rugby League Club is a rugby league club based in Grey Lynn, New Zealand. The premier team is called the Richmond Bulldogs and compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition. Early history The club was formed in ...

club in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

competition. In 1993 he played 9 games for

. He then played for the successful

North Harbour Sea Eagles The North Harbour Sea Eagles were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented North Harbour in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. For the first two seasons they were coached by Graeme Norton. There two main feeder clubs were the Northcot ...

in the 1994

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 ...

.''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 ''T ...

, 1994. p.102 Vagana played for the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

for three seasons, between 1992 and 1994.

National Rugby League

In 1995 Vagana was signed by the

as they prepared for their début season in the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

. He made his début for the club on 18 March 1995 in the Warriors second ever premiership match. In 1995 Joe 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

1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact ...

. Vagana was selected for the New Zealand team to compete in the end of season

1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989–92 World Cup (the 19 ...

tournament. In the 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 ...

he played at prop forward in the Kiwis' 22–20 loss. He went on to play 116 games for the Warriors, leaving the club when Eric Watson bought the franchise, but not the player contracts, in 2000. Vagana also played 25 times 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 ...

, including playing in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.

Super League

Despite competition from other

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

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

clubs, Vagana signed for the

in 2001. He became one part of the Bradford Bulls' Awesome Foursome, a phrase coined by the media, alongside

Stuart Fielden Stuart Fielden (born 14 September 1979) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He was formerly an assistant coach for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, and now is a Person ...

, Brian McDermott and Paul Anderson. Vagana played for the

at prop forward in their 2001 Super League Grand Final victory against 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 ...

. As Super League VI champions, the Bradford Bulls played against 2001 NRL Premiers, the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

in the 2002 World Club Challenge. Vagana played as a prop forward in Bradford's victory. He also played for Bradford at prop forward in their 2002 Super League Grand Final loss against St. Helens. Vagana played for the

at prop forward in their 2003 Super League Grand Final victory against the

. Having won

Super League VIII Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 109th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League. The season culminat ...

, Bradford played against 2003 NRL Premiers, 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

2004 World Club Challenge The 2004 World Club Challenge was held on Friday, 13 February 2004, at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, England. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and the Penrith Panthers. Background Bradford Bulls Penrith Panthers Match ...

. Vagana played from the interchange bench in the Bradford Bulls' 22–4 victory. He also played for Bradford at prop forward in their

2004 Super League Grand Final The 2004 Super League Grand Final was the 7th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League IX. It was held on Saturday 16 October 2004, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was played between Leeds Rhinos, who fi ...

loss against the

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 ...

. Vagana played for the

from the interchange bench in their

2005 Super League Grand Final 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

victory against the

As Super League champions Bradford faced

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 ...

premiers

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 ...

in the 2006 World Club Challenge. Vagana played from the interchange bench in the Bradford Bulls' 30–10 victory. A destructive tackler and strong runner with the ability to off load the ball, Vagana rarely missed a game for the Bradford Bulls and became one of the most popular players at the club. He also wrote a weekly column for several

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

newspapers and the Bradford Bulls' website. In 2006 Vagana was awarded the Bradford Bulls' Clubman of the Year Award. He signed a one-year extension on 18 August 2006 to keep him at the Bradford Bulls for the 2007 season. After a long absence he was called up by

for their game against Great Britain in 2006 but did not play in the match. In June 2007 Vagana signed another one-year contract with Bradford, signalling his intent to play out the 2008 season. Vagana was sent off for the first time in his Bulls career against

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, betw ...

on 5 August 2007. In August 2007 he was named in Bradford's

team of the Century In team sport, team of the century and team of the decade are hypothetical best teams over a given time period. For the century team, it can be either 100 years, or for a century (always the 20th). Similarly the team of the decade can be for 10 ...

. In 2008 whilst playing for Bradford against

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

Vagana broke his arm attempting to tackle

. Vagana retired at the end of the 2008 season after 8 years with the Bradford Bulls.Bradford's Joe Vagana aiming to beat Wigan and delay retirement plans
The Telegraph, 11 Sep 2008 In 2009 and 2010 he coached the

East Coast Bays Barracudas The East Coast Bays Barracudas is a rugby league club based in Browns Bay, New Zealand. Currently, they compete in the Sharman Cup, the second division in Auckland Rugby League. Coached by Ken McIntosh and managed by Cameron Dick, the "Cudas" ...

alongside

Willie Swann Willie Swann (born 1974) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and coach of Samoan heritage. He currently coaches the Auckland Vulcans in the New South Wales Cup. He is a former Samoa international and vice-captain. He a ...

References

External links

Joe Vagana bio at rugbyleague.co.nzJoe Vagana Super League Player StatsJoe Vagana news index at rleague.comBull Masters - Joe VaganaTeam Of The Century
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vagana, Joe 1975 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Bradford Bulls players East Coast Bays Barracudas coaches Junior Kiwis players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players North Harbour rugby league team players People educated at St Paul's College, Auckland Richmond Bulldogs players Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league props Samoa national rugby league team players