Kotoni Staggs (born 29 October 1998) 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 11 ...

footballer who plays as a 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 c ...

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). He has represented Indigenous All Stars,

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He has played as a and er in his career. Staggs is a child of three. His sister Kaneesha Staggs is currently 17 who plays rugby for the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...

and has just been selected to play for the Australian Rugby side.

Background

Staggs was born in

Wellington, New South Wales Wellington is a city in the Central Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, located at the junction of the Wambuul Macquarie and Bell Rivers. It is within the local government area of Dubbo Regional Council. The city is northwest o ...

, Australia and is of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

(

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

people) and Tongan descent. He was educated at Wellington High School. He played his junior football for the Wellington Cowboys before being signed by the

Playing career

2017

Staggs played for the Broncos

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 c ...

team in 2017, playing 25 games, scoring 12 tries and kicking 23 goals. Staggs was rewarded for his season winning the Broncos U20s Best Back of The Year Award.

2018

After showing great form in the Under 20's, Staggs was promoted up to 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 fou ...

, playing for the

Redcliffe Dolphins The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League (BRL) premiership competition in 1960, and since 1996 have played i ...

. Staggs was showing great performances for the Dolphins in the early rounds, bouncing between Centre and Second-Row, his versatility catching the eye of Broncos coach Wayne Bennett to include him into the full-time squad. In the lead-up to the Broncos clash against the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional 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 fifteen Ne ...

in Round 11 of the

2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...

, Staggs was selected to make his NRL debut for the

off the interchange bench after Bennett originally selected young centre

Gehamat Shibasaki Gehamat Shibasaki (born 2 September 1998) is an Australian-Japanese professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or er for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Newc ...

for the bench role but went with Staggs instead before his versatility to play in the backs and forwards. During the match, after Broncos fill in centre Tom Opacic suffered a concussion in only the second minute, Staggs come on to cover as centre and had an impressive debut, scoring a try, setting up a try for winger Corey Oates, running for 57 metres, made nine tackles and recorded five tackle busts during the Broncos thrilling 28-22 win at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

. In the lead-up to the Broncos clash with 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 ...

, after Broncos gun centre James Roberts was ruled out of the match from an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

injury, Staggs was denied by a flaw in the NRL by not allowing him to start at centre because he wasn't included in the Broncos top 32 squad at the start of the season, so

Jaydn Su'A Jaydn Su'a (born 23 October 1997) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and South Sydney R ...

had to start at centre but broke his ankle during the Broncos 26-6 unimpressing loss at

. Staggs would finish his debut NRL season with him playing in 9 matches and scoring 2 tries for the Broncos in the

. When Staggs wasn't selected for the Broncos, he would play his trade in the Queensland Cup, showing more great form and which the Dolphins would make the 2018 Queensland Cup Grand Final, playing against the

Easts Tigers The Brisbane Tigers are a rugby league club based at Langlands Park, in the suburb of Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia. Since 1996, they have competed in the Queensland Cup, having competed in the Brisbane Rugby League from 1934 to 1997, where ...

, scoring a try and kicking 6 goals in the 36-22 win at

. On 13 October 2018, Staggs was selected to play for the

Junior Kangaroos The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. The ...

against 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 ...

, playing at second-row in the 40-24 win at

Mt 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 ...

2019

On 15 February 2019, Staggs represented the Indigenous All Stars against the New Zealand Maori All Stars team, playing off the interchange bench in the 34-14 win at AAMI Park. On July 7, 2019, Staggs kicked 4 conversions from 4 attempts in the "Baby Broncos"' crucial 2-point win over 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 leag ...

in round 16. Staggs made 24 appearances for Brisbane 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 ...

as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals. Staggs played in the club's elimination final against Parramatta which Brisbane lost 58-0 at the new

Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium ...

. The defeat was the worst in Brisbane's history and also the biggest finals defeat in history.

2020

Staggs made 14 appearances for Brisbane 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-seaso ...

. He finished as the club's top try scorer and top points scorer in a disappointing year as they finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon for the first time in their history.

2021

In round 20 of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Staggs scored two tries for Brisbane in a 37-18 victory over arch-rivals North Queensland. On 31 July, Staggs was ruled out for the remainder of the season with an MCL injury.

2022

On 29 May, Staggs was selected by New South Wales to play in game one of the 2022 State of Origin series. On 19 June, Staggs was not selected by New South Wales for the second game in the series after the blues had lost the opening game 16-10. Staggs played a total of 23 games for Brisbane in the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

as the club finished 9th on the table.

2023

In round 3 of the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season is the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams For the 2023 season, the number of teams in the NRL has increased from sixteen to seventeen with the ...

, Staggs scored two tries for Brisbane in a 40-18 victory over St. George Illawarra. In round 5, Staggs scored two tries for Brisbane in their 46-12 victory over the Wests Tigers. In round 21, Staggs scored two tries for Brisbane in their 36-20 victory over South Sydney.

Honours

Individual *

U20s Best Back: 2017 *

Play of The Year: 2020 (His second half try against the Dragons in Round 15) *

Best Back: 2019, 2020

Controversy

On 4 August 2020, a sex tape was released featuring Staggs. In a statement made by the Brisbane Broncos, it was reported that it was made without Staggs's consent. "The Brisbane Broncos have been made aware of a video recording involving Kotoni Staggs being circulated on social media," the statement read. "The video is of a highly personal nature and has been released without his consent. The club is working closely with the NRL Integrity Unit, having alerted it as soon as becoming aware of the issue." On 8 June 2021, Staggs was fined $20,000 and suspended for two matches by the NRL over an off-field incident that occurred in April 2021.

References

External links

Brisbane Broncos profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staggs, Kotoni 1998 births Australian rugby league players Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent Indigenous Australian rugby league players Indigenous All Stars players Tonga national rugby league team players Tongan rugby league players Brisbane Broncos players Redcliffe Dolphins players Rugby league centres Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from New South Wales Wiradjuri people Living people People from Wellington, New South Wales