Makahesi Makatoa (born 30 January 1993) is a Cook Islands 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 as a or forward for the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

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 previously played for

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

in the

RFL Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...

Background

Makatoa was born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

, New Zealand, of

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

an and

Cook Islander Cook Islanders are residents of the Cook Islands, which is composed of 15 islands and atolls in Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. Cook Islands Māori are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Cook Is ...

descent. He played junior rugby league for the Marist Dragons in his hometown.

Playing career

Early career

Makatoa played 5 matches for the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

in the

NRL Under-20s 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 co ...

in 2013. Makatoa played for the

Mount Pritchard Mounties The Mounties Rugby League Football Club (sponsored by Mounties Group) is an Australian rugby league football club based in Mount Pritchard, New South Wales formed in 1927. They currently play in the NSW Cup, Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield. Mo ...

in the

New South Wales 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 ...

in 2017 and 2018.

Featherstone Rovers

Makatoa signed with the

in the

in 2019, following head coach Ryan Carr from Mounties to the Rovers.

Parramatta Eels

Makatoa joined the

squad in 2020, again under coach Carr. In Round 22 2021, Makatoa made his

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 ...

debut for Parramatta against the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

at Sunshine Coast Stadium, which ended in a 56-10 defeat. In December 2021, he signed a new deal to remain at Parramatta until the end of the 2023 season. Makatoa played 23 games for Parramatta 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 ...

including two finals matches. Makatoa was left out of Parramatta's preliminary final team which defeated

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

to reach the 2022 NRL Grand Final. Makatoa was not included in Parramatta's grand final team which lost 28-12 against Penrith. In round 16 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 ...

, Makatoa scored his first try for Parramatta in their 34-4 victory over Manly. Makatoa played a total of 17 matches for Parramatta which were all from the interchange bench in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 10th and missed the finals.

References

External links

Canberra Raiders profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makatoa, Makahesi 1993 births Living people Cook Islands national rugby league team players Cook Island rugby league players Featherstone Rovers players Mount Pritchard Mounties players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand people of Niuean descent New Zealand sportspeople of Cook Island descent Parramatta Eels players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from New Plymouth Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Cook Island expatriate rugby league players Cook Island expatriate sportspeople in England Cook Island expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate rugby league players in Australia Expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England