Meti Noovao is a New Zealand former

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 in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

, and at club level for

Otahuhu Leopards The Otahuhu Leopards are a rugby league club based in Otahuhu, Auckland. Founded in 1911 Auckland Rugby League season, 1911, the club has produced 49 New Zealand national rugby league team players. The club competes in the Fox Memorial competit ...

(two spells),

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

, Counties Manukau,

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 ...

Adelaide Rams The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition. The Rams lasted two seasons, the first in the Super Le ...

and

Burleigh Bears The Burleigh Bears are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Gold Coast, Australia. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. Since their admission to the competition in 1997, the ...

, as a left-footed

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

-kicking , or . His position of preference was at , although he was something of a utility player. His sister Ana is a former

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 ...

player, and is the

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

of the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Background

He 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 Cook Island descent.

New Zealand

While growing up in New Zealand Meti played rugby league for the

in the local

tournament. He joined the

Auckland City Vulcans The Auckland City Vulcans were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented Auckland City in the 1994 Lion Red Cup. They were replaced in 1995 by the Auckland Warriors' Colts team. Notable players Notable players included Stacey Jones, Vinn ...

in 1994 in the new

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 ...

competition.Richard Becht. ''A New Breed Rising: The Warriors Winfield Cup Challenge''. Auckland, HarperCollins, 1994. . p.183 With the entry of the

into 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 ...

competition he was signed up as a junior. In 1995 he was the captain of the Warriors Colts side, a team which played in the Lion Red Cup, replacing the Vulcans.''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.115 The team lost the 1995 Grand Final however he managed to score a try, kick a goal and score a field goal for his team. Throughout his junior years he was an outside back, playing in the centres, at five eighth and at half back. He made 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 ...

in 1993. Again in 1996 he could not break into the Warriors first grade side, although he moved into the forward pack for the first time - playing at both hooker and lock forward. Meti again played in a losing grand final side, this time at Reserve Grade level. In 1997 he made his first grade rugby league debut, in the new

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 ...

competition. He was limited to only one game off the bench for the Warriors, although he was also involved in the

1997 World Club Championship The 1997 World Club Championship was an expansion of the World Club Challenge concept by Super League. The rugby competition was restructured to include all 22 clubs from the Australasian Super League (Australia), Super League and the Super Leag ...

Australia

In 1998 he found himself surplus to requirements in Auckland and so he moved to Australia, signing with the

. His season was not a success and he played only one first grade game in the new

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 ...

competition. For this game he started at . In 1999 he moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and played for the

in 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 four ...

. He played for Otahuhu in the 2002 Bartercard Cup.

Cook Islands

In 1995 Meti represented the Cook Islands, his country of heritage, playing for the Cook Island at the 1995 Emerging Nations tournament. He was to go on to be a regular fixture in the side, notably representing his nation at the 1996 and 1997

Super League World Nines The Super League World Nines (known as the ''Gatorade Super League World Nines'' due to sponsorship), was a pre-season rugby league nines tournament between national sides. Set up in the midst of the Super League war and created in opposition to t ...

and the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.Cook Islands
''BBC'', 2000

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noovao, Meti 1974 births Living people Adelaide Rams players Auckland rugby league team players Burleigh Bears players Cook Island Māori people Cook Islands national rugby league team players Counties Manukau rugby league team players Junior Kiwis players New Zealand sportspeople of Cook Island descent New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players Otahuhu Leopards players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Auckland Cook Island rugby league players Cook Island expatriate rugby league players Expatriate rugby league players in Australia New Zealand expatriate rugby league players Cook Island expatriate sportspeople in Australia New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia