Nathanael "Simi" Sasagi (born 24 April 2001) is a New Zealand professional
rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the
Canberra Raiders in the
National Rugby League (NRL).
He previously played for the
Newcastle Knights as a .
Background
Sasagi was born in
Auckland,
New Zealand. He is of
Samoan descent.
He played his junior rugby league for the
Ellerslie Eagles
The Ellerslie Eagles are a rugby league club based in Ellerslie, New Zealand. The club was founded in 1912 and competes in Auckland Rugby League competitions. Its premier team competes in the Sharman cup. The club celebrated its centenary Queen ...
, before being signed by the
Newcastle Knights.
Playing career
Early years
Sasagi started his career at the Knights playing with their
S. G. Ball Cup
The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne (Victoria Thunderbolts) also participate. Prior to the C ...
team in 2018,
before re-signing with the club on a contract until the end of 2020, with an option for a further two seasons after that.
In 2019 and 2020, he trained with the first-grade squad as a development player, but only played two games for the Knights'
Jersey Flegg Cup side in that time after being hampered by injury.
He was named in the
Junior Kiwis squad in September 2019.
2021
In 2021, Sasagi was promoted to the top 30 squad and spent his time playing with the
NSW Cup side. He 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
Newcastle against
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 ...
in round 11 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 ...
, playing in the s as Newcastle were defeated 20–36.
2022
Sasagi played 14 games for Newcastle 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 ...
which saw the club missing the finals finishing 14th on the table.
2023
In August, Sasagi signed a 2-year contract with the
Canberra Raiders starting in 2024, after gaining a release from the remainder of his Knights contract.
References
External links
Newcastle Knights profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasagi, Simi
2001 births
Living people
New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent
New Zealand rugby league players
Newcastle Knights players
Canberra Raiders players
Junior Kiwis players
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league centres
Rugby league players from Auckland