Anthony Peter "Tony" Kriletich (22 March 1944 – 21 May 2016) was a New Zealand

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 ...

player who represented

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 the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

and 1970 World Cups.

Early life and family

Born in the

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 ...

suburb of

Point Chevalier Point Chevalier (; commonly known as Point Chev and an original colonial name of Point Bunbury after Thomas Bunbury) is a residential suburb and peninsula in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to th ...

on 22 March 1944, Kriletich was the son of Ivan "Jack" Kriletich and Kathleen Frances Kriletich (née Matutinovich). He was educated at Sacred Heart College.

Playing career

Kriletich played for the Marist 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 and represented

. He won the Lipscombe Cup in 1965 as the ARL's sportsman of the year and the Rothville Trophy in 1968 and 1970 as the player of the year. Kriletich made his debut 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 ...

in 1965, coming on 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 ...

after Eddie Moore suffered a broken nose.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009'', 2009. . He participated in the 1968 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and the 1970 World Cup in Great Britain. He finished his career having played 47 games for New Zealand, including 22 consecutive test matches between 1967 and 1972. Kriletich captained the Kiwis once; against Great Britain at the

1968 Rugby League World Cup The 1968 Rugby League World Cup tournament was the fourth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and was held in Australia and New Zealand during May and June in 1968. Contested by the men's national rugby league football teams of the two host ...

. Kriletich also was part of the

sides that defeated

15–14 in 1969 and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

11–2 in 1974.

Later years

Kriletich was an inaugural inductee to the

Hall of Fame in 2015.Six legends inducted into ARL Hall of Fame
/ref> Kriletich died at

Middlemore Hospital Middlemore Hospital is a major public hospital in the suburb of Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand. The hospital has approximately 800 beds. There are 24 operating theatres across two sites. History In 1943, during World War II, construction comme ...

, Auckland, on 21 May 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kriletich, Tony 1944 births 2016 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team captains Auckland rugby league team players Marist Saints players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Auckland People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland New Zealand people of Croatian descent