Villiami Sione "Willie" Tonga (born 8 August 1983), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "Little Willie", is an Australian former professional

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 last played for the

Leigh Centurions The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, who compete in the Betfred Super League. The club was founded in 1878, and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern R ...

in the

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 ...

. An

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 ...

international and Queensland

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

representative , he previously played 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 ...

, 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 ...

, with whom he won the 2004 NRL Premiership, and the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

. He joined French club the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons ( French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from ...

in 2015 and signed a contract with the Centurions for 2016.

Early life

Born in the former Woden Valley Hospital on 8 August 1983, he is of Indigenous

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

and Tongan descent. His full name is Viliami Sione Tonga, known as Willie. He was the first child of Tongan immigrant John (Sione) Tonga and

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , ...

woman, Maria Naden.

Esi Tonga Esikeli Tonga (born 5 February 1988) is a former Tonga international rugby league footballer who last previously played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. A Tongan international representative three-quarter or sec ...

, also a professional

footballer, is his younger brother. Showing a talent at a young age while living in

Peak Hill, New South Wales Peak Hill is a town in Parkes Shire in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. At the , Peak Hill had a population of 1,106 people. It is located on the Newell Highway and the Parkes to Narromine railway line. History Before the arriv ...

, Tonga soon adopted rugby league and played for the

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

side while his parents attended the Bimbadeen Bible College. After leaving Cootamundra, Tonga's parents and their five children moved to La Perouse in Sydney, and Tonga played rugby union for the

Matraville Matraville is located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately by road south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. History Ma ...

Sports High School First XV. His parents continued to move around working for the Aboriginal Inland Missionaries and the family finally settled in

Cherbourg, Queensland Cherbourg (), formerly known as Barambah, Barambah Aboriginal Settlement and Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement, is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Cherbourg, Queensland, Australia. In the , ...

, an Aboriginal community in Queensland.

Rugby league career

2002–2003: Move to Parramatta

Scouted by

Arthur Beetson Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson OAM (21 January 1945 – 1 December 2011

, Tonga moved into the

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

area. He was signed by the

and played 8 games over two seasons. He then signed with the

2004–2008: Move to Canterbury-Bankstown

Making small but sure career moves, his best-known achievements were yet to be acknowledged when he moved on to the Bulldogs in 2004. His career catapulted in that one year, earning

selection, allowing him to become the 145th player to be chosen for the Queensland side since 1980. Winning the

Dally M The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...

''Centre of the Year'' award, Tonga played there for the Bulldogs in their

2004 NRL Grand Final The 2004 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2004 NRL season. It was contested by the Sydney Roosters, who had finished the regular season in 1st place, and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, who had finished ...

victory over cross-city rivals, the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, 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 ...

. Tonga was selected in the Australian team to go and compete in the end of season

2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between 16 October and 27 November of 2004. The format of the competition differed from the previous event in that the teams play ...

tournament. In the final against

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 ...

he played at centre and scored two tries in the Kangaroos' 44–4 victory. As 2004 NRL premiers, the

faced

Super League IX Tetley's Super League IX was the name of the 2004 Super League championship season due to sponsorship by Tetley's Bitter. This was the 110th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the ninth championship decided by Super ...

champions,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in the

2005 World Club Challenge The year 2005 Carnegie World Club Challenge was contested by Super League IX champions Leeds Rhinos and 2004 NRL season premiers, the Bulldogs. The match was played on 4 February at Elland Road, Leeds before 37,208 spectators. Australian Sean Hamp ...

. Tonga played at centre in the club's 32–39 loss. He was also picked for the Australian side for the 2005 Tri-Nations series, making his first full year in the NRL a success. On 1 April 2008, it was announced that Tonga had signed a four-year deal with the

, commencing in 2009. Tonga's final year at Canterbury-Bankstown saw him play only seven games as the club finished last on the table.

2009–2011: Move to North Queensland

In April 2009, he was named in the preliminary 25 man squad to represent

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_ ...

in the opening

match for 2009. In June, Willie Tonga played in Game II of the 2009 State of Origin Series to replace Justin Hodges. Tonga was retained for the third match which the Maroons lost. In 2010 Tonga played all three Origin matches for the Maroons. At the end of the season he also represented Australia again for the first time in five years in the

2010 Four Nations The 2010 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was played in Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2010. The tournament was the second time the Four Nations had been held, following on from the 2009 edition held in England and France. ...

tournament. After a number of long-term injuries, Tonga announced in 2011 that he would be re-joining the

. This decision was welcomed by the fans and senior members of the Parramatta team who he had played with as young player.

2012–2014: Return to Parramatta

Tonga's return to the club he debuted with was one of long term injuries, he struggled to get a game, only playing 12 in 2012 as the club finished last for the first time since 1972. In the 2013 preseason, during a trial match, Tonga injured his back and was ruled out indefinitely. In June 2013, Tonga was one of 12

players that were told that their futures at the club were uncertain by coach,

Ricky Stuart Ricky John Stuart (born 7 January 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He ...

. Tonga returned towards the end of the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

making four appearances as Parramatta finished last for a second consecutive year. Tonga later re-signed with Parramatta until the end of the

2015 NRL season The 2015 NRL season was the 108th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 18th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, which was followed ...

. In the

2014 NRL season The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Leagu ...

, Tonga played 16 games as Parramatta narrowly missed the finals under new head coach Brad Arthur.

Reni Maitua

In late 2013 it was revealed that Tonga's best friend

Reni Maitua Reni Maitua (born 11 June 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer. An Australian and Samoan International representative player, he previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with whom he won the 2004 NRL Premiers ...

had been suffering from severe depression. In mid 2013, Maitua suffered a breakdown after a game in Brisbane, and days later attempted suicide. Tonga was awake at 1:00am when he received a call from Maitua's sister, who had received a text message which scared her greatly. Tonga chose to drive to Maitua's unit, and found Maitua attempting to take his own life. Tonga believes that had he even arrived 10 seconds later, Maitua would not have survived. Tonga and Maitua told their story on the

NRL Footy Show ''The Footy Show'' was an Australian sports variety television program covering professional rugby league in Australia. It was shown on the Nine Network and aired for 25 seasons. For the final season in 2018, the show was hosted by journalist Eri ...

in June 2014 as an attempt to help remove the stigma around mental illness in league.

2015–2017: Super League career

On 9 July 2014, it was confirmed that Tonga had signed a contract to play for the

club the

in 2015. He made his Super League début in round 1 against the 2014 Champions, St. Helens. He scored his first ever Super League try against the Warrington Wolves in round 3.

References

External links

2017 Leigh Centurions profile2016 Leigh Centurions profileState of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonga, Willie 1983 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian people of Tongan descent Australian rugby league players Bradford Bulls players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Catalans Dragons players Indigenous All Stars players Indigenous Australian rugby league players Leigh Centurions players North Queensland Cowboys players Parramatta Eels players People educated at Matraville Sports High School Prime Minister's XIII players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Canberra Wiradjuri