Fonda Metassa (died 26 May 2018) was an Australian 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 11 ...

footballer. Known as "the Golden Greek", he played in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership for

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestr ...

and Norths, and in the

New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sou ...

for the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

in the 1960s. A powerful winger, Metassa played two seasons (1960 and 1961) for South Sydney. He became a part of Brisbane Rugby League folklore when, in a 1968 reserve grade match for Norths against Souths at Lang Park, he burst from the back of an ambulance to return to the field after being carted off injured. Metassa also played one match for

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 , establishe ...

against

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in 1966. The following season he played in Norths' Brisbane Rugby League

grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

loss to

Brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

. Metassa was part of the 1969 BRL premiership-winning Norths side. He later worked as a television presenter. In 2008, Metassa was named on the wing of an all-time greatest Norths Devils team.

References

External links

Fonda Metassa at nrlstats.comQueensland representatives at qrl.com.au
1930s births 2018 deaths Australian rugby league players Fortitude Valley Diehards players Norths Devils players Queensland rugby league team players Rugby league wingers South Sydney Rabbitohs players Year of birth missing {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-stub