Jerome Ropati (born 23 November 1984) is a New Zealand 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 11 ...

footballer who played his entire career for the

New Zealand 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 ...

in the

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 ...

(NRL). Ropati also 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 ...

, and was a member of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

-winning team in 2008. He played as a , and occasionally as a and .

Background

Ropati was born in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

Early years

Ropati is of Samoan descent and was educated at St Paul's College, a school noted for its rugby league teams. Jerome Ropati's parents are Filipo and Rosa Ropati. He is no relation to the famous Ropati rugby league family.

Playing career

Ropati's junior club was the

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

and he played for the

Marist Richmond Brothers The Marist Richmond Brothers were a New Zealand rugby league franchise that played in the Bartercard Cup. They were a joint venture between two Auckland Rugby League clubs, the Richmond Bulldogs and the Marist Saints. In 2005 the competition w ...

in the Bartercard Cup. It was his 2003 season in the Bartercard Cup that shot him to prominence, as he enjoyed a stellar season and led the club to the grand final. He missed the grand final, which the Brothers lost, because he was making his NRL debut for the

Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

. In 2002 Ropati was named captain of 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 ...

squad which played two games against touring Australian sides.

Warriors

He made his

first grade First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by ...

debut for the Warriors in round 25 of the 2003 season against the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional 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 fifteen Ne ...

. When not selected for the first grade side, Ropati represented the

Auckland Lions The Auckland Lions were a rugby league club that had teams in both the New Zealand Bartercard Cup and the NSWRL Premier League. They were mostly drawn from the Mt Albert Lions Rugby League club. Mt Albert had a proud tradition in Auckland and had ...

in both the Bartercard Cup and

NSWRL Premier League The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

. He was one of four players who played in every game for the Warriors in 2007. He 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 2005 against Australia and was involved in the

2006 Tri Nations 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. He was a member of the 2008 World Cup winning Kiwis team, that defeated Australia in the Final, with Ropati scoring a try in the match. In 2009 he extended his Warriors career until the 2012 season, becoming a 10-year Warrior. His 2011 season was ruined by injury as he tore his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

(ACL) in round 3. He retired during the 2014 season, following another injury.

Later years

After retirement, Ropati stayed working for the Warriors, becoming a community ambassador. For the 2017 season, Ropati was appointed an assistant coach to the club's

Intrust Super Premiership NSW The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

side. In 2018 he put the boots back on and has turned out for the Bay Roskill Vikings in the Sharman Cup, helping them to the Phelan Shield in an unbeaten regular season.

References

External links

Jerome Ropati Official Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ropati, Jerome 1984 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand Warriors players Marist Saints players Junior Kiwis players Marist Richmond Brothers players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand Warriors coaches People educated at St Paul's College, Auckland