David Fusitu'a (born 16 October 1994) is a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who plays as a and for

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

and for both

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

at international level.

Background

Fusitu'a was born in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Early years

Fusitu'a attended Kelston Boys' High School and played junior football for 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 ...

Playing career

Fusitu'a was signed by the

New Zealand Warriors The 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 the Aucklan ...

and played for the Junior Warriors in 2012 as a 17-year-old. In 2013 he played in the side that lost the Holden Cup Grand Final and also spent time with the Auckland Vulcans in the

NSW Cup 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 reserve ...

. Fusitu'a played for New Zealand under-18s in 2011 and 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 Sup ...

in 2012 and 2013. Fusitu'a was named in the train on squad for

for the 2013 World Cup but was not selected in the final squad.

2014

In February 2014, Fusitu'a was selected for the Warriors inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad. In Round 2 of the 2014 NRL The best of, Fusitu'a made his first grade debut for the

on the wing, replacing the injured Manu Vatuvei in the Warriors 31–12 loss at

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

. In Round 8 in the ANZAC Day match against the Meplbourne Storm at

AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, currently known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the suburb of East Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victor ...

, he scored his first first grade try in the Warriors 16–10 win and he finished off his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 12 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Warriors 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 ...

. On 9 September 2014, Fusitu'a was selected for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () 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 Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

2014 Rugby League Four Nations The 2014 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was the fourth staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament played in Australia and New Zealand over three weeks from Saturday, 25 October to Saturday, 15 November 2014. The series was contested ...

train on squad. On 12 December 2014, Fusitu'a re-signed with the

on a 2-year contract, keeping him at the club to the end of the 2017 season.

2015

Fusitu’a played in 3 matches and scored 2 tries for the Warriors in an injury-riddled 2015 NRL season.

2016

In February, Fusitu'a played for the Warriors in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines. In Round 7 against the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

, Fusitu’a made his return to the Warriors first grade team for the first time since Round 19 of the 2015 season, playing on the wing and scoring a try in the 24–20 win at

Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (commercially known as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...

. On 7 May 2016, Fusitu'a made his International debut for

against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

in the 2016 Polynesian Cup where he played at fullback in the 18–6 loss at

Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, west of Sydney CBD. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure the most notable were the Parramatta E ...

. In Round 14, Fusitu'a scored a career high 4 tries against the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

in their 50–14 win in Hunter Stadium. Fusitu’a finished the

2016 NRL season The 2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 19th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, ...

with him playing in 18 matches and scoring 11 tries for the Warriors. On 4 October 2016, Fusitu’a was selected in the

24-man squad for the 2016 Four Nations. On 6 October 2016, Fusitu'a extended his contract with the Warriors to the end of the 2019 season. On 11 November 2016, Fusitu’a made his international debut for

against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, playing on the wing and scoring 2 tries in the shock 18-18 all draw at

Derwent Park Derwent Park is a Rugby League Stadium and former motorcycle speedway in Workington, England situated beside the Cumbrian River Derwent. It is used mostly for rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Workington Town who play in Leagu ...

. On 20 November 2016, Fusitu’a would make his second appearance the Kiwis, playing in the 2016 Four Nations Final against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on the wing in the 34–8 loss at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

2017

In Round 1, against the

, Fusitu’a scored his first career hattrick of tries in the 26–22 win at

Mt Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium, currently known as Go Media Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League a ...

. Fusitu’a finished the

2017 NRL season The 2017 NRL season was the 110th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 20th season run by the National Rugby League. The season started in New Zealand with the annual Auckland Nines, and was followed by the All Stars Match, ...

with him playing in all of the Warriors 24 matches and scoring 12 tries. On 4 October, Fusitu’a was selected in the 24-man squad for

for the

2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...

after defecting from New Zealand. On 11 November, in the highly entertaining clash against New Zealand, he scored a hattrick of tries as Tonga pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, defeating the Kiwis 28–22 at

Waikato Stadium FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, th ...

. In the next match against

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, Fusitu’a scored a double in the nail biting 24–22 victory at

Lancaster Park Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 earthqu ...

. Fusitu’a played in 4 matches and scored 5 tries for Tonga in their outstanding tournament.

2018

Following a breakout performance for Tonga in the World Cup, in 2018 Fusitu'a produced the finest NRL season of his career to date with the Warriors. He appeared in 23 games and scored 23 tries, (including two hat-tricks and five doubles), finishing as the NRL's top tryscorer for 2018. The Warriors finished in the top 8 for the first time since 2011, with Fusitu'a scoring a try in their qualifying final loss to Penrith. In the annual NRL.com Player's Poll, he earnt 21% of the Best Winger votes, the second highest behind

Josh Addo-Carr Joshua Addo-Carr (born 28 July 1995), nicknamed "The Foxx", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League and Australia at international level. Addo-Carr is a dual ...

who polled 27%. His meteoric rise was cemented in August when the Warriors signed him to a long-term deal, ensuring he would stay with the club until the end of 2023. He was named on the wing again for

in their historic first-ever Test match with the

Australian Kangaroos The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Comm ...

on 20 October 2018, played in front of a sold-out crowd at

Mount Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium, currently known as Go Media Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League a ...

, Auckland.

2019 & 2020

In the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

, he made 16 appearances and scored five tries as the club missed out on the finals. In the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-season ...

, Fusitu'a was limited to only seven appearances as the

again missed out on the finals.

2021

On 18 October, he signed a two-year deal with English side

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

despite having two years remaining on his contract with the

2022

In round 1 of the 2022 Super League season, he made his club debut for Leeds in their 22-20 loss against

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. Fusitu'a missed the clubs 2022 Super League Grand Final loss to St Helens due to injury.

2023

In round 16 of the 2023 Super League season, Fusitu'a scored two tries as Leeds defeated Huddersfield 54-0. He played a total of 17 games for Leeds in the 2023 Super League season and scored ten tries as the club finished 8th on the table and missed the playoffs.

2024

Fusitu'a played 12 games for Leeds in the 2024 Super League season as the club finished 8th on the table.

Achievements and accolades

Individual * 2018: Ken Irvine Medal - Dally M Top Try Scorer (23)

References

External links

New Zealand Warriors profile2017 RLWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fusitua, David 1994 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players Junior Kiwis players Leeds Rhinos players Marist Saints players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors players People educated at Kelston Boys' High School Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers Tonga national rugby league team players Tongan rugby league players Rugby league players from Auckland