Fa'amanu Brown (born 24 December 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 last played as a for the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...

and has represented and at international level. He played as a and earlier in his career. He previously played for the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugb ...

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 ...

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

and

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 the NRL,

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...

in the

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

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

in the

RFL Championship The Rugby Football League Championship, (known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second highest division of rugby league in British rugby league system, Britain (with one team in the league also being based in France) ...

Background

Brown was born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand. He is of Samoan descent. Brown played his junior football for the Hornby Panthers before moving to Australia and playing for De La Salle Caringbah. He attended and graduated from

Endeavour Sports High School Endeavour Sports High School (abbreviated as ESHS) is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive and specialist secondary day school, with speciality in sports, located in Caringbah, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Austra ...

. In 2012, Brown was signed by the

and started out in their

S. G. Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of male players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne, and Auckland also participate. Prior to the COVID ...

team. Brown then played for the Sharks' NYC team from 2012 to 2014. Brown has captained the Sharks' NYC team.

Playing career

2014

On 14 February 2014, Brown was selected for the

inaugural

2014 NRL Auckland Nines The 2014 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the first NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 30 October 2013 ...

squad. Brown was selected to play for

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 ...

against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

in the 2014 Pacific Rugby League International test, but withdrew due to injury. On 5 June 2014, Brown re-signed with the Sharks on a 3-year contract, two days before his NRL debut. In Round 13 of 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 ...

, Brown made his debut for the Sharks against the

playing at five-eighth in the Sharks 30–0 loss at

WIN Stadium Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawa ...

. In Round 21 against 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 (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

Remondis Stadium Endeavour Field, known colloquially as Shark Park or Sharks Stadium, is a rugby league stadium in the southern Sydney suburb of Woolooware, New South Wales, Australia. It is the home ground of the Cronulla-Sutherland Rugby League Club, which re ...

, Brown scored his first NRL career try in the Sharks 32–12 loss. Brown finished his debut year in the

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

with him playing in 11 matches and scoring a try for the Sharks in the 2014 NRL season. On 9 September 2014, Brown was selected for the

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 ...

and

2014 Four Nations train-on squads, but didn't make the final 24 man squads for both teams.

2015

On 31 January and 1 February, Brown played for the Sharks in the

2015 NRL Auckland Nines The 2015 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the second NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 16 September 20 ...

. In their Auckland Nines Semi-Final match against the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

, Brown suffered a season ending

Anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

injury, resulting in him not playing in any matches for the Sharks in 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 followe ...

2016

On 7 May, Brown made his international debut for

against

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 ...

in the 2016

Polynesian Cup The Polynesian Cup is a rugby league football test match played between Samoa and Tonga first played in 2010. The matches in 2015, 2016 and 2018 were played as double-headers with the Melanesian Cup. Results See also *Polynesia Cup – sim ...

, where he played at five-eighth and kicked 3 goals in a man-of-the-match performance. Brown spent most of the season with foundation club and feeder side to Cronulla, The

Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, New South Wales, Newtown, a suburb of Inner West (Sydney), Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after t ...

, where he was part of the side that made it to the preliminary final before losing to eventual premiers Illawarra.

2017

On 17 May 2017, Fa'amanu Brown signed a two-year deal with the

. After waiting almost a year for a chance to be recalled to the side, Brown finally made his

return in Cronulla's clash with Canterbury in round 12, with the regular half, James Maloney, unavailable due to State of Origin duties. On 21 July 2017, Brown scored his first try of the season for Cronulla against Souths in a 26–12 victory. On 28 July 2017, Brown started for Cronulla against 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 scored a try, but was later taken from the field after suffering a head collision.

2018

Brown made his debut for Canterbury-Bankstown in Round 3 against the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

. Brown made a total of 9 appearances in 2018 as Canterbury spent the entire season down towards the foot of the table. At one stage, the club were running second last on the table before upset wins over the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

and St George lifted the club up the table to a 12th place finish. Brown played in Canterbury'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 reserve ...

grand final victory over his former club Newtown at

Leichhardt Oval Leichhardt Oval is a rugby league and soccer stadium in Lilyfield, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers National Rugby League (NRL) team, along with Campbelltown Stadium and Western Syd ...

. The following week, Brown played in Canterbury's

NRL State Championship The NRL State Championship is a rugby league match contested by the premiers of the two elite second-tier competitions in Australia, the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup. The match has been played as a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand ...

side which defeated Redcliffe 42-18 at

ANZ Stadium Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...

2019

Brown only made 3 appearances for Canterbury 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 ...

. For most of 2019, Brown played for Canterbury's reserve grade team in the

Canterbury Cup 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 reserve ...

competition. Brown's last game for the club was the qualifying final against St George which Canterbury lost 24-22 at

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Leumeah, a suburb in South Western Sydney, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. Formerly known as Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, it is currently the home ground ...

. On September 16, it was revealed that Brown would be released from the club after winning Canterbury Cup player of the year.

2020

On 15 June 2020, it was reported that he had signed for

in the

2021

Brown played for Featherstone in their 2021

Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and ...

defeat against

Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The clu ...

. On 5 November, Brown signed a contract to join

side

for the 2022 season.

2022

On November 5, 2021, it was confirmed Brown had joined the

via his Instagram story. On 20 May, he made his club debut against his former club Canterbury, scoring two tries for Wests in their 36-22 victory at

. Brown played a total of 13 games for the Wests Tigers in the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season was the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest ...

as the club claimed the

Wooden Spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

for the first time. In October Brown was named in the Samoa squad for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received � ...

2023

In August, Brown joined the

mid-season on a contract until the end of the 2023 season. Brown made his debut for the Knights in round 26, coming off the interchange bench in Newcastle's 32-6 victory over the

, giving them an 8 game winning streak. On 13 October, it was reported that he had signed for

on a one-year contract for the 2024 season On 17 Oct 2023 it was reported that he would debut for against in the 2023 Pacific Rugby League Championships

2024

Brown made his club debut for Hull F.C. against arch-rivals

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

in round 1 of the 2024 Super League season. Hull F.C. would go on to lose the match 22-0. The following week, Brown was controversially sent off in Hull F.C's 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 ...

. On the replays that were provided, Brown had accidentally clashed heads with Warrington player Ben Currie but instead of play continuing he was given a red card. On 12 April, Brown departed Hull F.C. with immediate effect. It came the day after Tony Smith was sacked as head coach. Hull F.C. had started the season with only one win from seven games. On 16 April 2024, it was announced he would joining the

on a one-year deal, effective immediately. On 11 September 2024, it was announced that Brown would depart St. George Illawarra at the end of the season after not being offered a new contract.

References

External links

Canterbury Bulldogs profileNRL profile

2017 RLWC profileSamoa profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Faamanu 1994 births Living people Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Featherstone Rovers players Hornby Panthers players Hull F.C. players Newcastle Knights players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand expatriate rugby league players in England New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Newtown Jets NSW Cup players People educated at Endeavour Sports High School Rugby league players from Christchurch Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league hookers Rugby league locks Samoa national rugby league team players Samoan rugby league players Western Suburbs Magpies NSW Cup players Wests Tigers players St. George Illawarra Dragons players