Junior Sa'u
 | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tafeaga Junior Sa'u | |||||
| Nickname | Hot Sauce | |||||
| Born | 18 April 1987 Auckland, New Zealand | |||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)[1] | |||||
| Weight | 97 kg (15 st 4 lb)[1] | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2008–12 | Newcastle Knights | 86 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 104 |
| 2013 | Melbourne Storm | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2014– | Salford Red Devils | 26 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
| Total | 116 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 164 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2009–10 | New Zealand | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 2013 | Samoa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| As of 5 September 2015 | ||||||
| Source: Rugby League Project | ||||||
Junior Sa'u (born 18 April 1987) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for Salford in the European Super League. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights and Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League. He primarily plays as a centre.
Playing career
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Sa'u played his junior football for Logan Brothers in Queensland, Australia before being signed by the Canberra Raiders. He played for the Raiders' Premier League team in 2006, scoring 7 tries[2] before signing a 4-year contract starting in 2008 to be a part of the newly cleaned out Newcastle Knights.
In Round 13 of the 2008 NRL season he made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. He scored 2 tries on debut. In June 2011, Sa'u re-signed with the Knights for a further 2 years.[3]
On 18 August 2012, Sa'u was released from the final year of his Knights contract and signed with the Melbourne Storm on a 1-year contract starting in 2013.[4][5]
In June 2013, it was announced that Sa'u had signed a two-year deal with Salford in the European Super League starting in 2014. [6]
Scoring 12 tries in his debut season with Salford, Junior was voted 'Supporter's Player of the Year' for 2014.
Representative career
In 2008, Sa'u was named in the Samoa training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup but did not make the final squad.[7]
In 2009, Sa'u was selected in the New Zealand Kiwis Four Nations squad and made his international debut for the Kiwis against Tonga.[8]
In 2010, Sa'u was selected for New Zealand in the 2010 ANZAC Test. He was also again selected in the New Zealand squad for the 2010 Four Nations.
In 2013 Junior played for Samoa in the Pacific Rugby League International against Tonga. He was also called in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup squad to replace the initially selected Roy Asotasi.
Personal life
He is a cousin to Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles player Steve Matai.
In 2009, Sa'u was praised for coming to the aid of a 15-year-old girl who was being assaulted in Waratah, New South Wales.[9]
References
- 1 2 "Junior Sau Salford Red Devils". www.superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ↑ http://www.rleague.com//db/player/s/sau_junior/index.php
- ↑ "Cowboys' lifeline for Paterson". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ↑ http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news-display/Sau-signs-with-the-Storm/61793
- ↑ http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news-display/Sau-signs-with-Storm/61963
- ↑ http://www.reds.co.uk/rugby-news/reds-sign-kiwi-international-junior-sau
- ↑ "Samoa name World Cup Squad". League Unlimited. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ↑ "League: Chance for rookie Kiwis". The New Zealand Herald. NZPA. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ↑ Nick Walshaw (2009-07-01). "Newcastle Knights' Junior Sau hailed for saving girl's life". Fox Sports News (Australia). Retrieved 2009-08-07.