Motu Tony

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Motu Tony bigraphy, stories - New Zealand rugby union player

Motu Tony : biography

29 May 1981 –

Iosefo Motu Tony nzleague.co.nz (born 29 May 1981 in Saleimoa, Samoa) is a professional rugby league footballer for English club Wakefield Trinity and previously played for Hull and Whitehaven. A New Zealand international representative utility back or hooker, he previously played in the National Rugby League for the Auckland and Brisbane clubs.

Playing career

Tony made his professional debut for the New Zealand Warriors in 2001. He went on to play 55 games for the club, including his appearance at five-eighth in the Warriors’ 2002 NRL grand final loss to the Sydney Roosters. In 2004 he moved to the Brisbane Broncos but only played in three games for the club before leaving and joining Castleford. In 2005 he joined Hull.

He played in 109 games for Hull before crossing codes to play for National 2 (North) Rugby Union club Hull RUFC. Following the end of the Rugby union season Tony signed for Whitehaven. In July 2010 it was announced that Tony had signed for a 1 month trial with Championship union side Nottingham Rugby.

On 28 October 2010, Super League club Wakefield Trinity announced the signing of Tony. On 12 June 2010, Tony made his debut for Trinity at fullback in their 13-10 home victory over Huddersfield.

Early years

Tony attended De La Salle College where he played for the First XIII rugby league team. He played for the Marist Saints in the Auckland Rugby League competition before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors. He played for the Marist-Richmond Brothers in the 2000 Bartercard Cup and also toured Australia with the New Zealand Residents that year. AAP Sports News (Australia), 10 October 2000 The Press, 27 July 2000

Representative career

Tony represented the New Zealand Kiwis 18 times between 2001 and 2006. nzrl.co.nz, Accessed 18 August 2009 He was part of the New Zealand side that won the Gillette Tri-Nations in 2005, beating Australia in the final 24-0.

In 2008 he chose to represent Samoa and was named in the Samoa training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup but withdrew due to injury.