Dene Halatau

Dene Halatau
Halatau at the 2008 World Cup
Personal information
Full name Dene La Halatau
Born (1983-01-27) 27 January 1983
Invercargill, New Zealand
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 95 kg (14 st 13 lb)
Playing information
Position Second-row, Lock, Hooker, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003–09 Wests Tigers 128 17 0 0 68
2010–13 Canterbury 69 4 0 0 16
2014– Wests Tigers 36 4 0 0 16
Total 233 25 0 0 100
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–09 New Zealand 15 0 0 0 0
As of 1 August 2015
Source: [1]

Dene Halatau (born 27 January 1983) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Wests Tigers of the National Rugby League. A New Zealand national representative forward, he previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs after having started his career at Wests, with whom he won the 2005 NRL Premiership. Halatau was also part of the New Zealand team that won the 2008 World Cup.

Early years

Born in Invercargill, New Zealand, Halatau moved to Australia as a 4-year-old and played his junior rugby league for the Merrylands Rams and North Ryde Hawks before being signed by the Wests Tigers. Halatau was educated at Westfields Sports High School.[2] He is of Niuean descent.[3]

Playing career

2003

In Round 13 of the 2003 NRL season, Halatau made his NRL debut for the Wests Tigers against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Leichhardt Oval off the interchange bench in the Tigers 38–30 loss.[4] In Halatau's third match in Round 18 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Leichhardt Oval, He scored his first and second tries in the Tigers 44–12 win.[5] He finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 9 matches and scoring 3 tries.

2004

Halatau finished the 2004 NRL season with him playing in 22 matches and scoring 4 tries. In November 2004, He was selected for the New Zealand national rugby league team making his test debut at hooker against France in the Kiwis 24–20 win at Stade d'Albert Domec.[6]

2005

Halatau played off the interchange bench for New Zealand in the 2005 ANZAC Test at Suncorp Stadium, as the Kiwis lost 32-16.[7] Later in the season Halatau was moved from the interchange bench to lock forward for the finals campaign. Halatau was awarded the Man of the Match for his two try effort against St George Illawarra Dragons in the Preliminary Final in the Tigers 20–12 win at SFS[8] and a week later in the 2005 NRL Grand Final, he played at lock in the Wests Tigers 30–16 win over the North Queensland Cowboys.[9] Halatau finished the year with 4 tries from 22 matches.

2006

Playing in 14 NRL matches in 2006, Halatau also played 3 matches at hooker for New Zealand in the 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations.

2007

Halatau was selected to play for New Zealand at hooker in the 2007 ANZAC Test in the Kiwis 30–6 loss at Suncorp Stadium.[10] Halatau finished 2007 with one try from 21 matches. He also went on the 2007 All Golds tour, playing at hooker in all the 5 matches.

2008

In Round 15 against the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, Halatau played his 100th NRL career match and scored a try in the Tigers 19–18 loss.[11] Halatau finished the 2008 NRL season with him playing in 22 matches and scoring 3 tries.

Halatau was a member of the New Zealand team which defeated Australia 34–20 in the 2008 World Cup Final at Suncorp Stadium.[12]

2009

Halatau played in the 2009 ANZAC Test at Suncorp Stadium in the Kiwis 38–10 loss.[13] On 14 August, Halatau signed a 3-year deal with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs commencing in 2010.[14][15] Halatau finished the season with him playing in 18 matches and scoring 2 tries.

2010

In Round 3 against the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium, Halatau made his club debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the Bulldogs smashing 60–14 win.[16] Halatau played in 8 matches for the Bulldogs in an injury interrupted season.

2011

In Round 23 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Remondis Stadium, Halatau scored his first try as a Bulldog before succumbing to a season ending ankle injury.[17] He finished the season with one try from 19 appearances.

2012

In 2012, Halatau was playing second-row in the starting team. He injured his knee in round 19 and was unable to return to first grade.[18] Halatau was named 18th man for the Bulldogs 2012 NRL Grand Final team against the Melbourne Storm with the Bulldogs losing 14–4. He finished the season with him playing 17 matches and scoring a try.

2013

On 28 July, it was announced that Halatau would be returning to his previous club Wests Tigers on a two-year contract from 2014. CEO Grant Meyer said, "His experience and leadership as a senior player is going to be invaluable for some of our younger players. We have been very clear that we are investing very heavily in our juniors and a player like Dene will provide leadership and mentoring for the group."[19] Halatau played exclusively from the interchange bench in 2013, but made appearances in all 25 of the Bulldogs matches and scored 2 tries.

2014

After breaking his left ankle in a pre-season trial, Halatau was ruled out for at least four months.[20] He played his return match in Round 14 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs off the interchange bench in the Tigers 32–10 loss.[21] In Round 18 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval, Halatau played in his 200th NRL match in the Tigers 40–8 loss.[22] He finished his return year to the Tigers with him playing in 7 matches.

2015

Better luck with injuries saw Halatau play in 22 matches and score 4 tries in the 2015 NRL season, equaling his best season tally for the Tigers since the 2005 season. Halatau made his debut as captain in Round 11 against the North Queensland Cowboys in the Tigers 8-0 loss at Campbelltown Stadium.[23] Halatau captained the team a further 2 times while Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods were away on State of Origin duties, including a surprise 34-6 upset win against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Round 14 at ANZ Stadium.[24] In Round 19 against the Brisbane Broncos, Halatau played his 150th club match for the Tigers in the 42-16 loss at Suncorp Stadium.[25][26] The Wests Tigers failed to win any of the games Halatau was absent for the season.

At season's end, Halatau signed with the Wests Tigers for a further season. Speaking of his career beyond 2016, Halatau said, "I'm 32 now and I've played longer than I thought I would have played. I feel like I'm still offering a bit to the team. I’m open ended next year, if they want to extend it another year. If they don’t want to and there’s nothing else out there, then I’m prepared to step into life after football."[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Dene Halatau - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  2. ↑ "Westfields Sports High School, Australia's First Sports High School". Westfieldsports.nsw.edu.au. 2002-07-16. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  3. ↑ "Anderson expects a lot from his players". League Unlimited. 10 November 2004. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Sea Eagles edge Tigers". abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Steve Mascord (2003-07-14). "Tigers find something to play for as Sharks sink to new low". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  6. ↑ "Plucky French give Kiwis a scare - League". Sydney Morning Herald. 2004-11-12. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  7. ↑ Steve Mascord. "It's a runaway success - League". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  8. ↑ "Dragons dream over as Tigers roll on". Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-09-24. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  9. ↑ Greg Prichard. "Fairytale for Wests Tigers". The Age. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  10. ↑ Williams, Steven (2007-04-20). "Australia win Anzac Test in late blitz". League Unlimited. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  11. ↑ Wayne Heming (9 May 2015). "Broncos hold off fighting Tigers". Fox Sports. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  12. ↑ Andy Wilson. "Rugby league World Cup final: New Zealand end Australia invincibility with 34-20 win". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  13. ↑ Webster, Andrew (8 May 2009). "Australia beats New Zealand 38-10 in Anzac Test in Brisbane". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Bulldogs sign West Tigers forward Dene Halatau to a three-year contract". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  15. ↑ "Bulldogs sign Dene Halatau". Courier Mail. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Bulldogs Score 12 Tries in 60-14 Victory Over Roosters". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  17. ↑ Nicolussi, Christian (16 August 2011). "Canterbury Bulldogs beat Cronulla Sharks in NRL round 23". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  18. ↑ "Canterbury Bulldogs backrower Dene Halatau ruled out for eight weeks with knee injury". Daily Telegraph. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  19. ↑ "Dene Halatau snapped up as Wests Tigers add four players to 2014 roster". ABC News. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  20. ↑ Matt Encarnacion (2014-02-08). "Halatau injured as Tigers surprise Panthers". nrl.com. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  21. ↑ "South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-10 Wests Tigers". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  22. ↑ "Foran steers Manly in Tigers thrashing". The Roar. 2014-07-12. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  23. ↑ "North Queensland Cowboys outlast Wests Tigers with points at a premium". Smh.com.au. 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  24. ↑ Adam Pengilly (2016-01-27). "Jason Taylor hails hard-nosed Wests Tigers cubs after drubbing South Sydney". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  25. ↑ Steve Zemek. "Halatau to savour 150th for Tigers in NRL". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  26. ↑ "Ladder-leading Broncos trounce Tigers". NRL.com. 2015-07-19. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  27. ↑ Nathan Ryan (16 December 2015). "Clubs want rejects, young star eyes extension, veteran’s swan song — NRL Market Watch". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 December 2015.

External links

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