Sika Manu

Sika Manu
Manu playing for the Kiwis
Personal information
Full name Sikalamu Viliami Manu
Born (1987-01-22) 22 January 1987
Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
Playing information
Position Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007–12 Melbourne Storm 89 17 0 0 68
2013–15 Penrith Panthers 61 6 0 0 24
2016– Hull F.C. 1 1 0 0 4
Total 151 24 0 0 96
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–11 New Zealand 14 4 0 0 16
2013–15 Tonga 6 3 0 0 12
As of 17 October 2015
Source: Rugby League Project

Sika Manu (born 22 January 1987 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for Hull F.C. in the Super League. He previously played for the Melbourne Storm (with whom he won the 2012 NRL Premiership) and Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. He was also a member of the World Cup winning New Zealand team who beat Australia in the 2008 World Cup Final. Manu's position of choice is in the second-row.

Background

Manu is of full Tongan descent and as a result is eligible both for New Zealand and Tonga. His older brother Filipe was also contracted to the Storm.[1] He is cousin to current Super 15 Rugby union player from the Highlanders; Nasi Manu. He is also cousin to up and coming Rugby superstar David Manu, located in the Eastern Suburbs.Manu was educated at Upper Hutt College, where he played for the schools' First XV rugby team. He played for the Randwick Kingfishers, Petone Panthers and the Upper Hutt Tigers in the Wellington Rugby League.[1] Manu was a Junior Kiwi international and was part of the 2004 side who twice defeated the England Under 18s Academy. Following this series, Manu signed a NRL contract with the Melbourne Storm.[2]

Playing career

Manu made his first National Rugby League (NRL) for the Melbourne Storm in 2007. He has since played over 50 games for the club. He played in the 2008 NRL Grand Final defeat by Manly.[3] Manu made his New Zealand Kiwis debut in 2008. He was named in the Tongan and New Zealand training squads for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[4][5] In October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man Kiwi squad and was part of the team that went on to win the tournament.[6]

Manu suffered a leg injury in the Storm's 2009 Round 21 clash with the St George Illawarra Dragons, thus ending his season. He ultimately missed the Grand Final win.

Sika Manu

For the 2010 Anzac Test, Manu was selected to play for New Zealand from the interchange bench in their loss against Australia. On June 5, 2012, Penrith Panthers General Manager Phil Gould announced that Manu had signed a three-year deal with the Panthers, commencing from the start of the 2013 National Rugby League season. On September 30, 2012, he finally played in a premiership, when Storm beat the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 14-4 in the 2012 NRL Grand Final.

In 2013 Sika, through his Tongan heritage, made his début for Tonga in their Pacific Rugby League International clash with fierce Pacific rivals Samoa.

Later in the year Sika represented Tonga in their unsuccessful 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign. He played in all 3 of Tonga's matches, scoring two tries. He scored both of his tries in his country's nail-biting 2 point defeat by Scotland (unfortunately the only defeat of their World Cup campaign which ultimately ended Tonga's hopes of a knock-out round spot).

On 2 May 2015, Manu captained Tonga in their 2015 Polynesian Cup test-match against Pacific rivals Samoa. On 13 August 2015, he signed a 3-year contract with Super League team Hull F.C. starting in 2016.[7][8] On October 17 2015 Manu captained Tonga again this time in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against the Cook Islands for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

References

  1. 1 2 Deane, Steve (30 October 2010). "League: Time for Manu to prove himself". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Team of the Century - Week 6 Wellington Rugby League
  3. ↑ "Grand final: As it happened". Fox Sports. 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  4. ↑ "Tug-of-war over Mason". Sky Sports. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  5. ↑ "Kiwis select Sonny Bill". Sky Sports. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  6. ↑ "Kiwis to wait on Webb and Matai". BBC. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  7. ↑ http://www.zerotackle.com/nrl/manu-signs-super-league-deal-18590/
  8. ↑ http://hullfc.com/article/41228/world-cup-winner-manu-to-join-hull-fc-from-2016

External links

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