Atelea Vea is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who last played for the Leigh Centurions in the Super League. He plays as a prop, lock or second-row forward. He has previously played for the Melbourne Storm, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, St. George Illawarra and the London Broncos.
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 27 November 1986 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row, Lock, Prop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 4 March 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He made his first-grade début for the Sharks in 2009. He was selected to play for Tonga in the 2009 Pacific Cup.[5]
Background
editVea was born in Sydney, Australia.
Playing career
edit2009: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
editVea made his first-grade début for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks away to the Penrith Panthers, in a round 10 loss, a game in which he came on off the interchange bench.[6] He then featured in the 26–4 loss at home to the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the next round, where he was again on the bench.[7] His first start for the Cronulla side came when the side hit something of a run of form. He started out in the second-row in a narrow 13–10 win over the Parramatta Eels,[8] and he kept his starting place in wins over New Zealand Warriors (18–10),[9] Canberra Raiders (24–22)[10] and the thumping 46–16 thrashing of Brisbane Broncos,[11] all of which were consecutive appearances. He was, in round 16 at the Sydney Roosters, shuffled to lock, where the Sharks lost their first game in four.[12] He then had to wait another 10 rounds before being selected again, in the 26–24 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[13]
2010–11: Melbourne Storm
editSigned by the Melbourne Storm in July 2009 ahead of the 2010 NRL season,[14] Vea would have to bide his time in NSW Cup. He would return to NRL action in 2011, playing nine games for Melbourne, with all appearances of the bench. His performance in a losing effort in round 26 against the Sydney Roosters was praised by coach Craig Bellamy given the injury toll on the night.
2012–13: St George-Illawarra
editHe played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in 2012 and 2013.
2014: London
editHe joined the London Broncos on 24 February 2014.[15]
2015-2016: St Helens
editIn 2015, Vea joined St Helens where he made 40 appearances over two seasons.[16]
2017: Leigh
editIn 2017, Vea joined Leigh where he played 27 matches in the 2017 Super League season. Leigh would be relegated from the Super League after losing the Million Pound Game and Vea was released from his contract.[17]
Representative career
editHe made his international début for Tonga in a 44–14 defeat by Papua New Guinea, where Vea scored a try.[18] As Tonga did not progress to the final, Vea's next game was in the third/fourth place play-off loss to Fiji.[19]
References
edit- ^ a b "Atelea Vea St Helens". www.superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ loverugbyleague
- ^ RLP
- ^ London Official Archived 16 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "rleague.com profile". rleague.com. 16 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Panthers 26–22 Sharks". rleague.com. 16 May 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Sharks 4–26 Dragons". rleague.com. 23 May 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Eels 10–13 Sharks". rleague.com. 30 May 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Sharks 18–10 Warriors". rleague.com. 7 June 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Raiders 22–24 Sharks". rleague.com. 14 June 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Sharks 46–12 Broncos". rleague.com. 22 June 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Roosters 19–12 Sharks". rleague.com. 27 June 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Sharks 24–26 Rabbitohs". rleague.com. 5 September 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Storm signs Stanley, Vea". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ "Dragons Recruit Vea For 2012". www.dragons.com.au. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Leigh Centurions sign forward Atelea Vea from St Helens on two-year contract". www.skysports.com.
- ^ "Leigh sign Atelea Vea from St Helens". www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
- ^ "PNG 44–14 Tonga". Daily Telegraph. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- ^ "Fiji 26–16 Tonga". Herald Sun. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.