Mathew Feagai (born 14 February 2001) is a New Zealand Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a winger or centre for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Mat Feagai
Personal information
Full nameMathew Feagai[1]
Born (2001-02-14) 14 February 2001 (age 23)
Hastings, New Zealand
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight96 kg (15 st 2 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2021– St. George Illawarra 60 23 0 0 92
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022– Samoa 1 1 0 0 4
Source: [2]
As of 7 September 2024
RelativesMax Feagai (twin brother)

Background

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Feagai was born in Hastings, New Zealand, and is of Samoan and Tokelauan descent. His twin brother, Max Feagai, also plays rugby league.[3]

Career

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Early career

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Feagai played his junior rugby league at the Leeton Greens in Group 20 Rugby League.

In 2019, he was selected for both the New South Wales Under-18's team[4] and the Australian Schoolboys team after an impressive year where he won the 2019 S. G. Ball Cup with the Illawarra Steelers.

2021

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Feagai made his debut in round 9 of the 2021 NRL season for St. George Illawarra in their 32–12 victory against Canterbury-Bankstown, scoring a try. Feagai played eight games throughout the season as St. George Illawarra finished 11th and missed the finals.[5]

2022

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During round 6 of the 2022 NRL season Feagai scored a double as the St. George Illawarra in their 21-16 win over the Newcastle Knights.[6]

In round 25, Feagai scored two tries for St. George Illawarra in their victory over Brisbane.[7]

In October Feagai was named in the Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[8]

2023

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In round 12 of the 2023 NRL season, Feagai scored the winning try for St. George Illawarra in the last minute of the match as they defeated the Sydney Roosters 24-22 at Kogarah Oval.[9] Feagai would play a total of 23 games for the club in the 2023 NRL season as they finished 16th on the table.[10]

2024

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In round 14 of the 2024 NRL season, Feagai scored two tries for St. George Illawarra in their 56-14 victory over the Wests Tigers.[11] Feagai signed a two-year extension with the club until the end of 2026.[12] In round 26, he scored a hat-trick in the clubs 44-40 loss against Parramatta. It was the most points scored in a game by a losing team in NSWRL/NRL history.[13]

Statistics

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Season Team Pld T G FG P
2021   St. George Illawarra Dragons 8 3 - - 12
2022 20 10 - - 40
2023 23 4 16
2024 9 6 24
Totals 60 23 0 0 92

References

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  1. ^ NRL profile
  2. ^ "Max Feagai - Career Stats & Summary -". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ Chisholm, Ed (25 August 2020). "St. George Illawarra Dragons re-sign bright youngsters Mat and Max Feagai". Sporting News. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  4. ^ "NSWRL announces NSW Under-18s Men's squad". New South Wales Rugby League. 22 May 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Round 9 NRL team lists". National Rugby League. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Dragons v Knights - Round 6, 2022". National Rugby League.
  7. ^ "North Queensland hammers Penrith 38-8 on NRL finals eve, Brisbane Broncos' season comes to an end". ABC News. 3 September 2022.
  8. ^ Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
  9. ^ "Eels upset Rabbitohs 36-16 to snap losing NRL run, Dragons snatch 24-22 victory over Roosters". ABC News. 19 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Hunt call that could define Flanagan era; glaring hole that must be filled: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au. 6 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Lomax's historic 32-pt blitz as Dragons condemn 'dreadful' Tigers: What we learned". www.foxsports.com.au. 7 June 2024.
  12. ^ Pryde, Scott (6 July 2024). "Dragons confirm re-signing of young outside back". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Dragons 'fall apart'... then make NRL history in crazy near-comeback for ages". www.foxsports.com.au. 31 August 2024.
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