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Tony Puletua
Tony Puletua
	Puletua playing for Samoa
Personal information
Full name	Anthony Puletua
Nickname	T
Born	25 June 1979 (age 30)
	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
Playing information
Position	Second-row, Prop
Club
Representative
	As of 1 November, 2008
	Source: NRL Stats, RLP

Anthony (Tony) Puletua (born 25 June 1979 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer for St Helens RLFC in the European Super League. A New Zealand and Samoan international, Puletua previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League competition. He primarily plays in the second row.

[edit] Penrith Panthers

Puletua made his debut for the Penrith Panthers in 1997 and was captain of the team from January, 2006. He is a member of the Panthers team which defeated the Sydney Roosters to win the 2003 Grand final.

Puletua's brother, Frank, also played for the Penrith Panthers.

[edit] St Helens

Puletua joined St Helens at the end of the 2008 season on a three-year deal.^[1] Puletua was contracted to the Panthers until the end of the 2009 season. He was also a target for the St. George Illawarra Dragons.^[2]^[3]^[4]

[edit] Representative football

Puletua represented the New Zealand national team on 22 occasions since 1998, including the 2000 World Cup. His last selection was for New Zealand against Australia in the ANZAC Test on the 20 April 2007 as a replacement for the injured David Kidwell.

Puletua was named in the Samoa squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and played in three matches.^[5] In 2009 he was named as part of the Samoan side for the Pacific Cup.^[6]

[edit] Career highlights

First Grade Debut: 1997 - Round 10, Penrith v Perth Reds at the WACA, 4 May
Representative Debut: 1998 - Australia vs New Zealand, Suncorp Stadium, 9 October
Premierships: 2003 - member of the Grand final winning Panthers team that defeated the Sydney Roosters, 18–6

[edit] References

^ "St Helens bring in Kiwi Puletua". BBC. 2008-04-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7362436.stm. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
^ "Dragons chasing Puletua". Fox Sports. 2008-03-21. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23409879-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
^ "Penrith players in coaching meltdown". Fox Sports. 2008-03-29. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23448847-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
^ "Lewis set to become bunny". Fox Sports. 2008-04-02. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23472478-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
^ "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 2008-10-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7658506.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
^ Poching names strong Samoan squad therhinos.co.uk, 6 October 2009

[edit] External links

[St_Helens_bring_in_Kiwi_Puletua-0] "St Helens bring in Kiwi Puletua". BBC. 2008-04-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7362436.stm. Retrieved 2008-04-23.

[Dragons_chasing_Puletua-1] "Dragons chasing Puletua". Fox Sports. 2008-03-21. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23409879-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-20.

[Penrith_players_in_coaching_meltdown-2] "Penrith players in coaching meltdown". Fox Sports. 2008-03-29. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23448847-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-29.

[Lewis_set_to_become_bunny-3] "Lewis set to become bunny". Fox Sports. 2008-04-02. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23472478-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-02.

[Samoa.2C_Tonga_and_Fiji_name_squads-4] "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 2008-10-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/7658506.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-09.

[5] Poching names strong Samoan squad therhinos.co.uk, 6 October 2009

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