Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Chanel Mata'utia-Leifi [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia | 17 August 1992||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 104 kg (16 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing, Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [2] As of 9 January 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relatives | Sione Mata'utia (brother) Pat Mata'utia (brother) Peter Mata'utia (brother) |
Chanel Mata'utia-Leifi (pronounced ma-ta-oo-tee-a) [3] (born 17 August 1992) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He plays for the Cessnock Goannas in the Newcastle Rugby League. His positions are wing and centre. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League.
Mata'utia was born in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Samoan descent. He is the younger brother of former Knights teammate Peter Mata'utia, now of Lakes United in the Newcastle Rugby League, and is the older brother of Knights teammates Pat Mata'utia and Sione Mata'utia. [4]
He played his junior football for the Bankstown Cougars, [5] before moving to Newcastle, New South Wales at a young age and playing for the South Newcastle Lions in the Newcastle Rugby League. He was then signed by the Newcastle Knights.
From 2010 to 2012, Mata'utia played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team. [6] [7] On 21 April 2012, he played for the New South Wales Under-20s team against the Queensland Under-20s team and scored a try. [8]
In 2013, he moved on to the Knights' New South Wales Cup team. [9] On 16 October 2013, he re-signed with the Newcastle club on a one-year contract, [10] later extending it by another year in 2014. [11] On 9 July 2014, he played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents and scored two tries. [12]
In round 20 of the 2014 NRL season, Mata'utia made his NRL debut for Newcastle against the Sydney Roosters, [13] alongside his brother Sione Mata'utia who also debuted for the club in the same game. [14] This was the first time since round 1 of the 1942 NSWRFL season, that two brothers had debuted in the same game together, Bill and Doug McRitchie debuting for the St. George Dragons on that day. [15] On 9 September 2014, he was named in the Samoa train-on squad for the 2014 Four Nations, [16] but didn't make the final 24-man squad. Late in September 2014, he signed a letter of intent to join the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on a four-year contract starting in 2016, along with his brothers Sione and Pat. [17] [18] However, the NRL's rules didn't allow the Canterbury club to register the contracts until 30 June 2015, leaving the option of staying at Newcastle open for the Mata'utias. [19]
On 19 March, Mata'utia re-signed with the Newcastle club on a three-year contract, along with his brothers Sione and Pat. [20] In May, he again played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents and scored two tries, this time alongside his brother Peter. [21] He managed to play only one NRL game in the 2015 season. [22]
After impressing the new coaching staff in pre-season, Mata'utia was selected to play in the Knights' round 1 side against the Gold Coast Titans, though he was injured during the game. Multiple injuries throughout the year meant the round 1 match would be his only NRL match for the season. [23]
After another injury plagued season, Mata'utia was able to break back into Newcastle's NRL side in round 18 of the 2017 season, going on to play four NRL matches for the year and scoring two tries. [24] On 23 November, it was announced that he would be retiring from the professional level of the game and joining the local Newcastle Rugby League, after being granted a release from the final year of his Newcastle contract. Mata'utia said after being released “The club has been great to me and I will miss everyone, but it is the right time for me to step away from the game at this level”. [25] [26]
In 2018, Mata'utia joined the Cessnock Goannas. [27]
Peter Mata'utia-Leifi, also known by the nickname of "Peanut", is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre, fullback or stand-off for the Lakes United Seagulls in the Newcastle Rugby League.
Sam Mataora is a Cook Island professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League. His positions were prop and second-row.
The 2012 Newcastle Knights season was the 25th in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2012 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 12th.
The 2013 Newcastle Knights season was the 26th in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2013 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 7th place, thus reaching the finals. The Knights then came within one match of the grand final but were knocked out by eventual premiers, the Sydney Roosters.
The 2011 Newcastle Knights season was the 24th in the club's history. Coached by Rick Stone and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership. The Knights finished the regular season in 8th place, thus reaching the finals but were knocked out after losing to the Melbourne Storm in week 1.
The 2014 Newcastle Knights season was the 27th in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2014 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 12th place.
Paterika Vaivai is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays for New Zealand Warriors in their New South Wales Cup side and for the Te Atatu Roosters in the Auckland Rugby League competition.
Sione Mata'utia-Leifi is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a loose forward and second-row forward for St Helens in the Betfred Super League. He has represented both Australia and Samoa at international level.
The 2015 Newcastle Knights season was the 28th in the club's history. Coached by Rick Stone, interim coached by Danny Buderus after Stone's contract was terminated, and captained by Kurt Gidley, they competed in the NRL's 2015 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 16th place.
Pat Mata'utia-Leifi is a Samoa international rugby league footballer. His positions are second-row and centre. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League.
Lachlan Fitzgibbon is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as second-row forward for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
The 2016 Newcastle Knights season was the 29th in the club's history. Coached by Nathan Brown and co-captained by Trent Hodkinson, Tariq Sims and Jeremy Smith, they competed in the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 16th place. In the pre-season the Knights competed in the 2016 Auckland Nines tournament, reaching the quarter-finals. Mid-way through the 2016 season the team had only one member selected to play in the 2016 State of Origin series. Notably, all four Mata'utia brothers, Chanel, Pat, Peter and Sione featured in the NRL team for the Knights throughout the year.
Jaelen Feeney is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth, halfback and fullback for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Daniel Saifiti is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who currently plays as a prop for the Dolphins in the NRL. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights.
Jacob Saifiti is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop forward for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Cory Denniss is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. His positions are centre and wing.
JJ CollinsnéFelise is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Dolphins as a prop in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Brock Lamb is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who plays as a stand-off and scrum-half for the Maitland Pickers in the Newcastle Rugby League.
Jack Cogger is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth and halfback for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League (NRL).
The 2017 Newcastle Knights season was the 30th in the club's history. Coached by Nathan Brown and captained by Trent Hodkinson, before being replaced by Sione Mata'utia and Jamie Buhrer in the captaincy role, they competed in the NRL's 2017 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 16th place.