Jaydn Su'a

Jaydn Su'a

Personal information
Full name	Jaydn Su'a
Born	(1997-10-23) 23 October 1997 (age 26) Christchurch, New Zealand [1]
Height	188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
Playing information
Position	Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2016–19 Brisbane Broncos 31 1 0 0 4 2019–21 South Sydney 52 7 0 0 28 2022– St. George Illawarra 36 11 0 0 44 Total 119 19 0 0 76 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2019– Samoa 8 1 0 0 4 2020–21 Queensland 4 0 0 0 0
Source: [2] As of 14 April 2024

Jaydn Su'a (born 23 October 1997) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL, and at representative level for Queensland in the State of Origin series.

Background

Su'a was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is of Samoan descent and moved to Australia at the age of two. ^[3]

He attended Marsden State High School and later Anglican Church Grammar School, where he played for their rugby union team. ^[4] He played his junior rugby league for the Logan Brothers, before being signed by the Canberra Raiders at the age of 13. After two years on a scholarship with the Raiders, he signed with the Brisbane Broncos. ^[5]

Playing career

Early career

In 2012, Su'a played in the Souths Logan Magpies' Cyril Connell Cup and National Title winning sides as a 15-year-old. ^[6] In 2013, he represented the Queensland under-16 rugby league team. ^[7] In 2015, he joined the Brisbane Broncos' NYC team. ^{[8] [9]} That year, he represented the Queensland under-18 rugby league team, scoring a try and being named Man of the Match. ^[10]

2016

On 7 May, Su'a represented the Junior Kangaroos and was named Man of the Match in their win over the Junior Kiwis. ^{[11] [12]} In Round 12 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Broncos against the Wests Tigers. ^{[13] [14] [15]} On 13 July, he captained the Queensland under-20 rugby league team. ^{[16] [17]} In September, he was named at second-row in the 2016 NYC Team of the Year. ^[18] In September, he re-signed with the Broncos on a 2-year contract until the end of 2018. ^[19]

2017

In the 2017 NRL season, Su'a was limited to only 4 first grade appearances for Brisbane and did not feature in the club's finals campaign. ^[20]

2018

In the 2018 NRL season, Su'a made 15 appearances for Brisbane, but missed out on playing in the club's finals campaign due to injury. ^[21]

2019

Su'a walking out to warm-up for Samoa at the 2021 RLWC in 2022

At the start of the 2019 NRL season, Su'a made 8 appearances for Brisbane as they lost 8 of their first 13 games which was one of the worst beginnings to a season in the club's history. On 28 June, Su'a signed a two-year contract to join South Sydney in a mid-season switch from Brisbane. Su'a made his debut for South Sydney against Manly-Warringah in Round 17 at ANZ Stadium which ended in a 21–20 victory. ^[22]

2020

Throughout the 2020 NRL season, Su'a made 21 appearances for South Sydney, establishing himself as one of the competition's most improved players. Su'a was selected in the Queensland rugby league team for the 2020 State of Origin series. He made his debut in Game One, playing a solid 48 minutes off the bench as Queensland upset New South Wales.

2021

In the 2021 NRL Season, Su'a reinforced the previous years success, playing an instrumental role that helped the Rabbitohs achieve a Top 4 finish. In Round 8, Su'a scored his first try of the season in a 34-20 point win over the Canberra Raiders. In Round 19, Su'a scored 2 tries against the New Zealand Warriors in a match that saw the Rabbitohs win 60–22. ^[23]

On 21 July, Su'a signed a three-year deal with St. George Illawarra. ^[24]

Su'a played a total of 23 games for South Sydney in the 2021 NRL season, including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final defeat against Penrith. ^[25]

2022

In Round 1 of the 2022 NRL season, he made his club debut for St. George Illawarra in their 28-16 victory over the New Zealand Warriors. In Rounds 2 and 3, Su'a was sent to the sin bin in consecutive weeks for dangerous tackles. ^[26]

Throughout 2022, Su'a played 18 games as St. George Illlawarra finished 10th, missing finals for fourth straight season. ^[27]

In October Su'a was named in the Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. ^[28] Su'a played for Samoa in their 2021 Rugby League World Cup final loss to Australia. ^[29]

2023

Su'a played a total of 13 games for St. George Illawarra in the 2023 NRL season as they finished 16th on the table. ^[30]

References

1. "Brisbane could lose promising backrower Jaydn Su'a" . The Courier-Mail . Retrieved 11 June 2018.
2. "Jaydn Su'a - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
3. Gabor, Martin (9 May 2016). "Picking Roos over Kiwis an easy choice: Su'a". National Rugby League . Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
4. "Schoolboys trial game to be played before Titans v Eels match this Saturday". Titans. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
5. "How Benny's Babes from the Queensland State of Origin squad got their start in the NRL". The Courier Mail. 30 October 2020.
6. "Junior Kangaroos Man of the Match Jaydn Su'a to make Brisbane Broncos debut". Couriermail.com.au. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
7. NRL. "Queensland Under 16 Team For June Match". QRL. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
8. "S". Nyc Database. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
9. NRL. "NYC Team Named". Broncos. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
10. NRL. "Queensland Under 18 team". QRL. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
11. "Updated: Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
12. "Nathan Cleary and Jaydn Su'a star in Junior Kangaroos win over Junior Kiwis". Smh.com.au. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
13. "Junior Kangaroos Man of the Match Jaydn Su'a to make Brisbane Broncos debut". Couriermail.com.au. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
14. "Updated team lists: Broncos v Wests Tigers". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
15. NRL. "Su'A Start Sets New Mark". Broncos. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
16. NRL. "Cowboy Salam earns late call-up". QRL. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
17. NRL. "QLD U20s: Jayden Su'A". QRL. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
18. "2016 Holden Cup Team of the Year announced". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
19. Broncos.com.au (26 August 2016). "Broncos re-sign NRL rookies". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
20. "Your NRL club's 2017 breakout star". Cairns Post.
21. "Brisbane Broncos 2018 season review". NRL.
22. "Rabbitohs sign Jaydn Su'A immediately until the end of the 2021 season". South Sydney Rabbitohs. 28 June 2019.
23. "Jaydn Su'A". South Sydney Rabbitohs. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
24. "Dragons confirm Su'A signing". St George Illawarra Dragons. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
25. "One of finest NRL grand finals of all time provides cure to difficult season". www.theguardian.com. 3 October 2021.
26. "Dragons cry foul over 'questionable' sin bin that proved costly against Sharks". wwos.nine.com.au.
27. "NRL 2022: St George Illawarra Dragons season review". www.sportingnews.com.
28. Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
29. "Rugby League World Cup: James Tedesco stars to seal 12th triumph for Australia in 30-10 win over Samoa". www.skysports.com.
30. "Hunt call that could define Flanagan era; glaring hole that must be filled: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.

External links

• South Sydney Rabbitohs profile
• Brisbane Broncos profile
• Samoa profile