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| Born | 23 May 1998 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 106 kg (16 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 6 September 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Keaon Koloamatangi (born 23 May 1998), also known as Keta, is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.
Koloamatangi grew up in Burwood, New South Wales idolising Sonny Bill Williams and Willie Mason but has been a South Sydney junior since he was a kid thanks to his dad Izzy. Keaon was a Mascot Jets junior and once said "Dad wanted me to play for Mascot because they always won! Instead of putting me in the Canterbury comp he wanted me in the Souths comp because he knew a lot of people, a lot of great players came from there." [2] Keaon attended Ashfield Boys High School, he was an outstanding junior sportsman representing the school in a wide variety of sports and still holds several school swimming records. Koloamatangi is of Australian, Tongan, Tuvalu and Niue descent. [3]
Koloamatangi made first grade debut in round 4 of the 2020 NRL season for South Sydney (first grade player number 1157) [4] against the Melbourne Storm. [5]
He made a total of 14 appearances in his first season as the club reached another preliminary final but were defeated by Penrith at ANZ Stadium. [6]
In round 10 of the 2021 NRL season, Koloamatangi scored his first NRL try in South's 32-22 victory over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Suncorp Stadium. [7] Midway through the season, Koloamatangi was selected as 20th man in the NSW Blues squad for the first game of the 2021 State of Origin series. [8] He 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. [9]
He played 27 games for South Sydney in the 2022 NRL season including all three of the clubs finals matches as they reached the preliminary final for a fifth straight season. Souths would lose in the preliminary final to eventual premiers Penrith 32-12. [10]
In October he was named in the Tonga squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. [11] In the opening match of Tonga's 2021 Rugby League World Cup campaign, Koloamatangi scored the winning try in Tonga's 24-18 victory over Papua New Guinea. [12]
In November he was named in the 2021 RLWC Team of the Tournament. [13]
In round 7 of the 2023 NRL season, Koloamatangi was taken from the field during South Sydney's 36-14 victory over the Dolphins side with a leg injury and later ruled out for an indefinite period. [14] On 3 July, he was selected for New South Wales for game 3 of the 2023 State of Origin series. [15] Koloamatangi made his debut for New South Wales in game 3 which saw his team win 24-10 over Queensland. [16] He played a total of 18 games for Souths in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 9th on the table and missed the finals. [17] [18]
In round 12 of the 2024 NRL season, he scored two tries for South Sydney in their upset 42-26 victory over Parramatta. It also broke South Sydney's eight game losing streak although the club would still remain bottom of the table. [19] He played a total of 24 games for the club in the 2024 season as the club finished 16th on the table. [20]
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