 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 19 March 1999 Penrith, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 119 kg (18 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [1] As of 27 October 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lazarus Vaalepu (born 19 March 1999) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop forward for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL.
Born in Penrith, New South Wales, Vaalepu was raised in Canberra and is of Samoan descent. He played his junior rugby league for the Queanbeyan Kangaroos and attended Erindale College before being signed by the Canberra Raiders. [2] [3] [4]
In 2015, Vaalepu played for the Canberra Raiders in the Harold Matthews Cup. [5] [6] In 2016 and 2017, he played for the Raiders in the SG Ball Cup. [7] [8]
In 2019, Vaalepu played 19 games for the Raiders' Jersey Flegg Cup side, coming off the bench in their Grand Final loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs. [9]
In 2020, he played for the Woden Valley Rams in the Canberra Rugby League before joining the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in 2021. [10] [11]
In 2022, he joined the Sunshine Coast Falcons and underwent pre-season training with the Melbourne Storm later that year. [12] [13] In 2023, he signed with the Storm on a two-year contract. [14]
In round 20 of the 2024 NRL season, Vaalepu made his NRL debut for Melbourne against the Sydney Roosters. [15] On 1 October, he was named on the bench in the 2024 NRL Grand Final, replacing the suspended Nelson Asofa-Solomona. [16] In just his seventh NRL match, Vaalepu entered the field during the Grand Final to become the most inexperienced player to play in a Grand Final since 1994. [17]
Following the Grand Final, Vaalepu was selected by Samoa as part of the Samoan tour of England. [18]
Jack Taualii Afamasaga, also known by the nickname of "Skuks", is a New Zealand former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at club level for the Parramatta Eels, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League, the Western Suburbs Rosellas in the Newcastle Rugby League competition, with stints in the Queensland Cup and France, as a second-row or lock.
Brett White is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Canberra Raiders and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL). Both an Ireland and Australian international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative prop forward, he played the majority of his career at the Storm, before signing with the Canberra Raiders from 2011. Married Cassie Adland in 2009, with whom he has 4 children.
Stephen Matai is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League from 2005 to 2016. A New Zealand national representative centre, he played for Australian club the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. Matai helped the Sea Eagles win the 2008 and 2011 Premierships. He was also part of the New Zealand national squad that won the nation's maiden title at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Known particularly for his uncompromising defence, in 2020, Matai was voted the National Rugby League's hardest hitter over the past 30 years.
Brent Kite is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Tonga and Australia international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative front-row forward, he played club football for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Penrith Panthers. Kite was named the Clive Churchill Medallist for his performance in the 2008 NRL Grand Final, in which he helped steer Manly-Warringah to a 40–0 thumping of the Melbourne Storm, scoring a try.
The Jersey Flegg Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales, Australia, contested among teams made up of players aged 21 or under. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), and is named for Eastern Suburbs foundation player and prominent administrator of the game, Harry "Jersey" Flegg.
The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of male players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne, and Auckland also participate. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales a team from Perth also participated. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. The competition includes both junior representative teams of NRL and NSW Cup clubs that do not field a team in the NRL competition.
The NSWRL Harold Matthews Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales between teams made up of players aged under 17. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition is made up of NSW-based clubs and includes both junior representative teams of the elite National Rugby League (NRL) and clubs that do not field teams in the NRL competition.
Reece Robinson is a Lebanon international rugby league footballer who most recently played for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL.
Rodney Griffin is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop, second-row and lock forward for the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup. He is a Papua New Guinean international.
Dunamis Lui is a Samoa international rugby league footballer plays as a prop and lock for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Hostplus Cup.
Michael Oldfield is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who last played as a winger and centre for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL.
Mark Nicholls is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Isaac Liu is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock and prop forward for the Leigh Leopards in the Super league and New Zealand at international level.
Anthony Milford is an Australian Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth and halfback for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Richard Kennar is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger and centre for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.
Maxwell David King is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and lock for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Reece Hoffman is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Semi Valemei is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger and centre for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Fiji at international level.
Jarrett Subloo is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NSW Cup.
Trent Loiero is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock and second-row forward for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL).