Lorenzo Ma'afu

Last updated

Lorenzo Ma'afu
Lorenzo Maafu.jpg
Ma'afu playing for the Bulldogs in 2008
Personal information
Full nameLorenzo Ma'afu
Born (1987-11-13) 13 November 1987 (age 36)
New Zealand
Height181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
Playing information
Position Second-row
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2008 Canterbury-Bankstown 20000
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2011 Queensland Residents 10000
Source: [1]
As of 5 January 2024

Lorenzo Ma'afu (born 13 November 1987) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup. He primarily played second-row. Ma'afu is of Tongan descent. Ma'afu was well known for overcoming much adversity to make it into the NRL. [2]

Contents

Early life

Born in New Zealand, before moving to Australia. Ma'afu played his junior football for the East Hills Bulldogs in Australia before being signed by Canterbury.

Canterbury-Bankstown

In round 9 of the 2008 NRL season he made his NRL debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the Penrith Panthers. He made one further appearance for Canterbury which came in round 12 against Melbourne which Canterbury lost 46-0.

Ipswich Jets

In 2009, he joined the Ipswich Jets in the Intrust Super Cup. [3]

2012-14

At the start of 2012, Ma'afu was close to joining NRL club, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles but nothing eventuated as Sea Eagles recruitment manager, Noel Cleal, who wanted to sign him, went to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs before anything was finalized. Ma'afu was invited to do pre-season training with the Gold Coast Titans. [4]

In June 2012, Ma'afu was invited to come down for a week to train with the Newcastle Knights at the request of Knights coach Wayne Bennett in order to possibly gain a contract. [5]

In September 2012, Ma'afu signed a two-year contract with the Parramatta Eels. [6]

Townsville Blackhawks

In 2015, Ma'afu joined Townsville and played two seasons with the club.

Burleigh Bears

In 2017, Ma'afu joined Burleigh and made 12 appearances during the 2017 season. [7]

Later career

In 2021, it was reported that Ma'afu was playing for the Mudgeeraba Redbacks in the local Gold Coast A-Grade competition.

Controversy

In 2010, he was banned from the sport for 15 months after his drink was spiked with ecstasy and another recreational drug. Ma'afu's ban expired on 1 February 2011 and he returned to play for the Jets. [8]

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References

  1. ↑ "Lorenzo Ma'afu - Career Stats & Summary". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. ↑ Herald Sun [ dead link ]
  3. ↑ Jets star Lorenzo Maafu fights suspension The Queensland Times, 18 June 2009
  4. ↑ NRL Return likely [ dead link ]
  5. ↑ Jet lands knights NRL [ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Ipswich Jets Rugby League Team". www.facebook.com.[ unreliable source? ]
  7. ↑ "Player Profile". www.qrl.com.au.
  8. ↑ "Former Bulldog has doping ban reduced". The Press . AAP. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
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