Nathaniel Roache

Nate Roache

Personal information
Full name	Nathaniel Roache
Born	(1996-04-15) 15 April 1996 (age 28) Auckland, New Zealand
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	94 kg (14 st 11 lb)
Playing information
Position	Hooker
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2016–20 New Zealand Warriors 26 2 0 0 8 2021 Parramatta Eels 1 0 0 0 0 Total 27 2 0 0 8
Source: [1] As of 4 October 2024

Nathaniel Roache is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the North Sydney Bears in the NSW Cup.

He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Parramatta Eels in the NRL.

Background

Roache was born in Auckland, New Zealand and is of Samoan and Irish descent. ^[2] He attended Edendale Primary School in Sandringham then Balmoral Intermediate before studying at Mount Albert Grammar School.^{[ citation needed ]}

His junior club was Richmond Rovers.^{[ citation needed ]}

Playing career

Early career

While at Mount Albert he competed in the College Rugby League First XIII competition and the 2013 National Secondary Schools tournament, where he was named in the tournament's merit team. ^[3] He played for the New Zealand Residents under-18 side in 2013 and 2014. ^[4]

Signed by the New Zealand Warriors, in 2014 Roache made his Holden Cup debut for the Junior Warriors at five eighth. On 5 October 2014, Roache started at centre for the Junior Warriors in their 2014 Holden Cup Grand final against the junior Brisbane Broncos in a 34-32 victory. Early in the game he was shifted to hooker in response to an injury and received praise for his performance, which included setting up a try for Tuimoala Lolohea. ^[5]

Roache playing for the Warriors in 2015

Roache played in the 2015 and 2016 NRL Auckland Nines for the Warriors. In 2015 Roache was converted to play at hooker and signed a two-year contract extension with the club. ^[6]

2016

In Round 1 of the 2016 NRL season, Roache made his debut for the New Zealand Warriors against the Wests Tigers, playing off the interchange bench in the Warriors 26-34 loss at Campbelltown Stadium. ^[7]

2017

In the 2017 NRL season, Roache made nine appearances as the club finished a disappointing 13th on the table. ^[8]

2018

Roache made no appearances for New Zealand in the 2018 NRL season as the club qualified for the finals for the first time since 2011. ^[9]

2019

Roache played six games for the New Zealand Warriors franchise in the 2019 NRL season as the club missed out on the finals.

2020

In November 2020, Roache signed a developmental contract with Parramatta for the 2021 season after being released by the New Zealand Warriors. ^[10]

2021

Roache began the year playing NSW Cup coming off the bench, later starting at hooker. In round 15 2021, Roache made his Parramatta debut against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Bankwest Stadium. During the match, Roache injured his knee and was ruled out for an indefinite period. ^{[11] [12]}

2022 & 2023

After being released by Parramatta in November, Roache signed a train and replacement contract with Manly-Warringah. Roache made no appearances for Manly in the 2023 NRL season. Roache instead played for the clubs feeder side the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles in the NSW Cup making 14 appearances. ^[13]

2024

On 29 September, Roache played for North Sydney in their NSW Cup Grand Final loss against Newtown. ^[14]

References

1. "Nathaniel Roache - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 15 April 1996. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
2. "Nathaniel Roache #JuniorWarriors #Samoan #Vaimoso #Puipaa - nesianpower101". Thepicta.com. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
3. "NRL's Kiwi field of dreams in Auckland suburbs". stuff.co.nz. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
4. "Nathaniel Roache". Warriors.kiwi. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
5. "New Zealand Warriors take 2014 Holden Cup title in thriller over Brisbane Broncos". Dailytelegrpah.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
6. "Warriors offer leaves Friend looking elsewhere". New Zealand Herald. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
7. "Six new faces for NRL season opener". Warriors.kiwi. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
8. "New Zealand Warriors 2017". www.nrl.com.
9. "Warriors: 2017 by the numbers". www.nrl.com.
10. "Eels announce trio of signings". www.foxsports.com.au.
11. "Team List Eels v Bulldogs, Round 15". www.parraeels.com.au.
12. "Manly Sea Eagles thrash Gold Coast Titans 56-24, Parramatta Eels beat Canterbury Bulldogs 36-10". www.abc.net.au.
13. "Cowboys hand PNG young gun NRL audition; luckless hooker's Manly lifeline: Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au.
14. "Newtown wins Premiership number nine". www.nswrl.com.au.

External links

• Parramatta Eels profile
• New Zealand Warriors profile
• Warriors profile