Starford To'a

Last updated

Starford To'a
Personal information
Born (2000-06-23) 23 June 2000 (age 25)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight97 kg (15 st 4 lb)
Playing information
Position Centre, Wing, Fullback
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2019–21 Newcastle Knights 20110044
2022– Wests Tigers 55190076
Total753000120
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2023– Tonga 11004
Source: [1]
As of 27 June 2025

Starford To'a (born 23 June 2000) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League.

Contents

He previously played for the Newcastle Knights as a winger in the NRL.

Background

To'a was born in Auckland, New Zealand [2] and is of Tongan and European descent. He attended St Paul's College, Auckland. [3]

Playing career

Early years

In 2018, he moved to Australia to play for the Newcastle Knights, after being scouted by a recruitment manager for the Knights in 2016 at a New Zealand national tournament in Rotorua. [2] He played for the Knights' Jersey Flegg Cup team. [4] At the end of 2018, he played for the Australian Schoolboys and was named man of the match in their first game. [5]

2019

In 2019, To'a joined the Knights' NRL squad for pre-season training and played in a first-grade trial match. [6] In June, he re-signed with the Knights on a 2-year contract until the end of 2021. [7] In round 25 of the 2019 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Penrith Panthers [8] and scored a try. [9] On 29 September, he will play for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos. [10]

2020

He made seven appearances for Newcastle in the 2020 NRL season and scored four tries. To'a did not feature in the club's first finals campaign since 2013. [11]

2021

In 2021, To'a made 12 appearances for the Knights, scoring 6 tries. [12]

2022

In January 2022, To'a was granted a release from the final two years of his Newcastle contract to join the Wests Tigers on a two-year contract effective immediately. [13] To'a played a total of 21 matches for the Wests Tigers in the 2022 NRL season and scored 3 tries as the club finished bottom of the table and claimed the Wooden Spoon for the first time. [14]

2023

In round 12 of the 2023 NRL season, To'a scored two tries for the Wests Tigers in their record breaking victory at 66-18 against the North Queensland. [15] In round 24, To'a scored two tries for the Wests Tigers in their 22-30 loss against the New Zealand Warriors. [16] To'a played a total of 18 games for the Wests Tigers in the 2023 NRL season and scored seven tries as the club finished with the Wooden Spoon for a second straight year. [17] In the end of season internationals, he was selected and made his debut for the Mate Ma’a Tonga team against England, where he scored a hat trick in a 34-16 win.

2024 & 2025

To'a was limited to only three appearances with the Wests Tigers in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished with the wooden spoon for a third straight year. In round 13 of the 2025 NRL season, he scored two tries in Wests 32-38 loss against North Queensland. [18]

Statistics

YearTeamGamesTriesPts
2019 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights 114
20207416
202112624
2022 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 21312
202318728
2024300
20255416
Totals6725100

References

  1. "Starford To'a - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. 1 2 "The future: Meet Starford To'a". Newcastle Knights. 7 November 2018.
  3. "The future: Meet Starford To'a". Newcastle Knights. 7 November 2018.
  4. "Players". 24 September 2018.
  5. "Schoolboys post record win in first Tour game". 27 November 2018.
  6. TOOHEY, BARRY (5 March 2019). "Rookie Knight Starford To'a's dazzling feet sign of big future". Newcastle Herald.
  7. "Exciting back Starford To'a awarded new deal". Newcastle Knights. 24 June 2019.
  8. TOOHEY, BARRY (6 September 2019). "Teenage winger Starford To'a to make Knights debut against Panthers". Newcastle Herald.
  9. "Penrith Panthers trounce Newcastle Knights to send James Maloney out on a high". National Rugby League. 8 September 2019.
  10. "Three Knights named in Junior Kiwis side". Newcastle Knights. 11 September 2019.
  11. "2020 season by the numbers". www.nrl.com.
  12. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  13. Tigers, Wests. "Wests Tigers sign Starford Toa" . Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  14. "Canberra Raiders hand out 56-10 NRL drubbing to Wests Tigers as Cronulla beats Newcastle Knights 38-16". www.abc.net.au.
  15. "Felise Kaufusi in doubt for State of Origin I as Melbourne Storm get past Dolphins 24-16". www.abc.net.au.
  16. "New Zealand Warriors down Wests Tigers 30-22, Sydney Roosters beat Dolphins 30-14, South Sydney defeats St George Illawarra 26-14". www.abc.net.au.
  17. "'Circus act' that summed up year from hell... and big call left for Benji: Wests Tigers Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
  18. "DCE shines in Manly cakewalk as woeful Broncos' slump goes from bad to worse: What we learned". www.foxsports.com.au.