Temple Kalepo

Last updated

Temple Kalepo
Personal information
Full nameTemple-Olympia Koloamatangi-Kalepo
Born (2001-05-15) 15 May 2001 (age 24)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight86 kg (13 st 8 lb)
Playing information
Position Hooker
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
2025– Nth Qld Cowboys 10000
Source: [1]
As of 10 August 2025

Temple-Olympia Koloamatangi-Kalepo (born 15 May 2001) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Contents

Background

Kalepo was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Tongan descent. [2]

He played his junior rugby league for the Ellerslie Eagles and attended Kings College, Auckland before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors. [3] [4]

Playing career

Early career

In 2018, Kalepo played for the Warriors' under-20 Jersey Flegg Cup side and represented the New Zealand under-18s against Samoa under-18s. [5] [6]

In 2019, he again played for the Warriors' Jersey Flegg side and represented the Junior Kiwis, coming off the bench in their loss to the Australian Schoolboys rugby league team. [7] [8] [9] In July 2019, he made his New South Wales Cup debut for the Warriors in a 34–8 win over the Newtown Jets. [10]

In February 2020, he played for the Warriors at the NRL Nines in Perth. [11] [12]

In 2021, Kalepo underwent pre-season with the Warriors' NRL squad and played for the Redcliffe Dolphins under-21 side as part of the Warriors' partnership with the club. [13] [14]

After missing the 2022 season due to a serious hamstring injury, Kalepo spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Newcastle Knights, playing for their NSW Cup side. [15] In October 2023, he represented Tonga A in their loss to New Zealand A. [16]

In 2024, when not playing NSW Cup, he played for the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs in the Newcastle Rugby League. [17]

2025

Kalepo joined the Mackay Cutters for the 2025 season and underwent pre-season training with the North Queensland Cowboys on a train and trial contract. [18] [19]

In Round 18 of the 2025 NRL season, Kalepo made his NRL debut for the Cowboys against the Melbourne Storm. [20]

References

  1. Rugby League Project
  2. "Congrats to our 2017 U16 Captain". Facebook. 21 February 2019.
  3. "2024/25 Kiwi NRL Summer Guide". The Niche Cache. 1 December 2024.
  4. "First XV Rugby Semifinal". Photosport NZ. 11 August 2018.
  5. "NZ Residents 18s named". NZRL. 6 October 2018.
  6. "Another tough loss for Vodafone Junior Warriors". NZ Warriors. 31 July 2018.
  7. "Canterbury Cup and Jersey Flegg teams named". NZ Warriors. 16 July 2019.
  8. "2019 Junior Kiwis side named". 18th Man. 18 September 2019.
  9. "Big contingent in Junior Kiwis squad". NZ Warriors. 10 September 2019.
  10. "Canterbury Cup and JFC sides named". NZ Warriors. 23 July 2019.
  11. "2020 NRL Nines squads". LeagueUnlimited. 11 February 2020.
  12. "Papali'i becomes youngest captain". NZ Warriors. 10 February 2020.
  13. "Young prospects in focus as preseason kicks off". NZ Warriors. 21 November 2020.
  14. "Aotearoa Warriors re-jig their Dolphins collab". The Niche Cache. 9 November 2021.
  15. "Knights hooker Temple Kalepo looms as a fallback No.9". Newcastle Herald. 28 November 2022.
  16. "Warriors to fore in Kiwis A team's win over Tonga". NZ Warriors. 22 October 2023.
  17. "Former Knight Temple Kalepo to make NRL debut". Newcastle Herald. 3 July 2025.
  18. "Todd Payten's shock North Queensland Cowboys selection call ahead of Melbourne Storm test". NT News. 1 July 2025.
  19. "Every NRL club's train-and-trial lists". Fox Sports. 9 December 2024.
  20. "Cowboys NRL team list: Round 18 v Storm". NQ Cowboys. 1 July 2025.