Lorenzo Ma'afu
 Ma'afu playing for the Bulldogs in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Lorenzo Ma'afu | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 13 November 1987 New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 17 January 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Lorenzo Ma'afu (born 13 November 1987) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup. He primarily plays second-row. Ma'afu is of Tongan descent. Ma'afu is well known for overcoming much adversity to make it into the NRL.[2]
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 the Bulldogs RLFC.
Canterbury-Bankstown
In Round 9 of the 2008 NRL season he made his NRL debut for the Bulldogs against the Penrith Panthers.
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 2-year contract with the Parramatta Eels.[6]
Townsville Blackhawks
In 2015, Ma'afu joined Townsville and played 2 seasons with the club.
Burleigh Bears
In 2017, Ma'afu joined Burleigh and made 12 appearances during the 2017 season.[7]
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]
References
- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/nrl/parramatta-eels-recruit-lorenzo-maafu-credits-sonny-bill-williams-with-turning-his-life-around/story-e6frfgbo-1226489498828
- ^ Jets star Lorenzo Maafu fights suspension The Queensland Times, 18 June 2009
- ^ http://www.qt.com.au/story/2012/01/12/nrl-return-likely/
- ^ http://football.ipswichjets.com.au/news/jet-lands-knights-nrl-bid
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=359343857486935&id=119814368106553
- ^ "Player Profile". www.qrl.com.au.
- ^ "Former Bulldog has doping ban reduced". The Press. AAP. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2011.