Jacob Saifiti
 Saifiti playing for The Entrance Tigers in 2014. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Jacob Saifiti | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 May 1996 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 114 kg (17 st 13 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 21 July 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jacob Saifiti (born 1 May 1996) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and second-row forward for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
Background
Saifiti was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Fijian descent[2] and moved to the Central Coast at a young age.[2] He is the identical twin brother of Knights teammate Daniel Saifiti.[3]
Saifiti played his junior rugby league for the Terrigal Sharks and The Entrance Tigers, before joining the Newcastle Knights in 2015.[3]
Playing career
2015
In 2015, Saifiti played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team.[4] On 2 May, he played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea, alongside his twin brother Daniel.[5] On 27 September, he played in the Knights' 2015 New South Wales Cup Grand Final win over the Wyong Roos.[6] During the year, he re-signed with the Knights on a two-year contract.[2][7]
2016
In round 1 of the 2016 NRL season, Saifiti made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Gold Coast Titans,[8][9] playing alongside his brother Daniel, becoming the first twins in Australian rugby league's 108-year history to debut together.[10] On 12 May, he and his brother extended their contracts with the Knights from the end of 2017 until the end of 2018. He made a total of 18 appearances for Newcastle in his debut season as the club finished last on the table.[11][12]
2017
Saifiti played 21 games for the Knights in the 2017 season,[13] before having his contract extended until the end of 2020. Newcastle would finish bottom of the table for a third straight season.[14][15]
2018
Saifiti was limited to only eight games for Newcastle in the 2018 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.[16]
2019
Saifiti played 7 games for Newcastle in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.[17]
Controversy
On 2 December 2018, Saifiti was found unconscious and with a broken leg after a fight with Dane Cordner, the brother of NSW captain and Sydney Roosters player Boyd Cordner. Saifiti was later cleared of any wrongdoing but was fined $50,000 by Newcastle over the incident.[18]
References
- ^ "Jacob Saifiti - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ^ a b c Keeble, Brett (29 April 2015). "Saifiti twins win Fiji call-up | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Saifiti twins first for the Knights - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ "S". Nyc Database. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ "TEAM LISTS: Tonga, Fiji Bati, Papua New Guinea Teams For 2015 Representative Round | Triple M NRL". Triplem.com.au. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ "VB NSW Cup Grand Final Team List". NSWRL. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "Robert Dillon on Twitter: "@jamiesonmurph Two years"". Twitter.com. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ "Updated: Round 1 NRL team lists". NRL.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ "Late Mail: Titans v Knights - Knights". Newcastleknights.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Knights Prop Sam Mataora Rewarded for Off-Season Regime with Starting Spot Against Gold Coast". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ "Saifitis extend contracts with Knights". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "The worst teams in NRL history". Sporting News.
- ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ^ "Saifiti twins re-sign with Newcastle Knights - Zero Tackle". 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
- ^ "Knights: 2017 by the numbers". NRL.
- ^ "Newcastle Knights 2018 season review". NRL.
- ^ "2019 SEASON REVIEW NEWCASTLE KNIGHT". Nothing But League.
- ^ "The 66 scandals in four years that have rocked the NRL". Fox Sports.