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Viliame Kikau

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Viliame Kikau
Personal information
Born (1995-04-05) 5 April 1995 (age 29)
Nausori, Fiji
Height195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight120 kg (18 st 13 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017– Penrith Panthers 33 6 0 0 24
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–17 Fiji 8 4 0 0 16
Source: [1][2]
As of 4 March 2018

Viliame (Billy) Kikau (born 5 April 1995) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. Kikau is a Fiji international and primarily plays prop and second-row.

Background

Born in Nausori, Fiji, Kikau grew up in the small island of Bau.[3] Kikau played rugby union in his youth and later earned placements at Queen Victoria School and Queen Victoria School in Suva, where he played for their rugby union team and represented the Fiji Secondary Schools side against the Australian Schoolboys.[4] In 2013, Kikau who never played rugby league was scouted by North Queensland Cowboys recruiter Adrian Thomson in a schoolboy match and was one of three Fijian players who spent six weeks in Townsville.[5][6] Kikau was the only player to sign with the club and joined their Holden Cup team for the 2014 season. At the time Kikau was also being scouted by a number of French rugby union clubs[7]

Early career

2014

In 2014, Kikau's first season of rugby league, he played 21 games for the Cowboys' Holden Cup team, scoring 11 tries. A centre in his rugby union days, Kikau switched to prop after joining the Cowboys.

2015

In 2015, Kikau played in a pre-season trial game with the Cowboys' first grade team. He scored a try in the sides 24-12 win over the Townsville Blackhawks.[8] On 2 May 2015, Kikau made his international debut for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the Melanesian Cup match, playing off the interchange bench in the 22-10 win at Robina Stadium.[9][10] On June 10, 2015, Kikau signed a two-year contract with the Penrith Panthers.[11][12] On 14 September 2015, Kikau was named at prop in the 2015 NYC Team of the Year, finishing his Holden Cup career with the Cowboys with 32 tries from 42 matches.[13]

2016

Kikau spent 2016 playing in the Panthers NSW Cup team. On 8 October 2016, Kikau played for Fiji against Samoa, starting at second-row in the 20-18 victory in Apia, Samoa.[14]

Playing career

2017

In Round 2 of the 2017 NRL season, Kikau made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers against the Wests Tigers, playing off the interchange bench and scoring a try in the 36-2 win at Campbelltown Stadium.[15][16] On 15 April 2017, Kikau re-signed his contract with the Penrith Panthers to the end of the 2019 season.[17] On 6 May 2017, Kikau played for Fiji against Tonga, starting at second-row and scoring a try in the 26-24 loss at Campbelltown Stadium.[18] Kikau would play most of the year playing in the Panthers NSW cup team where they won the NSW Intrust Super premiership against the Wyong Roos 20-12.[19] A week later on 1 October 2017, Kikau played in the NRL State Championship match against QLD Cup winners the Papua New Guinea Hunters starting at second-row and scoring a try in the 42-18 boilover win.[20] Kikau finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 9 matches and scoring 1 try for the Panthers in the 2017 NRL season. On 7 October 2017, Kikau was named in the 24-man squad for Fiji for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[21] Kikau would have an outstanding tournament for Fiji playing in all of their 5 matches and scoring 3 tries and was rewarded with him being named in the World Cup Team of the Tournament.[22]

2018

After his impressive World Cup campaign, Kikau would cement a permanent place in the Panthers top 17.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Viliame Kikau - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 1995-04-05. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  2. ^ NQ Cowboys Archived June 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Sovatabua, Veronika (27 June 2017). "Player Profile VIliame Kikau". Fiji Times. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  4. ^ Lee Grant. "Australian Schools beat Fiji Schools". Green and Gold Rugby.
  5. ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/panthers-forward-viliame-kikau-wont-forget-sacrifices-others-made-along-the-way/news-story/fb4fa93951517699bc2b8edaa964f4e1
  6. ^ http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=227256
  7. ^ "Kikau rise no surprise". TownsvilleBulletin.
  8. ^ NRL Digital Media. "post Blackhawks win". Cowboys. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  9. ^ "FIJI BATI NAMED TO FACE PNG". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2015-05-30. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Koroibete delights in Fiji win over PNG". NRL.com. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ http://fijione.tv/viliame-kikau-signs-contract-with-penrith-panthers/
  13. ^ "2015 Holden Cup Team of the Year". NRL.com. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  14. ^ https://www.nrl.com/news/2016/10/08/brilliant-bati-comeback-steals-pacific-test-win/
  15. ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/penrith-panthers-bounce-back-to-thrash-wests-tigers-362/news-story/e252b4398e2b51a6fd9dd9bcacb8a233
  16. ^ https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2017-video-panthers-debutant-viliame-kikau-shames-wests-tigers-fullback-james-tedesco/news-story/834fdc1fe6116c7869afe3554f97da55
  17. ^ https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/panthers/penrith-panthers-resign-young-prop-viliame-kikau-on-twoyear-deal/news-story/267dfd9c4b53e492b0e0008e39f5fa38
  18. ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/unlikely-hero-leilani-latu-inspires-12man-tonga-to-a-thrilling-victory-over-fiji/news-story/bdd8f6d8c4d3f8530cf994b465d5609f
  19. ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/roosters/jed-cartwright-stars-as-penrith-down-wyong-2012-in-nsw-cup-grand-final/news-story/d1ff7f087cb17fd6791e4ce5adea42e6
  20. ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/panthers/intrust-super-cup-grand-final-penrith-panthers-smash-png-hunters-4218/news-story/830b9a143dff6eac3bc406262f7470a9
  21. ^ https://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/10/07/19/34/hayne-in-fiji-rugby-league-world-cup-squad
  22. ^ http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/world-cup/australia-capped-off-a-stunning-rlwc-with-the-team-of-the-tournament/news-story/fc74c6780911754d841373439494ce9c
  23. ^ https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/03/23/how-penrith-panthers-viliame-kikau-chose-nrl-over-french-rugby/
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