George Tuakura

George Tuakura
Personal information
Born (1975-10-11) 11 October 1975
Auckland, New Zealand
Height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 117 kg (18 st 6 lb)
Playing information
Position Prop

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005–07 New Zealand Warriors 0 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2000–06 Cook Islands 4 0 0 0 0
As of 23 February 2009
Source: RLP

George Tuakura (born 11 October 1975 in Auckland, New Zealand) of Cook Islanders descent, is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer of the 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level Cook Islands, and at club level for Central Comets in the Queensland Cup, as a prop.

Early years

Born in South Auckland, Tuakura first played rugby league for the Mangere East Hawks in the Auckland Rugby League competition.

Playing career

In 2000 he joined the Otahuhu Leopards for the inaugural Bartercard Cup.[1]

In 2004 Tuakura moved to Australia and played for the Central Comets in the Queensland Cup.[2] Tuakura has also spent time playing in France.[3]

Warriors

Tuakura signed a two-year contract with the New Zealand Warriors in 2005. Returning to New Zealand, he played for the Otahuhu Ellerslie Leopards in the Bartercard Cup, hoping to impress the Warriors coaching staff.

In 2006 he was in the 25 man squad for the Warriors. Despite starting several trial games and being named 18th man several times, George did not play a game in the National Rugby League competition.[3][4][5] Instead he spent the year playing for the new Tamaki Titans in the Bartercard Cup.

Queensland

Tuakura was released by the Warriors after the 2006 season and he returned to the Central Comets.[2] In 2007 he fell out of favour with coach Steve Anderson but made a comeback and returned to the side in 2008.[6][7] Tuakura maintained his spot in the Comets lineup for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.[8][9]

International

In 2000 he represented the Cook Islands at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, playing in all three games.

In 2002 Tuakura toured France and the United States with New Zealand 'A'.[10] He again played for New Zealand 'A' in 2003 when they toured Great Britain.[11]

He again represented the Cook Islands in 2005.[12]

In 2006 he played for the New Zealand Residents in the Trans Tasman Quadrangular Series[13] and also played for the Residents against the New Zealand Kiwis in a warm up match for the 2006 Rugby League Tri Nations.

References

  1. ↑ Makeshift Bulls look a touch vulnerable The Press, 29 July 2000
  2. 1 2 Big George tackles leadership role The Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, 7 December 2006
  3. 1 2 Jessup, Peter (10 February 2006). "League: Warriors coach looks to new talent". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  4. ↑ 2006 Trials warriors.co.nz
  5. ↑ New Faces Making Australian Trip with Vodafone Warriors warriors.co.nz
  6. ↑ By George, the big fella's back The Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, 15 May 2008
  7. ↑ Comets humbled in local derby.... comets.com.au, 13 August 2008
  8. ↑ Comets all set for baby broncos The Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, 10 February 2009
  9. ↑ Comets lament loss of Rothery The Morning Bulletin, 24 July 2010
  10. ↑ 2002 NZ a Archived 18 July 2008 at Archive.is nzrl.co.nz
  11. ↑ 2003 NZ A Archived 11 September 2007 at Archive.is nzrl.co.nz
  12. ↑ John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. p. 332. ISBN 1-86969-331-0. ISBN 9781869693312.
  13. ↑ Rangers Bowed in Opening Battle Archived 25 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. qrl.com.au
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