Tim Lafai

Tim Lafai
Personal information
Full name Timoteo Lafai[1]
Born (1991-05-27) 27 May 1991
Suvai, Samoa
Height 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
Playing information
Position Centre

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–15 Canterbury Bulldogs 74 30 6 0 132
2016– St. George Illawarra 67 16 10 0 84
Total 141 46 16 0 216
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–18 Samoa 11 2 6 0 16
As of 4 March 2018
Source: [2]

Timoteo Lafai (born 27 May 1991) is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League. A Samoan international representative, and previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

Early years

Born in Suvai, Samoa, Lafai moved to Auckland, New Zealand as a 6-year old before immigrating to Sydney, Australia as a 9-year old.[3] Lafai attended Sarah Redfern High School, graduating in 2009 while playing his junior football for the Minto Cobras, and Campbelltown Warriors. In 2007, Lafai played for the Western Suburbs Magpies Harold Matthews team before being signed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Lafai played for the Rabbitohs SG Ball team and also played for the Campbelltown Eagles in the Bundaberg Red Cup.[4] After the 2009 season, Lafai signed a 1-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Lafai played for the Bulldogs Toyota Cup team in 2010 and 2011, scoring 17 tries and 17 goals in 32 games.[5]

Playing career

Lafai playing for the Bulldogs in 2011

2011

In Round 2 of the 2011 NRL season, Lafai made his NRL debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the South Sydney Rabbitohs filling in for the injured Josh Morris, scoring a try on debut in the Bulldogs 28-19 win at ANZ Stadium.[6] Lafai finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 8 matches and scoring 2 tries for the Bulldogs. On 8 September 2011, Lafai was named on the interchange bench in the 2011 Toyota Cup Team of the Year.[7]

2012

Lafai returned to the Bulldogs first grade side in Round 5 filling in for the injured Steven Turner, scoring a try in the Bulldogs 46-12 win over the Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium.[8] In Round 13 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Lafai suffered a dislocated right shoulder sidelining him for the rest of the year in the Bulldogs 23-18 win at ANZ Stadium.[9] Lafai played in 5 matches and scored 2 tries for the Bulldogs in the 2012 NRL season.

2013

Lafai returned to the Bulldogs first grade side in Round 5 filling in the suspended Krisnan Inu in the centres in the Bulldogs 20-6 loss to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at ANZ Stadium.[10] Lafai played in 16 matches, scored 7 tries and kicked 1 goal for the Bulldogs in the 2013 NRL season. On 12 October 2013, Lafai was named in the Samoa 24-man squad for the 2013 World Cup,[11] playing in 3 matches. Lafai making his Samoa international debut against Papua New Guinea at centre in Samoa's 38-4 win at Craven Park.[12]

2014

On 5 October 2014, in the Bulldogs 2014 NRL Grand Final match against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Lafai played at centre in the Bulldogs 30-6 loss.[13][14] Lafai finished the Bulldogs 2014 NRL season as the club's highest tryscorer with 14 tries as well with him kicking 4 goals in 25 matches. On 7 October 2014, Lafai was selected in the Samoan 24-man squad for the 2014 Four Nations series.[15][16]

2015

In August, it was rumoured that Lafai was going to sign with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles for the 2016 season to make way for Parramatta Eels player Will Hopoate at the Bulldogs, but that was later dismissed.[17][18] Lafai finished off the 2015 season having played in 20 matches, scoring 5 tries and kicking 1 goal.[19] On 11 December, he signed a 2-year contract with the St. George Illawarra Dragons starting in 2016, after being released from the final two years of his Bulldogs contract.[20]

2016

In February, Lafai played for the Dragons in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines.[21] In Round 1 of the 2016 NRL season, Lafai made his club debut for the St George Illawarra Dragons against the Melbourne Storm, playing at centre in the Dragons 18-16 loss at AAMI Park.[22] In Round 10 against the Canberra Raiders, Lafai scored his first club try for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the 16-12 golden point extra time win at Jubilee Oval.[23] On October 8, 2016, Lafai played for Samoa in their historical test match against Fiji in Apia.

2017

After a good start to the 2017 season, Lafai was rewarded with a 3 year contract extension by St George, keeping him at the club until the end of The 2020 season[24].

References

  1. ↑ Walshaw, Nick (29 July 2011). "Lafai's from a Field of Dreams Come True". Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Timoteo Lafai - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Riccio, David (4 October 2014). "Bulldogs rookie centre Tim Lafai chooses Australia over New Zealand and Samoa". Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Hooper, James (10 April 2011). "Lafai ready to take on Gaz". The Sunday Telegraph. News Corp. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Lafai, Tim". World of Rugby League. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  6. ↑ Nicolussi, Christian (21 March 2011). "Tim Lafai scores on NRL debut for Bulldogs". Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Matt Russell Previews the Final Round of the Toyota Cup". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  8. ↑ Massoud, Josh (4 May 2012). "Canterbury Bulldogs beat Parramatta Eels in NRL round nine". Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  9. ↑ Sygall, David (2 June 2012). "Live: Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Massoud, Josh (6 April 2013). "Manly Sea Eagles surge past Canterbury Bulldogs 20-6". Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "League: Samoa scrambling to confirm final World Cup squad". NZ Herald. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Samoa dominate against poor PNG". Eurosport. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bulldogs Grand Final Player Ratings". NRL.com. National Rugby League. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  14. ↑ Ritchie, Dean (6 October 2014). "South Sydney Rabbitohs win 2014 NRL grand final, defeating Canterbury Bulldogs 30-6". Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Toa Samoa name Four Nations squad". NRL.com. National Rugby League. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  16. ↑ "Toa Samoa name Four Nations squad". Zero Tackle. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  17. ↑ Lane, Daniel (13 August 2015). "Canterbury Bulldogs centre Tim Lafai shocked by Manly Sea Eagles switch speculation". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "Bulldogs Centre Tim Lafai Requests Release Ahead of Will Hopoate's arrival". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  19. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "Dragons sign Tim Lafai". Zero Tackle. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "Dragons name 2016 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  22. ↑ Hinds, Richard (7 March 2016). "Melbourne Storm defeat the Dragons 18-16 at AAMI Park". Daily Telegraph. News Corp. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  23. ↑ Bossi, Dominic (12 May 2016). "St George Illawarra Dragons seal dramatic win over Canberra Raiders". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  24. ↑ Glover, Ben (2 June 2017). "St George Illawarra Dragons re-sign Tim Lafai on long-term deal". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
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