Wellington Albert

Wellington Albert (born 3 September 1994[lower-alpha 1]) is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League [4], on loan to Featherstone Rovers[5] in the Championship and Papua New Guinea at international level.

Wellington Albert
Personal information
Born (1994-09-03) September 3, 1994
Papua New Guinea
Height194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight113 kg (17 st 11 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp, Lock, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017 PNG Hunters
2018–19 Widnes Vikings 12 2 0 0 8
2018(loan) → N. Wales Crusaders 1 0 0 0 0
2019– Leeds Rhinos 6 1 0 0 4
2019(DR) → Featherstone Rovers 15 2 0 0 8
Total 34 5 0 0 20
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–19 Papua New Guinea 7 2 0 0 8
As of 19 October 2019
Source: [1][2]

He previously played for the Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Championship and asked to leave the Widnes Vikings after they went into administration.[6]

Background

Albert was born in Mendi, Southern Highlands in Papua New Guinea.[7] He is the elder brother of fellow PNG international Stanton Albert.

Playing career

He played for the Mendi Muruks and the Lae Snax Tigers in the PNGNRL before being selected to represent Papua New Guinea at the 2013 World Cup.[8] He played for the Kumuls in their pre-tournament match against Scotland, where he scored a try. His only match of the tournament was against New Zealand on 8 November 2013, where he again scored a try.

On 12 December 2013, Albert was named in the Papua New Guinea Hunters' squad for their inaugural 2014 season in the Queensland Cup,[9] though he later signed a two-year deal with the Penrith Panthers starting in 2014.[7] He was the second Papua New Guinean player to be signed by an NRL club without having played junior rugby league in Australia.[10]

Albert played 5 games for the Panthers' NYC team in 2014 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.[3] In 2015, Albert moved into the Panthers' NSW Cup team. On 2 May 2015, he represented Papua New Guinea in the 2015 Melanesian Cup against Fiji.

Personal life

In 2014, Albert started an economics degree at the University of Western Sydney.[7] His brother Stanton has returned to Papua New Guinea from England to play for the PNG Hunters team in the Queensland Cup in 2018.

Notes
  1. The official website of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup lists Albert's birth year as 1993, though the Penrith Panthers list his birth year as 1994, claiming it to be the date recorded on his passport. PNG media and rugby league coaches have also reportedly claimed that Albert was born in 1992.[3]

References
  1. loverugbyleague
  2. "Wellington Albert". Rugby League Project.
  3. Massoud, Josh; Hooper, James (9 May 2014). "Penrith hit by age-old mystery over Panther Wellington Albert". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  4. https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12211/11678018/leeds-rhinos-offer-trial-to-wellington-albert-following-widnes-exit
  5. https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/featherstone-rovers-re-sign-wellington-albert-loan-leeds-rhinos-1346287
  6. https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/trio-leave-widnes-as-rfl-approve-takeover/
  7. Chammas, Michael (3 February 2014). "Penrith sign giant PNG youngster with size 15 feet". Sydney Morning Herald.
  8. Webeck, Tony (29 April 2015). "Brothers pave way for PNG recognition". NRL.com. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  9. Tassel, Brad (12 December 2013). "PNG names 25-man Intrust Super Cup squad". QRL.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013.
  10. Garry, Chris (20 December 2013). "Penrith poach Papua New Guinea star likened to a young Petero Civoniceva". Courier-Mail. Retrieved 12 October 2016.


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