Suliasi Vunivalu
 | ||||||
| Vunivalu playing for the Storm in 2014. | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 27 November 1995 Suva, Fiji[1] | |||||
| Height | 192 cm (6 ft 4 in) | |||||
| Weight | 99 kg (15 st 8 lb) | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | Wing | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 2016– | Melbourne Storm | 21 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 92 |
| As of 24 September 2016 | ||||||
| Source: [2] | ||||||
Suliasi Vunivalu (born 27 November 1995) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays at wing for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League.
Early life
Born in Suva, Fiji, Vunivalu grew up in the province of Bua and was educated at Lelean Memorial School.[3] He moved to Auckland, New Zealand at the age of 16[1] and played rugby union for Saint Kentigern College.
Playing career
When Vunivalu turned 17, he made the Auckland Blues development team after impressing in schoolboy rugby. He was then signed by the Melbourne Storm at 18 years old.[4] In 2014 and 2015, he played for the Melbourne Storm's NYC team.[5]
In 2016, Vunivalu graduated to the Storm's Queensland Cup team, Eastern Suburbs Tigers.[6] In Round 7 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Storm against the Wests Tigers,[7][8] scoring two tries on debut.[9] He went on to score doubles in his second, third, fifth and eighth games also,[10][11] gaining top position on the club's try-scorers list for the 2016 season. On 3 September, he set the record for most tries in a debut season record by scoring his 22nd try of the season against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, eclipsing the previous record of 21 tries set by Israel Folau back in 2007. He was also the top-try scorer of the season. On 2 October, he played in the 2016 NRL Grand Final loss against Sharks.[12]
Honours
Individual
- 2016: NRL - Most tries in a debut season (23)
- 2016: Melbourne Storm - Most tries in a season (23)
- 2016: Dally M Top Try Scorer (23)
References
- 1 2 NRL. "Vunivalu becomes #171 - Storm". Melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ↑ "Suliasi Vunivalu - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ Baleilevuka, Rusiate (21 January 2015). "Vanivalu signs with Melbourne Storm". Fiji Village. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ↑ Raj, Amit (18 December 2014). "Suliasi to join Bati star". Fiji Times. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- ↑ "V". Nyc Database. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ↑ NRL. "Rd.2 Feeder Team Announcement - Storm". Melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ↑ "Updated team lists: Wests Tigers v Storm". NRL.com. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ↑ NRL. "Late mail: Round 7 - Storm". Melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ↑ "Storm clinch golden point victory". NRL.com. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ↑ "Warriors suffer embarrassing 42-0 defeat to Melbourne Storm on Anzac Day". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
- ↑ "Storm monster Titans in seven-try slaughter". NRL.com. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
- ↑ "NRL Team Lists". Nrl.com. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2016-10-03.