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Siosifa Talakai
Personal information
Born (1997-04-18) 18 April 1997 (age 27)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 South Sydney 11 2 0 0 8
2020– Cronulla Sharks 98 23 1 0 94
Total 109 25 1 0 102
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022 New South Wales 2 0 0 0 0
2022 Tonga 2 0 1 0 2
Source: [1]
As of 28 September 2024

Siosifa Talakai (born 18 April 1997) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or second-row forward for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He has played representative football for New South Wales in the State of Origin series and Tonga at international level.

He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League.

Background

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Talakai was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Tongan and Niuean descent.[2]

He played his junior rugby league for the Mascot Jets[citation needed], before being signed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Playing career

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Early career

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In 2015 and 2016, Talakai played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs' NYC team.[3][4]

Talakai playing for the North Sydney Bears in 2016

2016

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On 7 May, Talakai played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos.[5] In round 13 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for South Sydney against the Gold Coast Titans,[6] scoring a try with his first touch.[7] He was contracted to South Sydney until the end of 2016.[8]

2017

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Talakai was hampered by a knee injury during the 2017 season limiting him to only 8 appearances for the entire season.[9][10][11]

2018

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Talakai departed Souths mid season in 2018 to sign a contract to join the Penrith Panthers. Talakai was unable to break into the first grade team and spent the remainder of the year playing for Penrith's Intrust Super Premiership NSW side.[12]

2019

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In 2019, Talakai joined Newtown after being released by Penrith at the end of 2018.[13][14] Talakai played for Newtown in their Canterbury Cup NSW grand final victory over the Wentworthville Magpies at Bankwest Stadium.[15]

2020

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In round 4 of the 2020 NRL season, Talakai made his debut for Cronulla-Sutherland as they won their first game of the year defeating North Queensland 26-16 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.[16]

2021

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In round 7 of the 2021 NRL season, Talakai was sin-binned for an illegal shoulder charge in Cronulla's 18-12 loss against Canterbury.[17] On 27 April, Talakai was suspended for four matches in relation to the illegal bum charge.[18] Talakai played 15 games for Cronulla in the 2021 NRL season which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table.[19]

2022

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The 2022 season for Talakai was his best yet, scoring 7 tries and assisting 9 others in the 21 games he played in that season. Due to injuries in the Cronulla backline, Talakai moved from his typical second row position into the centres. In round 7 of the 2022 NRL season, Talakai scored two tries and assisted 3 others for Cronulla in a man of the match performance which saw the club defeat rivals Manly 34-22 in the Battle of the Beaches game.[20]

On 11 June, an arrest warrant was issued for Talakai after he failed to appear in court for driving with an expired licence. It was alleged that Talakai had been stopped by police on Captain Cook Drive at Caringbah where it was discovered he had an expired drivers licence. The media approached the Cronulla club for comment but they stated they were unaware of the incident. The arrest warrant for Talakai was later revoked and the court date was moved for the 23 June.[21]

On 19 June, Talakai was selected by New South Wales for game two of the 2022 State of Origin series.[22] Talakai played off the bench for New South Wales in their 44-12 victory over Queensland.[23]

In Game 3 of the series, Talakai made 2 errors which proved to be costly in New South Wales 22-12 defeat to Queensland at Lang Park.[24]

Talakai helping his Tongan colleagues warm up at the 2021 RLWC in 2022

Talakai played 21 games for Cronulla in the 2022 NRL season as they surprised many by finishing second on the table. Talakai played in Cronulla's qualifying final loss to North Queensland in which he scored a try. Talakai did not feature in Cronulla's 38-12 elimination final loss to South Sydney which ended their season.[25]

2023

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In round 4 of the 2023 NRL season, Talakai kicked the first goal of his career in Cronulla's 40-8 victory over rivals St. George Illawarra.[26] In round 19, Talakai scored two tries for Cronulla in their 36-12 victory over the Wests Tigers.[27] Talakai played a total of 25 games for Cronulla in the 2023 NRL season as Cronulla finished sixth on the table. Talakai played in the clubs 13-12 upset loss against the Sydney Roosters which ended their season.[28]

2024

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From round 4 of the 2024 NRL season, having started his last 43 games at centre, Talakai made a positional change to the forwards due to injuries suffered by other Cronulla players. Replaced at centre by Kayal Iro, Talakai mostly played as an interchange forward, but also started 6 games (as of round 25) at his old position of second-row.[29] Talakai played 24 games for Cronulla in the 2024 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals.[30]

Statistics

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NRL

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*denotes season competing[1]
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2016 South Sydney 3 1 0 — 0 4
2017 8 1 0 — 0 4
2020 Cronulla-Sutherland 16 4 0 — 0 16
2021 15 1 0 — 0 4
2022 21 7 0 — 0 28
2023 22 5 1 22
2024 24 6 24
2025
Career totals 109 25 1 — 0 102

State of Origin

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Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2022 New South Wales 2 0 0 — 0 0
Career totals 2 0 0 — 0 0

International

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Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2022 Tonga Tonga 2 0 1 100.00% 0 2
Career totals 2 0 1 100.00% 0 2

References

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  1. ^ a b "Siosifa Talakai - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Eligible players". Tonga Rugby League. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  3. ^ "T". Nyc Database. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  4. ^ Tim Costello and Jeff Dickinson-Fox (15 March 2016). "LeagueUnlimited NYC Teams - 2016 Round 3". League Unlimited. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Updated: Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Updated team lists: Rabbitohs v Titans". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Titans beat Rabbitohs in golden point". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Dailytelegraph.com.au - Subscribe to The Daily Telegraph for exclusive stories". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Sam Burgess injury, NRL casualty ward round 15, injuries, teams | Daily Telegraph". Archived from the original on 18 June 2017.
  11. ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Panthers Stun Roos to Register Eighth-Straight Win". 11 August 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Player profile". www.sharks.com.au.
  14. ^ "Canterbury Cup NSW Team Lists Round One". www.nswrl.com.au. 12 March 2019.
  15. ^ "Newtown reign supreme in epic decider". NSWRL. 29 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Cronulla v NQ Round 4". www.foxsports.com.au. 6 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Cowboys beat Raiders 26-24 for third straight NRL win, Bulldogs defeat Sharks 18-12 for maiden victory". ABC News. 24 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Dragons duo cop bans after ugly shots in Roosters loss: Judiciary". www.foxsports.com.au. 27 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Papenhuyzen back to best as Storm secure minor premiership". www.nrl.com. 3 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Cronulla 34 Manly 22". amp.nine.com.au.
  21. ^ "Sharks star issued arrest warrant for court no-show over driving charge". www.foxsports.com.au.
  22. ^ "13-game veteran recalled, Eels pair pay the price: Blues Origin II Winners and Losers". www.foxsports.com.au.
  23. ^ "Cleary's stunning response as recalled star, debutant shine: NSW Player Ratings". www.foxsports.com.au.
  24. ^ "Proof Ponga can finally answer $5m question; 23-min disaster that exposed Blues gamble: Talking Pts". www.foxsports.com.au.
  25. ^ "Young gun who can solve Sharks' big problem; masterstroke that can't be overlooked: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
  26. ^ "Cronulla thrashes St George Illawarra 40-8 as Newcastle, Warriors enjoy NRL victories". www.abc.net.au.
  27. ^ "Hynes magic leads Sharks to big victory as Talakai runs riot amid brave Tigers fade-out: Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au.
  28. ^ "Sydney Roosters score 'wild' 13-12 NRL elimination final win over Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers beat Warriors". www.abc.net.au.
  29. ^ "Official NRL profile of Siosifa Talakai for Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks". sharks.com.au. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  30. ^ "The Mole's end of season review: Awkward Sharks puzzle laid bare after $1m star 'lost his way'". www.nine.com.au.
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