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Keaon Koloamatangi

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Keaon Koloamatangi
Personal information
Born (1998-05-23) 23 May 1998 (age 26)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2020– South Sydney 106 20 1 0 82
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019 NSW Residents 1 1 0 0 4
2022–24 Tonga 5 2 0 0 8
2023 New South Wales 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 6 September 2024

Keaon Koloamatangi (born 23 May 1998), also known as Keta, is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.

Early life

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Koloamatangi grew up in Burwood, New South Wales idolising Sonny Bill Williams and Willie Mason but has been a South Sydney junior since he was a kid thanks to his dad Izzy. Keaon was a Mascot Jets junior and once said "Dad wanted me to play for Mascot because they always won! Instead of putting me in the Canterbury comp he wanted me in the Souths comp because he knew a lot of people, a lot of great players came from there."[2] Keaon attended Ashfield Boys High School, he was an outstanding junior sportsman representing the school in a wide variety of sports and still holds several school swimming records. Koloamatangi is of Australian, Tongan, Tuvalu and Niue descent.[3]

Playing career

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2020

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Koloamatangi made first grade debut in round 4 of the 2020 NRL season for South Sydney (first grade player number 1157)[4] against the Melbourne Storm.[5]

He made a total of 14 appearances in his first season as the club reached another preliminary final but were defeated by Penrith at ANZ Stadium.[6]

2021

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In round 10 of the 2021 NRL season, Koloamatangi scored his first NRL try in South's 32-22 victory over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Suncorp Stadium.[7] Midway through the season, Koloamatangi was selected as 20th man in the NSW Blues squad for the first game of the 2021 State of Origin series.[8] He played a total of 23 games for South Sydney in the 2021 NRL season including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final defeat against Penrith.[9]

2022

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He played 27 games for South Sydney in the 2022 NRL season including all three of the clubs finals matches as they reached the preliminary final for a fifth straight season. Souths would lose in the preliminary final to eventual premiers Penrith 32-12.[10]

In October he was named in the Tonga squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[11] In the opening match of Tonga's 2021 Rugby League World Cup campaign, Koloamatangi scored the winning try in Tonga's 24-18 victory over Papua New Guinea.[12]

In November he was named in the 2021 RLWC Team of the Tournament.[13]

2023

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In round 7 of the 2023 NRL season, Koloamatangi was taken from the field during South Sydney's 36-14 victory over the Dolphins side with a leg injury and later ruled out for an indefinite period.[14] On 3 July, he was selected for New South Wales for game 3 of the 2023 State of Origin series.[15] Koloamatangi made his debut for New South Wales in game 3 which saw his team win 24-10 over Queensland.[16] He played a total of 18 games for Souths in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 9th on the table and missed the finals.[17][18]

2024

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In round 12 of the 2024 NRL season, he scored two tries for South Sydney in their upset 42-26 victory over Parramatta. It also broke South Sydney's eight game losing streak although the club would still remain bottom of the table.[19] He played a total of 24 games for the club in the 2024 season as the club finished 16th on the table.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ "NRL 2020: South Sydney Rabbitohs, Kaeon Koloamatangi, park footy player delivers SBW fan to Souths - Rabbitohs". 4 June 2020.
  3. ^ Kennedy, Chris (21 March 2022). "Havili desperate to give help back to Tonga". NRL.com.
  4. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Keaon Koloamatangi gives Rabbitohs Radio a shoutout. YouTube.
  5. ^ "Round 4 NRL team lists". NRL.com. 2 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Penrith Panthers beat South Sydney Rabbitohs 20-16 to set up NRL grand final against Melbourne Storm". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Sharks v Rabbitohs".
  8. ^ "Souths young gun gets surprise NSW call-up".
  9. ^ "One of finest NRL grand finals of all time provides cure to difficult season". www.theguardian.com. 3 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Penrith Panthers defeat South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-12 to qualify for third straight NRL grand final". www.abc.net.au.
  11. ^ Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
  12. ^ "NRL clubs on alert as PNG guns stars; Souths beast's shock Tonga role: World Cup Talking Points". www.foxsports.com.au.
  13. ^ Samoan domination as unlikely halfback earns No.7 jersey: WC Team of the Tournament
  14. ^ "Duo fined, star injured for blockbuster as Souths count cost of brutal Dolphins battle". www.foxsports.com.au.
  15. ^ "'That is rude': Brandy fumes at 'disrespectful' call amid fiery Blues Origin III selection grilling". www.foxsports.co.au.
  16. ^ "New South Wales Blues avoid State of Origin series whitewash with 24-10 victory over Queensland Maroons in Sydney". www.abc.net.au.
  17. ^ "'Absolute madness': Potential Latrell switch slammed as a 'band aid' for broken Bunnies". www.foxsports.com.au.
  18. ^ Proszenko, Adrian (30 May 2023). "Tatola and Koloamatangi not feeling Blue about Origin omission". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Nicho Hynes calf concern casts doubt on NSW selection as Penrith beat Cronulla 42-0". www.abc.net.au.
  20. ^ "The Mole's end of season review: What went wrong at the South Sydney Rabbitohs?". www.nine.com.au.
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