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Ken Maumalo

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Ken Maumalo
Personal information
Born (1994-07-16) 16 July 1994 (age 30)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
Playing information
PositionWing, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–21 New Zealand Warriors 106 44 0 0 176
2021–23 Wests Tigers 29 19 0 0 76
2023– Gold Coast Titans 0 0 0 0 0
Total 135 63 0 0 252
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016 NSW Residents 1 3 0 0 12
2016–17 Samoa 4 3 0 0 12
2018–22 New Zealand 9 5 0 0 20
Source: [1]
As of 9 January 2024

Ken Maumalo (born 16 July 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League (NRL) and has played for Samoa and New Zealand at international level.

He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and Wests Tigers in the NRL. He was named Dally M Winger of the Year in 2019.

Background

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Maumalo was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Samoan descent, originating from Lalomanu Aileipata.[2] Maumalo attended Southern Cross Campus in South Auckland.

Maumalo is the first cousin of Melbourne Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona.

Playing career

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Early years

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He played junior football for the Papatoetoe Panthers, Mangere East Hawks and Counties Manukau Stingrays before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors.[3] Maumalo played for New Zealand Residents under-18s in 2012.[4] Maumalo played for the Warriors' NYC team in 2013 and 2014 before moving to the Warriors' New South Wales Cup team in 2015. Maumalo played in the 2014 Holden Cup grand final against the Brisbane Broncos off the interchange bench in the 34-32 victory.[5]

2015

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On 16 January 2015, Maumalo was named in the Warriors' 2015 Auckland Nines squad.[6] After impressing in pre-season trials, he was expected to make his NRL debut in round one before being ruled out with a hamstring injury.[7] Maumalo made his NRL debut in round 10 of the 2015 NRL season, against the Parramatta Eels on the wing at Parramatta Stadium.[8]

2016

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On 8 October 2016, Maumalo made his International debut for Samoa in their historical test match against Fiji in Apia. He scored two tries in Samoa's 18–20 loss.[9]

2017

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Maumalo admitted he almost finalised a mid-season move to the St George Illawarra Dragons in May last year, before the Warriors blocked it and instead re-signed him through until the end of 2018.

"It was pretty close, my manager was sorting it out and I was about to leave the week before [playing for the Dragons] but then got told to stay," Maumalo said.[10]

2018

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On 10 August 2018, Maumalo ran 208 metres from 22 runs during the Warriors' 18-12 triumph over the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Maumalo said he needed to focus on his defence due to his poor 68% tackle-efficiency that season. "I feel like just my defensive reads have been a little off next to Sol (centre Solomone Kata). I feel I can really knuckle up on that a bit better and just sticking to my tackles," he said.[11]

2019

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On 19 July 2019, Maumalo was ruled out of Friday night's game against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks due to a concussion sustained the previous weekend against the Broncos. He was replaced by outside back, Blake Ayshford on the wing.

At the conclusion of the 2019 NRL season, Maumalo lead the NRL in post-contact metres with 1,490 and finished in the top 5 for most tries with 17.[12]

2020

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Despite the sacking of Stephen Kearney after the New Zealand Warriors had a streak of poor performances, Maumalo continued his try-scoring form; ending Round 11 with 5 tries from eight games.[13] However, the Warriors' historic stay in Australia took a heavy toll on Maumalo, by means of being away from his family. Hence, Maumalo flew back to New Zealand on 27 July 2020 among other teammates and is not expected to return for the remainder of the 2020 NRL season.[14]

2021

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In June 2021, it was announced that Maumalo had signed a two-year deal to join the Wests Tigers. Maumalo was then granted an immediate switch. He played his final game for New Zealand in round 14 of the 2021 NRL season where he scored a hat-trick in a 42-16 loss against Melbourne.[15]

Maumalo made his debut for the Wests Tigers in round 15 against Melbourne which ended in a 66-16 defeat.[16]

In round 19, he scored two tries for the Wests Tigers in a 44-24 loss against Manly.[17] In round 21, he scored another double, this time in a 28-16 victory over Canterbury.[18]

2022

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In his first full season with Wests Tigers, Maumalo was named one of five captains of the club, alongside James Tamou, Luke Brooks, Adam Doueihi and Tyrone Peachey. The Sydney Morning Herald said, "Maumolo was seen as the biggest shock inclusion, especially given most fans view him as a softly-spoken winger, but the Tigers have been impressed with how much he has discovered his voice since he joined the club midway through last year."[19] In his first game after, he ran for 122 metres and scored two tries, his third double in 11 games at the club.[20] In round 11 of the 2022 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 36-22 victory over Canterbury at Leichhardt Oval.[21] He played a total of 19 matches for the Wests Tigers and scored 12 tries as the club finished bottom of the table and claimed the wooden spoon for the first time.[22]

2023

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On 23 March, Maumalo was granted an immediate release from his Wests Tigers contract to join the Gold Coast. Maumalo was released by Wests despite the fact he had finished as the club's top try scorer during the 2022 season.[23]

Maumalo did not play any NRL games for the Gold Coast in 2023, instead spending the year with the Burleigh Bears, a Gold Coast affiliate side in the Queensland Cup. Maumalo played 14 games of the regular season, scoring 11 tries.[24] Maumalo also played in the Bears 57-8 preliminary final win over Wynnum Manly, scoring a try.[25]

Statistics

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Year Team Games Tries Pts
2015 New Zealand Warriors 8 1 4
2016 10 1 4
2017 23 7 28
2018 23 5 20
2019 23 17 68
2020 8 5 20
2021 11 8 32
Wests Tigers 10 7 28
2022 19 12 48
2023 Gold Coast Titans 0
Totals 135 63 252

References

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  1. ^ Ken Maumalorugbyleagueproject.org
  2. ^ "nesianpower101 - Instagram Post". Imagala.com. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  3. ^ NRL. "Ken Maumalo". Warriors. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  4. ^ "NZRL". nzrl.co.nz. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Warriors survive Broncos scare to win Holden Cup". NRL.com. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  6. ^ NRL Ladder (16 January 2015). "WARRIORS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Two players ruled out". warriors.co.nz. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Maumalo's debut". Warriors. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Brilliant Bati comeback steals Pacific Test win". NRL.com. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  10. ^ "I was close to being a Dragon: Maumalo". National Rugby League. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Unsung Warrior Maumalo defying old winger stereotypes". National Rugby League. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  12. ^ "NRL Stats - NRL.com". National Rugby League. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Players". National Rugby League. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Homesick Warriors set to return to New Zealand". www.abc.net.au. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Emotional Maumalo straight in for Tigers". www.nrl.com. 13 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Melbourne Storm thump Wests Tigers 66-16 as St George Illawarra, Newcastle post NRL wins". ABC News. 19 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Penrith beat Brisbane 18-12, South Sydney thrash Warriors 60-22, Manly outclass Tigers 44-24". ABC News. 24 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Uproar as Canterbury front-rower Jack Hetherington cops another sin-bin in Dogs' loss to Tigers". wwos.nine.com.au.
  19. ^ Christian Nicolussi (22 February 2022). "'They've all got their strengths': Maguire appoints five co-captains for Tigers". Sydney Morning Herald.
  20. ^ "Wests Tigers v Storm". nrl.com.
  21. ^ "'Going up by the minute': Tiger's perfect Dolphins audition in fitting end to Dogs' brutal week". www.foxsports.com.au.
  22. ^ "Canberra Raiders hand out 56-10 NRL drubbing to Wests Tigers as Cronulla beats Newcastle Knights 38-16". www.abc.net.au.
  23. ^ "Ken Maumalo contract: Winger signs with Gold Coast Titans following Wests Tigers release". www.sportingnews.com.
  24. ^ "Official Hostplus Cup profile of Ken Maumalo for Burleigh Bears". www.qrl.com.au.
  25. ^ "Bears v WM Seagulls". www.qrl.com.au.
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