Kevin Naiqama

Kevin Naiqama
Naiqama at the premiere of Hercules, June 2014.
Personal information
Born (1989-02-04) 4 February 1989
Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia
Height 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 93 kg (14 st 9 lb)
Playing information
Position Fullback, Wing, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010–13 Newcastle Knights 15 9 0 0 36
2014 Penrith Panthers 8 7 0 0 28
2015– Wests Tigers 47 20 0 0 80
Total 70 36 0 0 144
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–16 Fiji 10 2 0 0 8
As of 9 July 2016
Source: [1]

Kevin Naiqama (born 4 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights and Penrith Panthers. A Fijian international representative, he plays at fullback, wing and centre.

Background

Born in Sutherland, New South Wales, Naiqama is of Fijian descent and played his junior football for the Arncliffe Scots, before being signed by the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Naiqama is the younger brother of London Broncos player and Fijian international, Wes Naiqama.[2]

Playing career

Early career

After playing with the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Naiqama joined the Newcastle Knights alongside his brother Wes in 2008. He played for the Knights' NYC team in 2008 and 2009, scoring 21 tries in 33 games.[3][4]

2009

In 2009, Naiqama played for Fiji in the 2009 Pacific Cup.[5]

2010

In 2010, he moved on to the Knights' New South Wales Cup team, Central Coast Centurions and played for the New South Wales Residents against the Queensland Residents at ANZ Stadium as a curtain raiser to Game three of the State of Origin series.[6] In Round 26 of the 2010 NRL season, Naiqama made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Melbourne Storm on the wing in the Knights 34-4 loss at AAMI Park.[2][7] At the end of 2010, Naiqama was named on the wing in the New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.[8]

2011

Naiqama playing for the Central Coast Centurions in 2011.

In June 2011, Naiqama re-signed with the Knights on a 1-year contract.[9] He did not make an appearance for the Knights in the 2011 season.

2012

On 3 August 2012, Naiqama re-signed with the Knights on a 1-year contract.[10] In Round 17 against the Parramatta Eels at Parramatta Stadium, he scored his first NRL career try in the Knights' 20-12 win.[11] He finished the 2012 season having played in 8 matches and scoring 7 tries.

2013

On 21 June 2013, Naiqama signed a 2-year contract with the Penrith Panthers starting in 2014, to join his older brother Wes. Knights coach Wayne Bennett told Naiqama to move clubs and further his career as he was behind representative players Darius Boyd, James McManus and Akuila Uate at the Knights.[12][13] He finished the 2013 season having played in 6 matches and scoring 2 tries. At the end of the season, he played for Fiji at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup,[14] playing in 5 matches and scoring 1 try.

2014

In February, Naiqama played for the Panthers at the inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines.[15] In Round 2 against the Melbourne Storm, he made his Panthers debut, scoring a double in the 18-17 loss.[16] On 3 May 2014, he played for Fiji in the 2014 Pacific Rugby League International, scoring a try in Fiji's 32-16 loss to Samoa.[17] He finished off the 2014 season having played in 8 matches and scoring 7 tries.

2015

Naiqama signed a 1-year contract with the Wests Tigers starting in 2015.[18][19] He made his first appearance for the club in the Auckland Nines. After an "impressive showing" he said, "I'm the fittest and fastest I have felt in a couple of years, having done my first full pre-season in two years."[20] With regular winger David Nofoaluma recovering from injury,[21] Naiqama was named in the starting side for the opening games of the season. By April he had signed a two-year extension with the club.[22] Naiqama played in all 24 games and scored 9 tries.[23] He also played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the mid-season Melanesian Cup.[24]

2016

Remaining at right centre in 2016, Naiqama scored his first treble in the round 3 match against the Titans. By mid-season, he was named as one of the most improved players of the year, and it was said he had, "become a genuinely dangerous player down the Tigers' right side, appearing in every game this season. His success is the result of nothing but hard work and persistence."[25]

At season's end, he again represented Fiji in a test against Samoa in Apia, captaining the team to a 20–18 victory.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Kevin Naiqama rugbyleagueproject.org
  2. 1 2 "YOUNG GUN GETS FIRST RUN". Newcastle Knights. 2010-09-03. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  3. ↑ "N". Nycdatabase.org. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  4. ↑ "Kevin Naiqama". Rleague.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  5. ↑ "2009 Pacific Cup: Squads". NRL.com. 2009-10-10. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  6. ↑ "Updated: New South Wales Residents team". League Unlimited. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  7. ↑ "Storm Win Last Game of Pointless Season". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  8. ↑ "Pita Godinet named in NSW Cup Team of the Year". League Unlimited. 2010-09-09. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  9. ↑ Dillon, Robert (2011-06-29). "Naiqama brothers extend stay with Knights | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  10. ↑ "Knights re-sign Kevin Naiqama". www.newcastleknights.com.au. 1 October 2005. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  11. ↑ "Newcastle Knights Punish Parramatta Eels for a Sloppy Second Half". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  12. ↑ "Naiqama signs with Panthers for 2014". Archived from the original on 2013-10-19.
  13. ↑ "Panthers Sign Kevin Naiqama on Two Year Deal to Join Older Brother Wes". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  14. ↑ "Civoniceva, Wes Naiqama to lead Fiji Bati". Fijilive.com. 2013-09-19. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  15. ↑ John Dean (2014-02-14). "Squads For Auckland Nines". Rugby League Week. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  16. ↑ "Melbourne Storm Have Beaten the Penrith Panthers 18-17 in a Thriller". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  17. ↑ "Gutsy Samoa secures place in Four Nations tournament". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  18. ↑ "Wests Tigers sign backline duo". Weststigers.com.au. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  19. ↑ John Dean (2014-10-10). "Wests Tigers Sign Backline Duo". Rugby League Week. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  20. ↑ "Auckland Nines in brief: Naiqama impresses in Wests Tigers debut". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  21. ↑ Brady, Jack (28 January 2015). "Smashing roadblocks Naiqama's Tigers priority". nrl.com. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  22. ↑ "WESTS TIGERS RE-SIGN KEVIN NAIQAMA". Zero Tackle. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  24. ↑ "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 2015-05-03. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  25. ↑ Andrew Voss. "Voss: Who is most improved in 2016?". nrl.com.
  26. ↑ "Match Centre". Fox Sports.
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