Tony Puletua

  • Playing Career

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Born
Monday, 25th June, 1979
Current Age
44 years and 278 days
Place Of Birth
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Known Family Links

Brother
Frank Puletua

Biography

Hard-running schoolboy centre was turned into a rampaging forward by Penrith coach Royce Simmons in the late 1990s. Earning Kiwi Test selection in 1999, Tony Puletua recovered from a neck injury suffered in the Panthers’ semi-final loss to Canberra to represent NZ in the 2000 World Cup. (Interestingly, his older brother Frank played for Samoa in the same competition). After returning from another injury in early 2001 Puletua was virtually unsighted during Penrith’s poor 2001 season. He more than made up for it in 2003 though, forming a great partnership with back-rower Joe Galuvao as the Panthers won the premiership. Puletua took his Test tally to 17 at the end of 2004, enjoying a win over Australia in October 2003 and a 16-all draw a year later, but was ruled out of the Kiwis’ Tri Nation campaign because of injury. In 2006 he was named Penrith captain after halfback Craig Gower was stripped of the honour and fined for misbehaviour but the Panthers failed to return to the finals.
- ALAN WHITICKER

Playing Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.

Competitions

Competition   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NRL 211 40 -   - 160 98 111 2 46.45% List
NRL Finals 6 1 -   - 4 3 3 0 50.00% List
Test Series 6 1 -   - 4 3 1 2 50.00% List
Anzac Tests 3 - -   - - 0 3 0 0.00% List
World Cup 7 1 -   - 4 5 2 0 71.43% List
Tour Matches New Zealand 4 - -   - - 2 1 1 50.00% List
World Club Challenge 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Tri-Nations 4 - -   - - 0 3 1 0.00% List
Super League 158 42 -   - 168 94 57 7 59.49% List
Challenge Cup 16 1 -   - 4 10 6 0 62.50% List
UK Second Division 4 1 -   - 4 4 0 0 100.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
New Zealand 1998-00, 2002-07 22 4 -   - 16 9 10 3 40.91% List
Samoa 2007-08, 2010, 2013 9 2 -   - 8 6 3 0 66.67% List
Overall1998-2013 31 6 0   0 24 15 13 3 48.39% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
New Zealand 1998-2000 2 1 -   - 4 2 0 0 100.00% List
Samoa 2007-2013 5 - -   - - 3 2 0 60.00% List
Overall2000-2013 7 1 0   0 4 5 2 0 71.43% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Penrith Super League 1997 9 1 -   - 4 3 6 0 33.33% List
Penrith NRL 1998 18 1 -   - 4 6 11 1 33.33% List
Penrith NRL 1999 12 - -   - - 7 4 1 58.33% List
Penrith NRL 2000 25 7 -   - 28 13 12 0 52.00% List
Penrith NRL 2001 13 2 -   - 8 4 9 0 30.77% List
Penrith NRL 2002 17 6 -   - 24 5 12 0 29.41% List
Penrith NRL 2003 25 4 -   - 16 19 6 0 76.00% List
Penrith NRL 2004 23 7 -   - 28 13 10 0 56.52% List
Penrith NRL 2005 5 1 -   - 4 2 3 0 40.00% List
Penrith NRL 2006 20 4 -   - 16 9 11 0 45.00% List
Penrith NRL 2007 22 4 -   - 16 7 15 0 31.82% List
Penrith NRL 2008 22 3 -   - 12 10 12 0 45.45% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Penrith 1997-08 211 40 -   - 160 98 111 2 46.45% List

English Career - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
St Helens 2009 31 14 -   - 56 22 9 0 70.97% List
St Helens 2010 31 13 -   - 52 24 7 0 77.42% List
St Helens 2011 26 7 -   - 28 16 7 3 61.54% List
St Helens 2012 24 4 -   - 16 13 9 2 54.17% List
St Helens 2013 25 2 -   - 8 14 10 1 56.00% List
Salford 2014 27 3 -   - 12 11 15 1 40.74% List
Hull KR 2015 14 1 -   - 4 8 6 0 57.14% List

English Career - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
St Helens 2009-13 137 40 -   - 160 89 42 6 64.96% List
Salford 2014 27 3 -   - 12 11 15 1 40.74% List
Hull KR 2015 14 1 -   - 4 8 6 0 57.14% List
Overall2009-2015 178 44 0   0 176 108 63 7 60.67% List

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Contributions: Rugby League Tables, Andrew Ferguson, AJ Lucantonio, Shawn Dollin, Paul Carter, Greg Fiveash, Alan Katzmann, Cymru RL, Bill Bates, Max Turner

Sources: NRL Rugby League Yearbook 1999, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 2000, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 2001, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 2002, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 2003, NRL 2004 Official Rugby League Annual, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 2004, NRL Rugby League Yearbook 1998, 2006 Official Rugby League Annual