Patrick Kaufusi
Personal information
Born (1994-02-18) 18 February 1994
Auckland, New Zealand
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight103 kg (16 st 3 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–17 North Qld Cowboys 22 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Melbourne Storm 3 0 0 0 0
2019 St. George Illawarra 6 0 0 0 0
Total 31 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–18 Queensland Residents 2 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Tonga 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 6 January 2024

Patrick Kaufusi (born 18 February 1994) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Intrust Super Cup.

He previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys, Melbourne Storm and the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.

Background

Kaufusi was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Tongan and Niuean descent. He moved to Australia at a young age and was educated at Shalom Catholic College, Bundaberg.

Patrick played his junior rugby league for the Bundaberg Brothers, before being signed by the North Queensland Cowboys.

Early career

Kaufusi playing for the Queensland Under 20s side in 2013

From 2012 to 2014, Kaufusi played for the North Queensland Cowboys' NYC team.[2] On 20 April 2013, he played for the Queensland Under-20s team against the New South Wales Under-20s team.[3] On 3 October 2013, he re-signed with the Cowboys on a 3-year contract.[4] In September 2014, Kaufusi was named in the Junior Kangaroos train-on squad.[5]

In 2015, he moved on to the Cowboys' Queensland Cup team, Northern Pride RLFC.[6]

Playing career

2015

In Round 16 of the 2015 NRL season, Kaufusi made his NRL debut for the Cowboys against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.[7]

2016

In Round 7 of the 2016 NRL season, Kaufusi played his second NRL game, coming off the bench in the Cowboys' 44-18 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[8][9] On 7 May, he made his international debut for Tonga against Samoa in the 2016 Polynesian Cup.[10]

Kaufusi played 12 games for the Cowboys in 2016, coming off the interchange bench in all 12.[11]

2017

Kaufusi started the 2017 NRL season coming off the bench for the Cowboys. After starting prop and co-captain Matthew Scott tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Round 2, Kaufusi moved into the starting line-up for the first time. In Round 3, he started his first NRL game, a 30-8 loss to the Manly Sea Eagles. On 6 May, he represented Tonga in the 2017 Pacific Test against Fiji. He broke his foot in the fixture, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.[12]

On 1 September, Melbourne Storm head coach Craig Bellamy confirmed that Kaufusi would join the club in 2018.[13]

2018

In Round 16 of the 2018 NRL season, Kaufusi made his Melbourne Storm debut against the Sydney Roosters at Adelaide Oval. Patrick became the third Kaufusi to play for the Melbourne Storm, after his brothers Antonio and Felise.

2019

Kaufusi made a total of 6 appearances for St George in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished second last on the table.[14] In November 2019, it was announced that Kaufusi had been released by the club.[15]

2020-21

On 6 February, Kaufusi signed a one-year deal with the Townsville Blackhawks.[16] On 19 February, the Blackhawks announced that Kaufusi had ruptured his achilles tendon in training, ruling him out for five to six months.[17][18] In March 2021, Kaufusi finally played his first game for Townsville.[19]

Statistics

NRL

Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2015 North Queensland 100–00
2016 North Queensland 1200–00
2017 North Queensland 900–00
2018 Melbourne 200–00
2019 Melbourne 100–00
2019 St George Illawara 600–00
Career totals 31 0 0 — 0 0

International

Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2016 Tonga Tonga 100—00
2017 Tonga Tonga 100—00
Career totals 2 0 0 — 0 0

Personal life

Kaufusi is the younger brother of former Australian and Queensland representative 

Antonio and current Melbourne Storm player Felise.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Patrick Kaufusi - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "K". Nycdatabase.org. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Under 20's Origin squads named". NRL.com. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Kaufusi lands Cowboys NRL contract | NRL". Zerotackle.com. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Nine added to Junior Kangaroos train-on squad". NRL.com. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Intrust Super Cup round 14 teams". QRL.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Team list: Cowboys v Sharks". Cowboys.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  8. ↑ NRL. "Team list: Cowboys v Rabbitohs". Cowboys. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Classy Cowboys too good for Souths". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Samoa holds on in pulsating Pacific Test". nrl.com. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Kaufusi ruled out for the remainder of the season".
  13. ↑ "Patrick Kaufusi set to join Storm". September 2017.
  14. ↑ "Paul McGregor facing the axe as St. George Illawarra Dragons coach following horror season". Sporting News.
  15. ↑ "NRL signings and player transfers". NRL. 4 November 2019.
  16. ↑ "Patrick Kaufusi Signs with Mendi Blackhawks". 6 February 2020.
  17. ↑ "Subscribe to the Townsville Bulletin".
  18. ↑ "Injury Update - Patrick Kaufusi". 19 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "KAUFUSI'S LONG WAIT FINALLY ENDS". Townsville Bulletin. News Corporation. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  20. ↑ "Kaufusi in line to make NRL debut". Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
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