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| Born | 27 May 1987 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 102 kg (16 st 1 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eloni Vunakece (born 27 May 1987) is a former Fiji international rugby league footballer who played as a prop for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. He also played for Toulouse Olympique in the French Elite One Championship.
Vunakece was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to a Fijian father, Meli, from Tavua and an Australian mother Julie Young from St Arnaud, Victoria.[3][4] He played his junior rugby league for the Holy Cross Rhinos and Leichhardt Wanderers, before being signed by the Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers.
Vunakece is married with four children.[5]
From 2006 to 2011, Vunakece played for the Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers,[6][7][8][9][10][11] while also having a stint with the Western Suburbs Magpies New South Wales Cup side in 2011.[12] In September 2011, he signed a 1-year contract with French team Toulouse Olympique in the Elite One Championship.[13] In 2012, he re-signed with Toulouse on a 1-year contract.[14][15]
In April, Vunakece played in two games for Toulouse in the 2013 Challenge Cup, scoring 2 tries.[16] At the conclusion of the 2012/2013 Elite One Championship season, he returned to Australia to play with the Wyong Roos in the New South Wales Cup.[17] In October and November, he played 5 games for Fiji in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, scoring 1 try.[18][19]
On 2 May, Vunakece played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the 2015 Melanesian Cup.[20] At the end of the 2015 season, he got the chance to join the Sydney Roosters first-grade squad for the 2016 pre-season.[21]
In round 4 of the 2016 NRL season, Vunakece made his NRL debut for the Sydney Roosters against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.[22][23] On 7 May, he again played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the 2016 Melanesian Cup, where he played at lock and scored a try.[24] In September, he was named at prop in the 2016 Intrust Super Premiership NSW Team of the Year.[25]
On 28 August 2017, Vunakece was named at Prop in the 2017 Intrust Super Premiership NSW team of the year.[26]
In September 2018, Vunakece announced his retirement from rugby league. He has been working for the council as a garbage collector and also doing some modelling. He also donated his brain, currently as a living participant in post-concussion cognitive research. Vunakece competed in the Australian Ninja Warrior (season 3).[27] He returned in seasons 4 and 5.
Vunakece will appear as a contestant on the sixth season of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia.[28]