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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Junior Tia-Kilifi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 April 1988 Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 17 January 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Junior Tia-Kilifi (JTK) (born 24 April 1988) is a Samoa international former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s for the Penrith Panthers and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League. Tia-Kilifi usually played on the wing or as a centre.
Tia-Kilifi was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He attended Chifley College in Mount Druitt, and St Dominics College in Penrith.[2] Tia-Kilifi played his junior footy for the Minchinbury Jets.
Tia-Kilifi made his debut with the Penrith Panthers in 2009, but left the club at the end of the season to sign a two-year contract with the Bulldogs, commencing at the start of the 2010 season.[3]
Tia-Kilifi mostly played for Canterbury's feeder side in the NSW Cup. At the end of the 2011 season, Tia-Kilifi moved back to Penrith in a one-year contract.[4] He then renewed his contract for another season.
In 2015, Tia-Kilifi played for the Auburn Warriors in the Ron Massey Cup. In The 2017 Ron Massey Cup season, Kilifi played for foundation club The Western Suburbs Magpies.[5][6]
Tia-Kilifi was called up for the Samoa national rugby league team in 2006, but never played.[7]
On 8 September 2014, Tia-Kilifi was named in the Samoa train-on squad for the 2014 Four Nations,[8]