Toafofoa Sipley
Personal information
Born (1995-01-05) 5 January 1995 (age 29)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight120 kg (18 st 13 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 New Zealand Warriors 2 0 0 0 0
2018– Manly Sea Eagles 68 5 0 0 20
Total 70 5 0 0 20
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017 NSW Residents 1 0 0 0 0
2018 Niue 1 1 0 0 4
Source: [1]
As of 10 January 2024

Toafofoa Sipley (born 5 January 1995) is a Niue international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL.

Background

Sipley was born in Auckland, New Zealand and is of Samoan[2] and Niuean[3] descent.

He played his junior rugby league for the Richmond Rovers, before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors.[4]

Playing career

Early career

From 2013 to 2015, Sipley played for the New Zealand Warriors' NYC team.[5] On 5 October 2014, he played in the Warriors' 2014 NYC Grand Final win over the Brisbane Broncos.[6] He captained the side in 2015.[7] On 2 May 2015, he played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos.[8] On 3 June 2015, he re-signed with the Warriors on a 2-year contract.[9]

2016

Sipley graduated to the Warriors' Intrust Super Premiership NSW team in 2016.[10] In Round 9 of the season, he made his NRL debut for the Warriors against the St. George Illawarra Dragons.[11][12]

2017

In June, Sipley signed a two-year contract with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles for the 2018/2019 seasons.[13]

2018

On 19 May, Toafofoa Sipley made his club debut for Manly Warringah against the Melbourne Storm in the 24-4 win at AAMI Park. Sipley made a total of 4 appearances for Manly in the 2018 NRL season as the club endured one of their worst ever seasons finishing 15th on the table and narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon.[14]

On 27 October, Sipley made his debut for Niue against Italy. In this match, he scored a try as Niue lost 36–32.[15]

2019

Sipley made 10 appearances for Manly Warringah in the 2019 NRL season as the club reached the finals. Sipley played in Manly's elimination final victory over Cronulla-Sutherland at Brookvale Oval.[16]

2020 & 2021

Sipley made no appearances for Manly in the 2020 NRL season. In round 16 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries for Manly in a 66-0 victory over Canterbury.[17] Sipley played 20 games for Manly in the 2021 NRL season but did not feature in their finals campaign which saw them reach the preliminary final stage before losing to South Sydney.[18]

2022

Sipley made 19 appearances for Manly in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.[19] He was one of seven players involved in the Manly pride jersey player boycott.[20]

2023

Sipley played 15 matches for Manly in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table and missed the finals.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Toafofoa Sipley - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Nesian Power - Missing Profiles... Shaun Kenny-Dowall,..." Facebook. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Congratulations Toafofoa Sipley on your... - Niue Rugby League". Facebook. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Warriors rookie Toafofoa Sipley ready to make his mark after long lay-off". Stuff. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  5. ^ "S". Nyc Database. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  6. ^ Published by Rocco Luca (1 October 2014). "2014 UNDER 20s GRAND FINAL TEAMS". Rugby League Week. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  7. ^ NRL. "Sipley making mark off the field - Warriors". Warriors.kiwi. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  9. ^ Warriors.co.nz (3 June 2015). "Contract extensions for young guns". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  10. ^ NRL. "TEAMS | Intrust Super Premiership NSW Rd 5". NSWRL. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Updated team lists: Warriors v Dragons". NRL.com. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  12. ^ NRL. "NRL LATE MAIL | v St George Illawarra - Warriors". Warriors.kiwi. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Manly release Nate Myles and sign Warriors young gun". Zero Tackle. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Manly Warringah Sea Eagles season 2018 review: They didn't know how to manage the players who 'walk to a different beat'". www.foxsports.com.au.
  15. ^ "Niue vs. Italy - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Under-strength Sea Eagles send Sharks packing". NRL.
  17. ^ "Saab and Turbo hit top gear as Sea Eagles cruise Rout 66". www.nrl.com.
  18. ^ "GLORY, GLORY: Souths march into the GF as Wayne masterminds Manly mauling". www.foxsports.com.au.
  19. ^ "NRL 2022: Manly Sea Eagles season review". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Seven Manly players to boycott NRL match over pride jersey". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  21. ^ "The $800k call Seibold must make as Turbo hits NRL crossroads: Sea Eagles Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toafofoa Sipley.
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles – current squad
New Zealand Warriors squad – 2014 NYC Premiers (3rd title)
2017 Intrust Super Premiership NSW Team of the Year
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