Ricky Leutele
Personal information
Full nameRicky Samuelu Leutele
Born (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)
Weight14 st 11 lb (94 kg)
Playing information
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010–18 Cronulla Sharks 128 30 0 0 120
2019–20 Toronto Wolfpack 35 20 0 0 80
2020 Melbourne Storm 1 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Huddersfield Giants 37 20 0 0 80
2023– Leigh Leopards 20 4 0 0 16
Total 221 74 0 0 296
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–17 Samoa 7 1 0 0 4
2021 Combined Nations All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]
As of 20 October 2022

Ricky Leutele (born 10 April 1990) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Super League.

Leutele previously played for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, Toronto Wolfpack in the Betfred Championship and the Super League, the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He was part of the Cronulla team that won their maiden premiership title in the 2016 NRL Grand Final, making the final tackle.

Background

Leutele was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is of Samoan descent, from the Leutele and Moeono family of Falefa.

Leutele played his junior rugby league for the Logan Brothers Rugby League Football Club.

Playing career

Leutele played his junior football for Logan Brothers before being signed by the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Leutele played for the Sharks Toyota Cup team in 2009 and 2010, scoring 5 tries in 38 games before moving on to the Sharks' NSW Cup reserve-grade team in 2011.[3]

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks: 2010 - 2018

In round 24 of the 2010 NRL season, Leutele made his NRL debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against the Melbourne Storm at centre in Cronulla's 24–4 loss at AAMI Park.[4] This was the only match Leutele played in his debut year. In round 22 of the 2011 season, against the Gold Coast Titans, Leutele scored his first NRL try in Cronulla-Sutherland's 20–16 loss at Remondis Stadium.[5] At the end of the season, he was named at centre in the 2011 NSW Cup Team of the Year. Leutele played in 2 matches and scored a first grade try. In July 2012, Leutele played 3 games in 6 days, playing for the NSW Residents on 4 July, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks NSW Cup team on 7 July and then the Sharks' NRL team on 9 July.[6] On 12 September 2012 Leutele was again named at centre in the 2012 NSW Cup Team of the Year.[7] Leutele played in 7 matches and scored 4 tries for the Sharks in the 2012 NRL season.

Leutele playing for the Sharks in 2012

On 25 June 2013, Leutele extended his contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks for two years till the end of the 2015 season.[8] Leutele played in 3 matches for the season. In February 2014, Leutele was selected for the Sharks inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad.[9] Leutele finished off the season with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 2 tries as Cronulla finished last on the table and claimed the wooden spoon. On 31 January and 1 February, Leutele played for the Sharks 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.[10] On 18 August, he extended his contract with Cronulla for a further three years to the end of the 2018 season.[11] He finished off the 2015 season having played in 23 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Sharks.[12] On 28 January 2016, Leutele was named in the Sharks 2016 Auckland Nines squad.[13] On 2 October he played in the club's first ever premiership victory, famously making the final tackle on Storm winger Marika Koroibete after the siren had sounded. Cronulla-Sutherland won the game 14–12 at ANZ Stadium. Leutele was part of the Cronulla side which finished 5th on the ladder at the end of the regular season. The following week, Cronulla suffered a shock finals defeat by North Queensland losing the match 15–14 at the Sydney Football Stadium.[14] On 24 May 2018, Leutele signed a three-year deal to join the Toronto Wolfpack starting in 2019.[15] Leutele played 25 games for Cronulla in 2018 as the club finished in the top four and reached the finals. Leutele's final game for Cronulla was the preliminary final defeat against Melbourne at AAMI Park.[16]

Toronto Wolfpack: 2019 - 2020

On 5 October, Leutele was part of the Toronto Wolfpack side which won the Million Pound Game against Featherstone and earned promotion to the Super League for the first time in the club's history.[17] In mid 2020, the Toronto Wolfpack withdrew from playing in the 2020 Super League season, Leutele and his family were in a state of limbo in London as he had not been paid by the club for some months, in addition his visa had expired and so needed to leave the country.

Melbourne Storm: 2020

On 3 August, Leutele signed a contract with Melbourne to fill the centre position for the remainder of the 2020 NRL season.[18] Leutele made his Melbourne debut in round 20 of the 2020 NRL season against St. George Illawarra.[19]

Huddersfield Giants

On 20 December 2020 it was announced that Leutele would join the Huddersfield Giants for the 2021 season.[20]

In round 7 of the 2021 Super League season, he scored two tries for Huddersfield in their 44-8 victory over the hapless Leigh team.[21] In round 5 of the 2022 Super League season, he scored a hat-trick in Huddersfield's 36-24 victory over Castleford.[22] On 28 May 2022, Leutele played for Huddersfield in their 2022 Challenge Cup Final loss to Wigan. Leutele scored the opening try in the match.[23]

Leigh

On 20 October 2022, Leutele signed a contract to join newly promoted side Leigh.[24] Leutele played 19 games for Leigh in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished fifth on the table and qualified for the playoffs.[25]

Representative

On 3 May 2014, Leutele played for Samoa in the 2014 Pacific Rugby League International against Fiji at centre in Samoa's 32–16 win.[26]

On 7 October 2014, Leutele was named in the Samoa 24-man squad for the 2014 Four Nations.[27] Leutele played in one match for Samoa in the tournament.[28]

On 2 May 2015, Leutele played for Samoa in their Polynesian Cup clash with Pacific rivals Tonga, playing at centre in Samoa's 18–16 win at Cbus Super Stadium.[29]

On 7 May 2016, Leutele played for Samoa in the 2016 Polynesian Cup against Tonga, where he played at centre and scored a try in the 18–6 win at Parramatta Stadium.[30]

On 25 June 2021 Leutele played for the Combined Nations All Stars in their 26-24 victory over England, staged at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, as part of England’s 2021 Rugby League World Cup preparation.

References

  1. ↑ loverugbyleague
  2. ↑ "Ricky Leutele - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "rleague.com - Leutele, Ricky". 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ↑ "Melbourne Storm Whips Cronulla 24-4". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Gold Coast Titans Beat Cronulla Sharks 20-6". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Cronulla Sharks Centre Ricky Leutele Plays Three Games in Five Days". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "2012 NSWRL.com.au VB NSW Cup Team of the Year - Announcement". 10 October 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "Tupou and Leutele re-sign with the Sharks". Zero Tackle. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Squads For Auckland Nines". Rugby League Week. 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  10. ↑ "SHARKS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 23 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Ricky Leutele Signs Three Year Contract with Sharks Securing His NRL Future". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Cronulla Sharks name 2016 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "North Queensland Cowboys break Cronulla Sharks' hearts with extra-time field goal winner". ABC. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Wolfpack add centre Ricky Leutele for next season". Toronto Sun. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Melbourne v Cronulla preliminary final". The Guardian.
  17. ↑ "Toronto beat Featherstone to reach Super League". BBC.
  18. ↑ "Inside story: Leutele signing 'more than about football'". NRL.com.
  19. ↑ "NRL Round 20 team lists". NRL.com. 22 September 2020.
  20. ↑ "Ricky Leutele: Huddersfield Giants sign Samoa centre from NRL champions Melbourne Storm". BBC Sport. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  21. ↑ "Huddersfield Giants make it three in a row with 44-6 win over Leigh Centurions". www.skysports.com.
  22. ↑ "Super League: Huddersfield Giants 36-24 Castleford Tigers - Ricky Leutele runs in hat-trick". www.bbc.com.
  23. ↑ "Challenge Cup final: Huddersfield Giants 14-16 Wigan Warriors". www.bbc.co.uk.
  24. ↑ "Ricky Leutele's new Super League club confirmed after Huddersfield Giants exit". www.totalrl.com.
  25. ↑ "Leigh Leopards 2023 season in review". www.leighleopards.co.uk.
  26. ↑ "Gutsy Samoa Secures Place in Four Nations Tournament". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  27. ↑ "Toa Samoa name Four Nations squad". NRL.com. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  28. ↑ "Sharks set for wooden spoon after defeat to Raiders". The Guardian.
  29. ↑ "Sam Kasiano Try Saving Tackle on Jorge Taufua Secures Pacific Test Win for Samoa Against Tonga". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "Samoa triumph over Tonga in brutal affair". Dailytelegrpah.com.au. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
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