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Thomas Mikaele

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Thomas Mikaele
Personal information
Born (1998-01-11) 11 January 1998 (age 26)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight115 kg (18 st 2 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019–22 Wests Tigers 66 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Warrington Wolves 18 4 0 0 16
2023 Gold Coast Titans 1 0 0 0 0
2023 Warrington Wolves 7 0 0 0 0
2024– Nth Qld Cowboys 12 0 0 0 0
Total 104 4 0 0 16
Source: [1]
As of 7 September 2024

Thomas Mikaele (born 11 January 1998) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He previously played for the Wests Tigers, Gold Coast Titans and Warrington Wolves.

Background

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

He grew up in Ipswich, Queensland and played his junior rugby league for the Goodna Eagles. From 2015 to 2016, while attending Keebra Park State High School, he was selected twice for the Australian Schoolboys.[3]

Playing career

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In 2014, Mikaele played for the Ipswich Jets in the Cyril Connell Cup, before moving up to their Mal Meninga Cup team in 2015. In 2015, he was selected in the Queensland under-18 team, scoring a try in their 22–18 win over New South Wales.[4] In 2016, he again represented the Queensland under-18 team, starting at prop in a loss to New South Wales.[5]

In 2017, Mikaele joined the Wests Tigers, playing for their NRL Under-20s and Jersey Flegg Cup sides.[6][7]

2019

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In Round 1 of the 2019 NRL season, Mikaele made his NRL debut against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Leichhardt Oval.[8][9] He made 23 appearances over the course of the season, only missing one game in first grade, and re-signed with the Tigers until the end of the 2021 season.[10] Starting the season from the bench, he finished playing in the starting team at prop. He was one of the competition's leaders in attracting defenders, with 4 needed for 65% of his attacking runs.[11]

At season's end, Mikaele was diagnosed with keratoconus. He said, "I couldn't see about 15 metres in front of me so a ball coming to me was hard to catch at times or something happening further up the field. I didn't realise I had eye problems beyond just needing glasses. I started having a lot of handling errors from last year and then over the off-season. I noticed at training I couldn't see as far even with my contacts in."[11]

2020

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Mikaele played 18 games for Wests in the 2020 NRL season. The club missed the finals by finishing 11th on the table.[12]

2021

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Mikaele played a total of 19 games for the Wests Tigers in the 2021 NRL season as the club finished a disappointing 13th and missed the finals.[13]

2022

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On 23 May, he was granted an immediate release from his Wests Tigers contract to join English side Warrington on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[14]

2023

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On 31 March, Mikaele was granted an immediate release from his Warrington contract on compassionate grounds. Mikaele then signed a contract to join the Gold Coast. Mikaele left Warrington despite the club sitting on top of the Super League table.[15] While with the Titans, Mikaele played just one game, spending the majority of his time with the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup.[16]

On 2 August, Warrington re-signed Mikaele for the remainder of the season, three days after coach Daryl Powell left the club by mutual consent following a run of eight losses in nine games.[17][18]

On 7 December, he joined the North Queensland Cowboys on a one-year development contract.[19]

2024

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On 27 February, after two tries in a trial against Canberra, Mikaele was promoted to the Cowboys' Top 30 squad.[20] Mikaele played 12 games for North Queensland in the 2024 NRL season as they finished 5th on the table and qualified for the finals.[21]

References

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  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ "Warrington's proud Samoan Thomas Mikaele with a World Cup ambition". Love Rugby League. 8 June 2022.
  3. ^ Benwilmott, By (29 August 2016). "Aussie schoolboy links with Tigers". The Courier Mail.
  4. ^ "Queensland Under 18 team". 2 June 2015.
  5. ^ "QLD Under 18 team". 8 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Holden Cup Team Update: Round 7". 16 April 2017.
  7. ^ "DEBUTANT WATCH | Blayke Brailey gets the nod". 12 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Round 1 NRL team lists". NRL.com. 12 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Brendan Elliot's minute of madness bombs a certain try". Sporting News. 16 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Thomas Mikaele re-signs with Wests Tigers". 31 May 2019.
  11. ^ a b Alicia Newton (10 March 2020). "'I couldn't see 15 metres in front of me': Mikaele's rookie hurdle". nrl.com.
  12. ^ "Wests Tigers doomed to another finals miss in 2021, Peter Sterling predicts". wwos.nine.com.au. 30 September 2020.
  13. ^ Conrad, Alex (6 October 2021). "Wests Tigers fans savage the club's new-look logo". News.com.au.
  14. ^ "Broncos extend in-demand centre; Tiger makes sudden exit for Super League — Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au. 23 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Warrington confirm Mikaele short-term return". warringtonwolves.com. 2 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Affiliate wrap: Burleigh, Tweed go down in tough contests". GC Titans. 5 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Wire confirm departure of Daryl Powell". warringtonguardian.co.uk. 30 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Mikaele to join the Gold Coast Titans". warringtonguardian.co.uk. 31 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Mikaele joins Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 7 December 2023.
  20. ^ https://twitter.com/nthqldcowboys/status/1762373939253379323 [bare URL]
  21. ^ "The Mole: Cowboys show improvement in 2024 but worrying finals stat sparks thorny question". www.nine.com.au.
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