Apisai Koroisau
Personal information
Full nameApisai Koroisau[1]
Born (1992-11-07) 7 November 1992
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight88 kg (13 st 12 lb)
Playing information
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014 South Sydney 14 1 0 0 4
2015 Penrith Panthers 16 1 4 0 12
2016–19 Manly Sea Eagles 77 11 2 0 48
2020–22 Penrith Panthers 63 11 0 0 44
2023– Wests Tigers 21 6 18 0 60
Total 191 30 24 0 168
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013– Fiji 17 1 21 0 46
2017 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
2019 Fiji 9s 3 0 3 0 6
2021–23 New South Wales 4 2 0 0 8
Source: [2]
As of 16 December 2023

Apisai Koroisau (born 7 November 1992) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker and is the captain of the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin series.

A triple NRL premiership winner with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Penrith Panthers, he previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL.

Background

Koroisau was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is of Fijian descent. He played his junior football for the Berala Bears, before being signed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Playing career

Early career

Koroisau played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs NYC team in 2011 and 2012.

2013

Koroisau moved on to the South Sydney New South Wales Cup team, the North Sydney Bears at Norths Koroisau made a total of 25 appearances and scored 6 tries in 2013.[3]

In October 2013, Koroisau was named in the Fijian 2013 World Cup squad.[4] Koroisau made his debut for Fiji in Round 1 of the tournament against Ireland in the 32–14 win at Spotland Stadium.[5] Koroisau played in 4 matches in the tournament.

2014

In Round 4 of the 2014 NRL season, Koroisau made his NRL debut for the South Sydney Rabbitohs at hooker against the Canberra Raiders in South Sydney's 30–18 loss at ANZ Stadium.[6] In Round 8 ANZAC Day match against the Brisbane Broncos, Koroisau scored his first NRL career try, and the game's opening try, in South Sydney's last minute 28-26 penalty goal win at Suncorp Stadium.[7] On 3 June 2014, Koroisau signed a two-year contract with the Penrith Panthers starting in 2015.[8] In the week leading up to Souths 2014 NRL Grand Final against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, after South Sydney hooker Issac Luke was ruled out from the Grand Final for his high tackle on Sydney Roosters player Sonny Bill Williams a week earlier in Souths 32-22 Preliminary Final win, Koroisau was Luke's replacement at hooker for the match on 5 October 2014, in Souths 30-6 Grand Final victory.[9][10] Koroisau was rated a 7 out of 10 player rating by Rugby League Week for his performance in the Grand Final.[11] Koroisau finished his debut year in the NRL in 2014 season with him playing in 14 matches and scoring a try for the South Sydney club.

2015

On 24 January 2015, Koroisau was named in Penrith's 2015 Auckland Nines squad.[12] On 2 May 2015, he played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the 2015 Melanesian Cup.[13] On 2 July 2015, he signed a three-year contract with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles starting in 2016, after being released from the final year of his Penrith contract.[14] He finished off his first stint with the Penrith club having played in 16 matches, scoring one try and kicking four goals.[15]

2016

In Round 1 of the 2016 NRL season, Koroisau made his club debut for Manly-Warringah against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, starting at hooker in the Sea Eagles' 8–26 loss at Brookvale Oval.[16] However, he was dropped to New South Wales Cup in favour of Matt Parcell after the Sea Eagles lost 22–36 to the Wests Tigers in Round 2 at Leichhardt Oval. He was recalled to the team for their Round 5 match against his former club South Sydney following an ankle injury that ruled out representative halfback Daly Cherry-Evans. Playing at halfback, Koroisau scored his first club try for Manly in their 12–16 loss at Brookvale Oval. Despite the loss, his performance on the night won him the Man of the Match award from match broadcaster Channel 9.[17] He backed up his performance against the Rabbitohs when he was again one of Manly's leading players in their 34–18 away win over the New Zealand Warriors in Round 6.[18]

2017

In the 2017 NRL season, Koroisau played 23 games, scored 3 tries and kicked 1 goal for Manly. He was selected in the Prime Minister's XIII in the 48–8 win over Papua New Guinea at PNG Football Stadium. Koroisau was selected in the Fiji 24-man squad in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup campaign. He played 5 matches and kicked 13 goals.

2018

Koroisau made 13 appearances for Manly in 2018 as the club endured a horrid season on and off the field narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon by 2 competition points.[19]

2019

On 30 August, Koroisau signed a three-year deal with the Penrith Panthers that starts in 2020 and ends at the end of 2022 after he was releasesd by Manly as he was no longer starting because Manase Fainu had taken the starting hooker role after forming an excellent combination with Tom Trbojevic . Koroisau made 22 appearances for Manly in the 2019 NRL season as the club qualified for the finals after finishing in sixth place. Koroisau played in the club's elimination final victory over Cronulla and also featured in Manly's elimination final loss against his former club South Sydney at ANZ Stadium.[20][21]

2020

Koroisau played 20 games for Penrith in the 2020 NRL season as the club finished as Minor Premiers. He played in the 2020 NRL Grand Final where Penrith lost to Melbourne 26–20 at ANZ Stadium.[22]

2021

Koroisau was selected as 18th man in the NSW Blues State of Origin team for the 2021 series. Following injuries to halves Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai ahead of game three of the series, Koroisau made his debut for New South Wales in the number 14 jersey.[23] scoring a try in the 20–18 loss,[24] however New South Wales had already clinched the series by winning the first two games 50-6 and 26-0 respectively.[25]

On 22 July, Koroisau was placed under investigation by the NRL after allegations were made that he invited a woman into the NSW Blues bubble during the series, against strict biosecurity regulations. He was alleged to have snuck the woman in on two separate occasions, with the second coming on the day of Game Two on 27 June.[26] The following day, he was fined $35,000 and suspended for two matches over the incident. It was also revealed the woman he brought back to the hotel was not his wife.[27] On 4 August 2021, he was fined an additional $15,000 by the NSWRL over the incident.[28]

Koroisau played a total of 18 games for Penrith in the 2021 including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final victory over South Sydney. It was his second premiership as a player.[29]

On 2 December, he signed a two-year deal with the Wests Tigers starting in the 2023 season.[30]

2022

Koroisau played 25 games for Penrith in the 2022 NRL season including the clubs 2022 NRL Grand Final victory over Parramatta.[31] The following day, Koroisau mocked his new club the Wests Tigers at the clubs fan day by saying “There’s so much young talent. To go out on a high like that, it’s pretty incredible, and I’ll probably do the same thing at the Tigers,” he added, before breaking into hysterics.[32]

2023

On 22 May, Koroisau was selected by New South Wales for game one of the 2023 State of Origin series.[33] On Thursday the 8th of June[34] In round 15 of the 2023 NRL season, Koroisau suffered a broken jaw in the clubs loss against the Gold Coast and was ruled out for an indefinite period.[35] In round 25, Koroisau kicked a goal from the side line with less than three minutes remaining to win the game for the Wests Tigers 24-23. The victory broke a ten-game losing streak for the club and also ensured they avoided the wooden spoon for another week.[36] Koroisau played a total of 21 games for the Wests Tigers in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished with the Wooden Spoon for a second straight year.[37]

References

  1. ↑ "The NRL Club Network site of the South Sydney Rabbitohs - Apisai Koroisau". Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  2. ↑ "Apisai Koroisau - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 7 November 1992. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "South Sydney Rabbitohs North Sydney Bears Affiliated Players".
  4. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup squads". NRL.com. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "BBC Sport - Rugby League World Cup 2013: Fiji 32-14 Ireland". Bbc.com. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Canberra Raiders Score Upset 30-18 Win over Rabbitohs". Dailytelegrpah.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Last-gasp Rabbitohs spoil Broncos' party". NRL.com. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "South Sydney Rabbitohs Apisai Koroisau Signs With Penrith Panthers | Triple M NRL". Triplem.com.au. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2014 Grand Final". Dailytelegrpah.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Rabbitohs Grand Final Player Ratings". NRL.com. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "Rlw Player Ratings: Grand Final". Rugby League Week. 5 October 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "PANTHERS UNVEIL 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 24 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Official Statement: Apisai Koroisau - Panthers". Penrithpanthers.com.au. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  16. ↑ Crawley, Paul (4 March 2015). "NRL 2016: Canterbury Bulldogs thrash new-look Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval". Daily Telegraph. Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Trbojevic: Our best performance of the season
  19. ↑ "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. 5 September 2018.
  20. ↑ "South Sydney Rabbitohs beat Manly Sea Eagles 34-26 in NRL semi-final". ABC News. 20 September 2019.
  21. ↑ "Rabbitohs dig deep to eliminate Sea Eagles in finals thriller". NRL. 20 September 2019.
  22. ↑ Hytner, Mike (25 October 2020). "Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers as it happened". The Guardian.
  23. ↑ "BLUES TEAM: Freddy names TWO Origin debutants as Moses wins race to No.7 spot". Fox Sports. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  24. ↑ "Origin III player ratings: NSW Blues". www.nrl.com. 15 July 2021.
  25. ↑ "Blues Wrap Up State of Origin Series". www.theguardian.com. 27 June 2021.
  26. ↑ "Apisai Koroisau under NRL investigation over alleged biosecurity breach during State of Origin series". wwos.nine.com.au.
  27. ↑ "'Shame and embarrassment': Koroisau breaks silence as wife blasts 'painful lies". www.foxsports.com.au. 23 July 2021.
  28. ↑ "NSWRL fines Apisai Koroisau over bubble breach, puts his Blues selection on notice". wwos.nine.com.au.
  29. ↑ "One of finest NRL grand finals of all time provides cure to difficult season". www.theguardian.com. 3 October 2021.
  30. ↑ "Wests Tigers sign Penrith Panthers NRL premiership star Apisai Koroisau for 2023 season". ABC News. 3 December 2021.
  31. ↑ "We hate Parra as Panthers mock Eels as Koroisau pokes fun at Tigers". www.smh.com.au.
  32. ↑ "We hate Parra as Panthers mock Eels as Koroisau pokes fun at Tigers". www.smh.com.au.
  33. ↑ "Graham ruled out for Blues, trio to debut as Fittler makes 'gamble'". www.nrl.com.
  34. ↑ "Koroisau injured as Titans bounce back against Tigers". National Rugby League. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  35. ↑ "NSW Blues name State of Origin side for game two, with Mitchell Moses and Damien Cook in for Nathan Cleary and Api Koroisau". www.abc.net.au.
  36. ↑ "Storm survive scare as Panthers move back on top of NRL ladder and Tigers snap losing streak". www.abc.net.au.
  37. ↑ "'Circus act' that summed up year from hell... and big call left for Benji: Wests Tigers Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
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