Ava Seumanufagai

Background

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Seumanufagai is of Samoan descent. He played his junior football for the Wainuiomata Lions and the Hills District Bulls before being signed by the Parramatta Eels.

Early career

Seumanufagai played for the Parramatta Eels NYC team in 2010 and 2011, scoring 2 tries in 43 games. In 2012, Seumanufagai joined the Wests Tigers. Seumanufagai spent his first season playing NSW Cup, and was a member of the Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers side that lost the NSW Cup grand final to the Newtown Jets.

2013

In Round 3, Seumanufagai made his NRL debut for the Wests Tigers against his former club, the Parramatta Eels in the Tigers 31-18 win at Leichhardt Oval. In Round 13 against the Penrith Panthers, Seumanufagai scored his first NRL try in the Tigers 20-18 win at Penrith Stadium. It was his sole try from 17 matches for the season.

2014

On 30 July, Seumanufagai re-signed with the Tigers on a 1-year contract. Coach Mick Potter said, "Ava has steadily improved as the year has gone on. The players love it when Ava comes on the field, he gives us that lift and really deserves what he is getting." He finished the year having played in 23 matches. He was also named in the Samoa train-on squad for the Four Nations, but didn’t make the final 24 man squad.

2015

On 31 January and 1 February, Seumanufagai played for the Tigers in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines. He made 23 appearances in the 2015 NRL season, all from the interchange bench as well as scoring 1 try for the Tigers. He was named as a reserve in Zero Tackle's Team of the Year. On 30 September, he re-signed with the Tigers for a further 2 seasons. Coach Jason Taylor said, "Ava is a tireless worker and a real asset to have on our playing roster. He's only 24 years old, so I'm confident that his best football is still ahead of him and that's really exciting for the club."

2016

In the pre-season, Seumanufagai again played in the Auckland Nines. He was one of just two Wests Tigers player to appear in every game of the season. Seumanufagai said that he felt his personal game had improved for the season, and was a step in the right direction.

2017

Seumanufagai was named in the Tigers squad for the 2017 NRL Auckland Nines. On 2 May, Seumanufagai signed a 2-year contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, starting in 2018. In Round 10 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Seumanufagai was sinbinned for punching former Tigers team mate Robbie Farah in the head in a brain explosion during the Tigers 28-8 loss at ANZ Stadium. In Round 15 against his future club the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Seumanufagai played his 100th NRL career match in the Tigers 24-22 loss at Shark Park. Seumanufagai finished the season with 2 tries from 18 matches.