Name Brent Kite Career start 2002 Weight 110 kg | Height 1.93 m Role Rugby Player | |
Brent Kite - Former NRL player
Brent Kite (born 7 March 1981 in Queanbeyan, New South Wales) is an Australian retired professional rugby league footballer. A Tonga and Australia international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative front-row forward, he played club football for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Penrith Panthers. Kite was named the Clive Churchill Medallist for his performance in the 2008 NRL Grand Final, in which he helped steer Manly-Warringah to a 40 - 0 thumping of the Melbourne Storm, scoring a try.
Contents
- Brent Kite Former NRL player
- Retired nrl player brent kite to inspire png youths
- Background
- Professional playing career
- St George Illawarra Dragons
- Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
- Penrith Panthers
- References
Retired nrl player brent kite to inspire png youths
Background
Kite is of Tongan Descent And played junior football with the Queanbeyan Blues. He represented the Australian Schoolboys side their tour of New Zealand in 1998. He spent three years with the Canberra Raiders' lower grades sides following his graduation from Erindale College.
Professional playing career
In late 2000 he travelled to Europe to play for the Tonga national rugby league team alongside Willie Mason in the 2000 World Cup tournament.
St George Illawarra Dragons
Kite made his NRL debut for the St George Illawarra Dragons against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Aussie Stadium on 17 March 2002. Kite moved from the second-row into the front-row following injuries at St George in early 2004. After showing good form in early 2004, Kite was selected for the Country Origin side. Kite was also selected to represent New South Wales, playing all three games in the 2004 State of Origin series. Kite left the Dragons at the end of the 2004 NRL season with both parties citing salary cap constraints as the reason for his move to the Manly Sea Eagles.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Kite moved to the Brookvale Oval for the 2005 NRL season, with Manly beating off the likes of Canberra for his signature. Kite was recalled to the Blues side for the 2006 State of Origin series, where he played the first two games. Kite was also selected to play at international level for Australia, where he played in the 2006 Tri-Nations series off the bench.
Kite was selected to play for the Australian national team at prop forward in the 2007 ANZAC Test victory against New Zealand. Kite played all three games of the 2007 State of Origin series. Kite played in the 2007 NRL Grand Final defeat by the Melbourne Storm. where they were thumped by Storm 8-34.
Kite was selected for the Centenary Test against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Kite was controversially not selected for any game of the 2008 State of Origin series.
He played for Manly in the 2008 NRL Grand Final, again against Melbourne. His powerhouse display which included a try in the 59th minute helped Manly to decimate the defending premiers 40-0. For his effort, Kite was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as man-of-the-match. Kite has a contract with the Manly Sea Eagles until the end of the 2011 season.
Kite was named in the Tonga training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. In August 2008, Kite was named in the Australia train-on squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, and in October 2008 he was selected in the final 24-man Australia squad.
In May 2009, Kite was named in the 17 man squad to represent New South Wales in the opening State of Origin match on 3 June 2009, in Melbourne. He was selected for Australia in the one-off test match against New Zealand on 8 May 2009.
In April 2013, Brent captained Tonga in their Pacific Rugby League International fixture against fierce Pacific rivals Samoa. He led his team to demolish Samoa by 36-4.
In October 2013, Brent once again captained Tonga, this time in their 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign. However, even though he was a great leader, Tonga could not advance past the group stage. He played in all 3 of Tonga's matches.
Penrith Panthers
Kite moved to the Panthers from the 2014 season.