Name Joseph Tapine Date joined 2014 Weight 96 kg | Height 1.88 m Role Rugby Player | |
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Joseph Tapine
Joseph Tapine one of many young guns impressing for the Kiwis
Joseph Tapine (born 4 May 1994) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League. He plays at second-row and lock. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights. He has been described as having "a skill-set reminiscent of a young Sonny Bill Williams."
Contents
- Joseph Tapine
- Joseph Tapine one of many young guns impressing for the Kiwis
- Background
- Early career
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- References
Background
Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Tapine is of Māori descent and played his junior rugby league for the Harbour City Eagles. He then joined the Wellington Orcas in the New Zealand Rugby League National Competition.
Early career
In 2013, Tapine joined the Newcastle Knights on a 1-year contract before re-signing for a further 3 years during the year. He played for the Knights' NYC team in 2013 and 2014. On 13 October 2013, he played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos.
2014
In Round 9 of the 2014 NRL season, Tapine made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Penrith Panthers. He finished off his debut year in the NRL, having played in 7 games for the Knights. On 2 September, he was named on the interchange bench in the 2014 NYC Team of the Year. On 18 October, he again played for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos.
2015
Tapine improved on his previous season, playing 13 games and scoring 1 try in the 2015 season. On 27 September, he played in the Knights' 2015 New South Wales Cup Grand Final win over the Wyong Roos.
2016
On 11 February, Tapine signed a 3-year contract with the Canberra Raiders starting in 2017, however, on 23 February, the Knights agreed to release him from the remainder of his contract, freeing him to join the Raiders immediately. In Round 3, he made his Raiders debut against the Knights, playing off the interchange bench.
He made his New Zealand debut and played in the Four Nations for the Kiwis.