China Polata (born 26 February 2002) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Women's Premiership.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | China Efrosinia Polata | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 February 2002 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 69 kg (10 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Prop, Second-row, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 22 September 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A centre or fullback, she previously played for the Brisbane Broncos.
Background
editPolata was born in Brisbane, Queensland and is of Tongan and Ukrainian descent.[2] She attended John Paul College in Daisy Hill.[3]
Playing career
editIn 2018, Polata represented Queensland at the under-17 national rugby sevens championships at Ballymore Stadium.[4]
In 2019, Polata began playing rugby league for Brothers St Brendans and represented Queensland under-18 in their 24–4 loss to New South Wales. In August 2019, she signed a development contract with the Brisbane Broncos.[5][6]
In 2020, Polata played for the Souths Logan Magpies in the QRL Women's Premiership. She tore her ACL later that year, missing the entire 2021 season.[7]
2022
editIn Round 4 of the delayed 2021 NRL Women's season, Polata made her NRLW debut for the Broncos on the wing against the Gold Coast Titans.[8] Following the NRLW season, she played for Souths Logan in the QRL Women's Premiership.[9]
In June, she made her international debut for Tonga, starting at five-eighth and scoring a try in their 50–12 loss to New Zealand.[10] In November, Polata moved to Townsville, in hopes of gaining a contract with the newly established North Queensland Cowboys NRLW team.[11]
2023
editPolata began the 2023 season playing for the Mackay Cutters in the QRL Women's Premiership.[12]
On 10 May, Polata signed with the North Queensland Cowboys.[13] On 23 June, she made her State of Origin debut for Queensland, starting on the wing in Game II of the 2023 State of Origin series.[14]
In Round 1 of the 2023 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Cowboys, starting on the wing in a 16–6 loss to the Gold Coast Titans.[15] In Round 2, she was named to start on the wing but played at prop in a 31–20 win over the Newcastle Knights.[16] In Round 4, he scored her first NRLW try in a 16–12 win over the Wests Tigers.[17]
2024
editIn Round 1 of the 2024 NRL Women's season, Polata started at second-row Cowboys' 14–0 loss to the Cronulla Sharks.[18] In Round 6, she tore her ACL in a loss to the Broncos, ruling her out for the remainder of the season.[19]
References
edit- ^ "China Polata - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
- ^ "Generation Next on display in under 18s showdown". NRL. 20 June 2019.
- ^ "Queensland U18 debut "indescribable" for Polata". QRL. 19 June 2019.
- ^ "Gold Coast dominates Queensland sevens squads for national championships at Ballymore". Gold Coast Bulletin. 30 November 2018.
- ^ "Six Logan girls selected in the Queensland under 18 rugby league team to play New South Wales". The Courier Mail. 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Thriller as Brothers St Brendan's beat Parrots". QRL. 16 August 2019.
- ^ "A look at the big stars and the up-and-comers of the inaugural women's premiership". The Couriter Mail. 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Broncos NRLW Team List: Round 4 v Titans". Bribane Broncos. 15 March 2022.
- ^ "Suzuki Brisbane Tigers Full squad list for 2022". Brisbane Tigers. 27 March 2022.
- ^ "Kiwi Ferns return to Test match action in style with win over Tonga". ESPN. 25 June 2022.
- ^ "How Polata is rediscovering her love of league". QRL. 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Quicksilver Peters And Polata Shine In Cutters Ten Try BMD Premiership Romp". Mackay and Whitsunday Life. 20 April 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys announce six NRLW signing". NQ Cowboys. 10 May 2023.
- ^ "'I want to run through a brick wall': Polata ready to make her mark in Origin". QRL. 16 June 2023.
- ^ "Final team list: Eight Cowboys named to make NRLW debuts". NQ Cowboys. 22 July 2023.
- ^ "Dibb sinks former club in Cowboys upset over Knights". NRL.com. 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Late Peters try steals win for Cowboys over Wests Tigers". NRL.com. 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Tonegato leads the way as Sharks shutout Cowboys". NRL.com. 27 July 2024.
- ^ "Henry rules out Butler & Polata for the season". NQ Cowboys. 8 September 2024.