Mawene Hiroti (born 6 March 1999) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or winger for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks In the NRL.

Mawene Hiroti
Personal information
Full nameMawene Hiroti
Born (1999-03-06) 6 March 1999 (age 25)
Taranaki, New Zealand
Height187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight95 kg (14 st 13 lb)
Playing information
PositionWing, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018–19 South Sydney 5 1 0 0 4
2020– Cronulla Sharks 20 8 4 0 40
Total 25 9 4 0 44
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018 NSW Residents 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 25 August 2024

He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League.

Background

edit

Hiroti was born in Taranaki, New Zealand.

Playing career

edit

2016

edit

Educated at Matraville Sports High School he represented the 2016 Australian Schoolboys and the New Zealand Under 18s.[2]

2018

edit

He played for South Sydney in their pre-season 18–8 victory over Super League team, the Wigan Warriors.[3]

Hiroti made his first-grade debut for South Sydney in Round 23 2018 against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium which ended in a 38–18 loss. Hiroti spent the majority of the season playing for South Sydney's feeder club side North Sydney in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW. At the end of 2018, Hiroti was named as North Sydney's most improved player.[4]

2019

edit

On 29 September 2019, Hiroti was named in the 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW team of the year.[5]

2020

edit

Signing with Cronulla-Sutherland prior to the 2020 season, Hiroti spent the majority of the season training with the clubs’ feeder side Newtown before the reserve grade season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He made two appearances with the top-flight squad in 2020.[citation needed]

2021

edit

After both of Cronulla's usual wingers were struck with injury, Hiroti took a bigger role with the NRL side to open the 2021 NRL season, managing six appearances through the first eight rounds, managing four tries.[6]

On 2 September, Hiroti signed a one-year extension to remain at Cronulla for the 2022 season.[7] Hiroti played 15 games for Cronulla in the 2021 NRL season which saw the club narrowly miss the finals by finishing 9th on the table.[8]

2022 & 2023

edit

Hiroti made only two appearances for Cronulla in the 2022 NRL season. In the 2023 NRL season, Hiroti made just one appearance for Cronulla where he scored a try in the clubs round 23 victory over South Sydney.[9]

2024

edit

On 29 September, Hiroti played for Newtown in their 2024 NSW Cup Grand Final victory over North Sydney. Subsequently, he signed a one-year extension with Cronulla Sharks.[10]

Statistics

edit
[1]
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2018   South Sydney 1 0 0 0 0
2019 4 1 0 0 4
2020   Cronulla-Sutherland 2 1 4/5 80.00% 0 12
2021 14 5 0 0 20
2022 2 0 0 0 0
2023 1 1
2024 1 1 4
Career totals 25 9 4/5 80.00% 0 44

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Rugby League Project
  2. ^ "League: Kiwi Mawene Hiroti tipped for NRL debut with South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2018". The New Zealand Herald. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  3. ^ "South Sydney 18 Wigan 8". Sky Sports. 17 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Presentation Night". North Sydney Bears.
  5. ^ "2019 Canterbury Cup NSW Team of the Year". NSWRL.
  6. ^ "Mawene Hiroti". Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  7. ^ "'Incredibly proud': Reformed bad boy retires as Tigers get 750k cap boost: NRL Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au.
  8. ^ "Papenhuyzen back to best as Storm secure minor premiership". www.nrl.com.
  9. ^ "Sydney Roosters score 'wild' 13-12 NRL elimination final win over Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers beat Warriors". www.abc.net.au.
  10. ^ "Newtown wins Premiership number nine". www.nswrl.com.au.
edit