Erevonu Tuicaumatalevu "Tui" Kamikamica (born 18 May 1994) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Fiji at international level.
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| Full name | Erevonu Tuicaumatalevu Kamikamica[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 May 1994 Somosomo, Taveuni, Fiji | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 6 October 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
editKamikamica was born in Taveuni, Fiji. He was raised in the village of Somosomo on the Fijian island of Taveuni,[4] and played rugby union and was educated at Queen Victoria School, Nasinu in his youth.
He was scouted by the Parramatta Eels while playing for the Fijian Schoolboys rugby union team in late 2012.[5]
Playing career
edit
Kamikamica moved to Australia to play rugby league for the Eels' NYC team in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, he played for the Wentworthville Magpies, a feeder team to the Eels, in the New South Wales Cup before signing to play rugby union with the Canberra Vikings in the National Rugby Championship later that year.[5]
2016
editIn 2016, Kamikamica returned to rugby league with the Sunshine Coast Falcons, a feeder team to the Melbourne Storm, in the Queensland Cup. He made his international debut for Fiji in their match against Papua New Guinea on 7 May. On 27 May, Kamikamica earned a full-time contract with the Storm, lasting until the end of 2018.[6] He spent the remainder of the year playing for the Falcons, and was selected to represent Fiji in their match against Samoa on 8 October.
2017
editIn 2017, Kamikamica made his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm in their round 5 match against the Penrith.[7] On 6 May, he represented Fiji in their match against Tonga. Kamikamica played two games for Melbourne throughout the season, spending much of the year with the Sunshine Coast Falcons. On 7 October, Kamikamica was named in Fiji's 24-man squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[8]
2018
editKamikamica managed only five appearances for Melbourne in the 2018 NRL season. He did not feature in the club's finals series or the 2018 NRL Grand Final where the club lost 21-6 against the Sydney Roosters.[9]
2019
editHe played 21 games for Melbourne in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished as runaway Minor Premiers and were favourites to take out the premiership. He played in the club's preliminary final loss against the Sydney Roosters.[10]
2020
editKamikamica only made five appearances for Melbourne in the 2020 NRL season. He did not feature in the club's finals campaign or their 2020 NRL Grand Final victory over Penrith.[11]
2021
editHe played a total of 22 games for Melbourne in the 2021 NRL season as they claimed the Minor Premiership. He played in both finals matches including the preliminary final where Melbourne suffered a shock 10-6 loss against eventual premiers Penrith.[12]
2022
editKamikamica played for Fiji in the 2022 Pacific Test against PNG at Campbelltown Stadium, his first international appearance since 2019. Kamikamica played 16 games for Melbourne in the 2022 NRL season including the clubs elimination finals loss against Canberra.[13]
2023
editKamikamica played 21 games for Melbourne in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished third on the table. Kamikamica played in Melbourne's preliminary final loss against Penrith.[14]
2024
editHe played a total of 22 matches for Melbourne in the 2024 NRL season as the club were runaway minor premiers. Kamikamica played in Melbourne's 2024 NRL Grand Final loss against Penrith.[15]
Statistics
edit| Year | Team | Game | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Melbourne Storm
|
2 | ||
| 2018 | 5 | |||
| 2019 | 21 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2021 | 22 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2022 | 16 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2023 | 21 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2024 | 16 | 1 | 4 | |
| Totals | 107 | 10 | 40 |
Personal life
editKamikamica is a first cousin of fellow Fijian representative Pio Seci.[16][17]
On 25 November 2021, Kamikamica was stood down by the Melbourne club after being charged with assaulting a woman in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley. He was ordered to appear in court on January 10, 2022.[18] On April 27, 2022 the charges against Kamikamica were dropped and he was cleared to continue playing under the NRL’s no fault stand-down policy.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Eels snare another Fijian flyer". parraeels.com.au. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ "Tui Kamikamica". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Tui Kamikamica - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
- ^ Kamikamica, Tui (9 February 2017). "In my Shoes: Tui Kamikamica". melbournestorm.com.au. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ a b Yole, Bill (19 August 2015). "Tui Kamikamica returns to rugby after stint with Parramatta Eels". Canberra Times. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ "Storm sign Fijian Falcon". melbournestorm.com.au. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ^ "Kamikamica makes NRL debut". QRL.com.au. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ "Fiji Bati World Cup squad announced in Suva". RLWC2017.com. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ "Good Will Chambers hunted by Latrell Mitchell ... again". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Roosters 14-6 Storm: NRL preliminary final – as it happened". The Guardian.
- ^ "Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Penrith Panthers beat Melbourne Storm 10-6 to reach second straight NRL grand final, will face South Sydney Rabbitohs". www.abc.net.au.
- ^ "Kamikamica to represent Fiji". melbournestorm.com.au. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ "NRL 2023: Melbourne Storm season review". www.sportingnews.com.
- ^ "NRL grand final 2024 quick hits: Biting allegation, Panthers halves swansong and a controversial bunker decision". www.abc.net.au.
- ^ "Seci lives his league dreams". Fiji Times. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ Dick, Callum (22 June 2018). "No fun stories to share 'yet' as Seci enjoys Fiji camp". Queensland Times. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Storm player Tui Kamikamica charged over alleged assault of woman he didn't know outside Brisbane pub". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "NRL Player Kamikamica cleared of assault". canberratimes.com.au.