Zeb Taia
FullnameJohn Zebelon Taia
Birth date11 October 1984 (age 42)
Birth placeAuburn, New South Wales, Australia
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight104 kg (16 st 5 lb)[1]
Club 1Parramatta Eels
Year1start2006
Year1end07
Appearances 16
Tries 12
Goals 10
Fieldgoals 10
Points 18
Club 2Newcastle Knights
Year2start2007
Year2end12
Appearances 2101
Tries 212
Goals 20
Fieldgoals 20
Points 248
Club 3Catalans Dragons
Year3start2013
Year3end15
Appearances 377
Tries 336
Goals 30
Fieldgoals 30
Points 3144
Club 4Gold Coast Titans
Year4start2016
Year4end17
Appearances 424
Tries 45
Goals 40
Fieldgoals 40
Points 420
Club 5St Helens
Year5start2017
Year5end20
Appearances 5107
Tries 523
Goals 50
Fieldgoals 50
Points 592
TeamaNew Zealand
Yearastart2010
Appearancesa1
Triesa0
Goalsa0
Fieldgoalsa0
Pointsa0
TeambCook Islands
Yearbstart2012
Yearbend13
Appearancesb4
Triesb0
Goalsb0
Fieldgoalsb0
Pointsb0
TeamcExiles
Yearcstart2013
Appearancesc1
Triesc0
Goalsc0
Fieldgoalsc0
Pointsc0
Retiredyes
Source[2][3]
Updated6 December 2020

Zeb Taia (born 11 October 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward for both New Zealand and the Cook Islands at international level.

He played for the Parramatta Eels, Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL, and the Catalans Dragons and St Helens in the Super League. Taia has also played for the Exiles, and earlier in his career he played as a and .[2] He also played for Wynnum Manly in the 2021 Intrust QLD Cup.

Background

Taia was born in Auburn, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Cook Islands descent as his parents are from the island of Penrhyn (Tongareva).[4]

Playing career

He played his junior football for the Enfield Federals and the St Clair Comets before being signed by the Parramatta Eels. He played for the Eels' Premier League reserve-grade team in 2006.[5] In Round 5 of the 2006 NRL season he made his NRL debut for the Eels against the Penrith Panthers.

In 2007, Taia was granted a release from his Eels contract and moved mid-season to the Newcastle Knights. In 2008, Taia established himself as a permanent first-grader with Newcastle.

In the first week of the finals series of 2011, Taia made a comeback from a career threatening neck injury in which he suffered four rounds into the season.

On 16 May 2012, Taia signed a 3-year deal with French Super League club, Catalans Dragons starting in 2013. Taia said about the move, "Whilst my wife and I are looking forward to experiencing life in another country, a beautiful one at that, I am forever indebted to the Knights. Not just for the time I have been here but the support they showed me, particularly last season during a potentially career ending injury."[6]

On 5 August 2015, Taia signed a 2-year contract with the Gold Coast Titans to return to the National Rugby League after three years in France, starting in 2016.[7]

On February 14, 2017, Taia signed for St. Helens in a swap deal taking Joe Greenwood to the Gold Coast Titans. Taia was part of the St Helens side which won both the 2019 League Leaders Shield and the 2019 Super League Grand Final securing the club's 14th championship.[8][9]

He played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.[10]

He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final victory over the Salford Red Devils at Old Trafford.[11][8][12]

He played in St Helens 8-4 2020 Super League Grand Final victory over Wigan at the Kingston Communications Stadium in Hull. It was his final game as a player as he announced his retirement following the game.[13]

Representative career

For the 2010 Anzac Test, Taia was selected to debut for the New Zealand national rugby league team at second-row forward in their loss against Australia.[14]

On 16 October 2010, Taia represented the Cook Islands against a NSW Country representative side.[15] In the match Taia captained the side. He made his official international debut for the Cook Islands in 2012 in a match against Lebanon.

Zeb captained 'the Kukis' in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.

Statistics

YearTeamGamesTriesPts
2006Parramatta Eels314
2007Parramatta Eels314
Newcastle Knights1014
2008Newcastle Knights2014
200924416
201019312
2011528
20122314
2013Catalans Dragons251352
2014321248
2015241352
2016Gold Coast Titans24520
2017St Helens30624
201831832
201927624
202020312
Totals31578312

References

  1. ^ "Catalans Dragons Equipe Saison 2015". Catalans Dragons site officiel. Catalans Dragons S.A.S.P. 2015. Archived 26 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Archived 8 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Love Rugby League". Archived 21 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  4. ^ Alderson, Andrew (15 August 2010). "League: Watch out for Taia if Kiwi coach calls". The New Zealand Herald. Archived 23 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  5. ^ [1] Archived 18 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ [2] Archived 7 September 2012 at archive.today
  7. ^ Titans.com.au (2015-08-05). "Taylor and Taia to join Titans | NRL". Zero Tackle. Archived 25 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  8. ^ "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian
  9. ^ "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports
  10. ^ "St Helens 4-18 Warrington RESULT: Challenge Cup Final as it happened from Wembley". Mirror. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  11. ^ "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  12. ^ "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports
  13. ^ "Super League Grand Final: Wigan 4-8 St Helens". www.bbc.co.uk
  14. ^ "Zeb Taia chases black jumper after sidestepping Blues". Newcastle Herald. 16 July 2009. Archived 11 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  15. ^ "From A to Zeb". Cook Islands News. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.