Timana Tahu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Timana Tahu

Personal information
Born	(1980-10-16) 16 October 1980 (age 44) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Playing information
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
Rugby league
Position	Wing, Centre, Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1999–04 Newcastle Knights 97 82 2 0 332 2005–07 Parramatta Eels 46 20 0 0 80 2010 Parramatta Eels 17 5 0 0 20 2011 Penrith Panthers 7 3 0 0 12 2012–14 Newcastle Knights 29 11 0 0 44 Total 196 121 2 0 488 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2001–10 NSW Country 4 3 0 0 12 2002–10 New South Wales 12 8 0 0 32 2002–06 Australia 5 5 0 0 20 2010 New Zealand Māori 1 0 0 0 0 2013 Indigenous All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
Rugby union
Position	Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2008–09 NSW Waratahs 20 3 0 0 15 2016 Denver Stampede 11 0 0 0 0 Total 31 3 0 0 15 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2008–09 Australia 4 0 0 0 0 2008 Australia A 5 4 0 0 20

Timana James Aporo Tahu (born 16 October 1980) is a former professional rugby player from Australia. He was special because he played at the highest level in two different types of rugby: rugby league and rugby union. This made him a "dual-code international."

Timana played as a three-quarter back, which means he was usually a winger or centre. He also played as a second-rower. He represented Australia in both codes. In rugby league, he played for the Newcastle Knights and the Parramatta Eels. He even won the 2001 NRL Premiership with the Knights! Later, he played rugby union for the New South Wales Waratahs.

Early Life and Family

Timana Tahu was born in Melbourne, Australia. His father was from the Māori people of New Zealand, and his mother was an Australian Aboriginal person. This meant he could have played for either the New Zealand or Australian national teams.

He grew up in St Kilda until he was 12. Then, he moved with his mother to Bourke in western New South Wales. He also lived in other towns like Wilcannia, Grafton, and Byron Bay.

Timana Tahu has three children with his partner, Kasey. They met when they were young.

Rugby League Career

Playing for the Newcastle Knights (1999–2004)

Timana Tahu started his professional rugby league career with the Newcastle Knights. He played his first top-level game in 1999. In the year 2000, he was a fantastic try-scorer, getting 20 tries in 26 games!

In 2001, Timana was a key player when the Knights won the 2001 NRL Premiership. This was a huge win because many people thought the other team, Parramatta, would easily win. Timana scored a try in that grand final game, helping his team to a 30–24 victory. During his first time with the Knights, he scored an amazing 82 tries in 97 games.

Playing for the Parramatta Eels (2005-2007)

Tahu playing for the Parramatta Eels in 2005

In 2004, Timana Tahu decided to join the Parramatta Eels. He played with them for three seasons. In 2005, his team finished at the top of the ladder, which is called winning the "minor premiership."

One memorable moment was in a game against Canterbury. Timana scored three tries and famously "slam dunked" the ball over the goalposts after his third try. The Eels almost made it to the grand final that year but lost in the preliminary final.

In 2007, Timana announced he would switch from rugby league to rugby union. His contract with the Eels ended that year.

Rugby Union Career

Playing for the Waratahs (2008-2009)

Timana Tahu's decision to switch to rugby union surprised many people in the rugby league world. He signed a four-year deal to play for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition.

His first rugby union game was a trial match in January 2008. He made his official debut in the Super 14 competition in February 2008.

Playing for the Wallabies

Timana Tahu played very well for the Australia A team in 2008. He showed he was great at playing both as a winger and a centre. His strong performances led to him being chosen for the Wallabies, which is Australia's national rugby union team.

On 26 July 2008, Timana played his first game for the Wallabies. This made him Australia's 46th player to represent the country in both rugby league and rugby union.

Return to Rugby League (2010-2014)

In 2009, Timana Tahu announced he would return to rugby league. He rejoined his old team, the Parramatta Eels, in 2010.

In 2010, Timana was chosen to play for the New South Wales team in the State of Origin. During this time, there was an incident involving a comment made by an assistant coach. Timana, whose mother is Aboriginal, felt the comment was disrespectful to Aboriginal people. He decided to leave the team because of this.

After a difficult 2010 season, Timana left the Eels. He then signed with the Penrith Panthers for the 2011 season. However, he only played 7 games before an injury ended his season.

Tahu playing for the Newcastle Knights

After his time with the Panthers, Timana Tahu returned to his first club, the Newcastle Knights, in 2012. He played for them until 2014. His very last game was in the final round of the 2014 NRL season, where he scored two tries.

PRO Rugby (2016)

In 2016, Timana Tahu moved to the United States to play rugby union in a new competition called PRO Rugby. He played for the Denver Stampede team.

Achievements

• Scored the most tries for the Newcastle Knights for three years in a row:
  • 20 tries in 26 games (2000)
  • 18 tries in 25 games (2001)
  • 21 tries in 21 games (2002)

See also

• List of players who have converted from one football code to another