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Marata Niukore
Personal information
Full nameMarata Niukore
Born (1996-07-29) 29 July 1996 (age 28)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Lock, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018–22 Parramatta Eels 96 9 0 0 36
2023– New Zealand Warriors 36 5 0 0 20
Total 132 14 0 0 56
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017–19 Cook Islands 3 2 0 0 8
2022–24 New Zealand 5 1 0 0 4
Source: [1]
As of 31 August 2024

Marata Niukore (born 29 July 1996) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row, lock and centre for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for both the Cook Islands and New Zealand at international level.

He previously played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL.

Background

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Niukore was born in Auckland, New Zealand.

Career

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2018

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He started his career with the New Zealand Warriors Under 20s before being signed by the Parramatta Eels until the end of 2018 and playing for Wentworthville Magpies in the NSW Cup. Niukore made a total of 40 appearances for Wentworthville over 2 seasons.[2] He represented the Cook Islands against Papua New Guinea in 2017.

In round 11 of the 2018 NRL season, Niukore made his NRL debut for Parramatta against the New Zealand Warriors.[3]

Niukore ended the 2018 NRL season for Parramatta with 14 appearances for the club.

2019

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In round 1 of the 2019 NRL season, Niukore started at second-row for Parramatta scoring his first NRL try against the Penrith Panthers in a 20–12 win.[4]

On November 4 2019, it was announced that Niukore had signed a three-year deal to remain at Parramatta until the end of the 2022 season.[5]

2020

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He made a total of 17 appearances for Parramatta in the 2020 NRL season as the club finished third but were eliminated from the finals in straight sets.[6]

2021

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At the start of the 2021 NRL season, Niukore replaced the injured Waqa Blake at centre. In round 9 of the 2021 NRL season, he was placed on report for a high tackle on Sydney Roosters player James Tedesco and was later suspended for two matches.[7]

In round 22, Niukore was sent to the sin bin during Parramatta's 56–10 loss against Manly.[8] Niukore made a total of 21 games for Parramatta and played in both of the club's finals matches against Newcastle and Penrith. Parramatta were eliminated by Penrith at the semi-final stage in a tough 8–6 loss.[9][10]

On 11 November, Niukore signed with the New Zealand Warriors on a four-year $2.6 million starting in 2023, until the end of 2026.[11]

2022

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In the second week of the 2022 finals series, Niukore scored two tries for Parramatta in a 40-4 victory over Canberra.[12] Niukore played 19 games for Parramatta in the 2022 NRL season including the club's Grand Final loss to Penrith.[13]

2023

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In round 5 of the 2023 NRL season, Niukore scored a try and was later sin binned during New Zealand's 32-30 comeback victory against Cronulla.[14] Niukore played 22 games for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 4th on the table and qualified for the finals. He played in all three finals games as the club reached the preliminary final before being defeated by Brisbane.[15]

2024

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He made 14 appearances for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2024 NRL season which saw the club finish 13th on the table.[16]

Statistics

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Year Team Games Tries Pts
2018 Parramatta Eels 14
2019 25 3 12
2020 17 1 4
2021 21 2 8
2022 19 3 12
2023 New Zealand Warriors 22 3 12
2024 14 2 8
2025
Totals 132 14 56

*Denotes season competing

References

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  1. ^ "Marata Niukore - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Debutant Watch: Niukore Named for Eels". 15 May 2018.
  3. ^ "PNG vs Cook Islands". 9WWOS. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Parramatta 2018 season review". NRL. 23 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Parramatta Eels re-sign five players as rumours of Ryan Matterson joining grow louder". Sporting News.
  6. ^ "Parramatta Eels farewell 11 players in mass exodus following disappointing finals exit". www.sportingnews.com.
  7. ^ "Eels stuck in COVID bubble drama as awkward Magic Round problem comes to light". www.foxsports.com.au. 9 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Eels star's season could be over as 'shocking' high shot earns a HUGE suspension". www.foxsports.com.au. 15 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Parramatta Eels defeat Newcastle Knights 28-20 in NRL elimination final". ABC News. 12 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Penrith Panthers handed NRL breach notice, fined $25,000 after incident in Parramatta semi-final". ABC News. 21 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Warriors sign Eels star Marata Niukore on $2.5 million deal". News.com.au. 10 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Eels send ruthless title message, bury finals 'ghosts' in Raiders no-show: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au.
  13. ^ "NRL Grand Final as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
  14. ^ "'I wasn't enjoying my life': Warriors star Shaun Johnson opens up on brutal year". www.foxsports.com.au.
  15. ^ "NRL 2023: New Zealand Warriors season review". www.sportingnews.com.
  16. ^ "The Mole's end-of-season review: The 'harsh' Shaun Johnson truth that plagued highly-fancied Warriors". www.nine.com.au.
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