Matt Utai
Utai in 2013
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Personal information
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| Full name | Matthew Okeuy Utai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
25 May 1981 Auckland, New Zealand |
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Playing information
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| Height | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: League Central, Rugby League Project
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Matthew Utai (born 25 May 1981 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand and Samoa international representative three-quarter back, he previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with whom he won the 2004 NRL premiership and the Wests Tigers.
Utai was a Berala Bears junior and came through the development squads at the Canterbury Bulldogs. In 2000, Utai started the year in Jersey Flegg, but his form warranted promotion to the Reserve Grade side and he played in 16 matches including scoring two tries in the Grand Final victory.
Making his NRL debut in 2002 season, he scored 13 tries in 21 appearances and played in only 2 losses all year. However, the club did not play in the semis because of salary cap breaches. He was named the Dally M Rookie of the Year. In 2003, he scored 21 tries in 27 games, including scoring triples in three consecutive games.
Near the end of 2004, Utai scored 11 tries in the space of 7 games. He was a member of the Bulldogs' Premiership-winning team, playing in the 2004 NRL grand final on the wing in their 16–13 win over Sydney Roosters, scoring two tries in the match.
In a 2006 match Utai became the first player that season to be sent off, for a swinging arm on the Wests Tigers' Stuart Flanagan. Utai was suspended for five weeks.
In 2009 Utai spent most of the season playing for the Bankstown City side in the NSW Cup. He became the only Bulldogs player to win five premierships across all grades when Bankstown City won the grand final that year.
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