Willie Talau

Willie Talau

Talau with Samoa at the 2008 World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Viliamu Talau
Born	(1976-01-25) January 25, 1976 (age 41) Apia, Samoa
Height	5 ft 11.5 in (181.6 cm)
Weight	14 st 10 lb (93 kg)
Playing information
Position	Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1994–96 Taranaki Rockets 1998–03 Canterbury 101 38 0 0 152 2003–08 St. Helens 149 65 0 0 260 2009–10 Salford City 25 4 0 0 16 Total 275 107 0 0 428 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1999–06 New Zealand 13 9 0 0 36 2007–08 Samoa 3 0 0 0 0
As of 1 November 2008 Source:

Viliamu (Willie) Talau (born 25 January 1976, in Samoa) is a retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s, and 2000s. A Samoan and New Zealand international representative centre, he played in the National Rugby League for the Bulldogs and in the Super League for St. Helens, with whom he won the 2006 Super League Grand Final and the Challenge Cup on four occasions, and for the Salford City Reds.

Talau attended Spotswood College. Talau played for the Taranaki Rockets in the Lion Red Cup. At 21, his father gave him a one-way ticket to Australia to try his luck playing league. While playing in the metropolitan Cup he was spotted by the Canterbury Bulldogs, who signed him to play in the National Rugby League. In the 1994 Lion Red Cup Talau played in nine matches, scoring one try. He then played in all 22 matches for the Rockets in the 1995 season.

He played in 101 National Rugby League games for the Bulldogs, scoring 38 tries, including one in the 1998 NRL Grand Final loss to the Broncos. Talau was selected for the New Zealand team to compete in the end of season 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final against Australia he played at centre in the Kiwis' 22-20 loss.