Steve Matai
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Personal information
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| Full name | Stephen Matai | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | The Waterboy, The Hitman, Skivy, Shoulders | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
5 August 1984 Auckland, New Zealand |
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| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 94 kg (14 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing information
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| Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| As of 30 March 2016 Source: |
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Stephen "Steve" Matai (born 5 August 1984) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League. Matai primarily played as a centre and was a New Zealand international representative. Matai won premierships with the Sea Eagles in the 2008 and 2011 seasons.
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Matai is of Samoan descent and is the first cousin of former NRL player, Kiwi and Samoan international Junior Sa'u. Matai grew up with former Warriors and ex-Kiwi teammate Jerome Ropati. Matai played rugby league for Mount Albert Grammar in the first XIII alongside Sonny Bill Williams and Thomas Leuluai. Matai's junior clubs were the Bay Roskill Vikings, Ponsonby Ponies and Richmond Rovers in the Auckland Rugby League. Matai's senior club was Richmond Rovers before he was selected to play for the Marist Richmond Brothers in the Bartercard Cup, before leaving in 2004. Matai joined Queensland Cup side Ipswich Jets in 2004 and credits his time spent at the Jets under the coaching of former Queensland, Eastern Suburbs and Brisbane Broncos hard man Trevor Gillmeister for his reputation as the NRL's "Hitman". Gillmeister, known as "The Axe" for his hard hitting defense, changed Matai's tackling style, teaching him to drive with his legs when making a tackle. In 2005 Matai moved to another Queensland Cup side, but soon left the Wynnum Manly Seagulls after securing an NRL contract with their associate club, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
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