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Fiji international rugby league footballer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel Saifiti (born 1 May 1996) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who currently plays as a prop for the Dolphins in the NRL. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights.
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Daniel Saifiti | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 May 1996 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 121 kg (19 st 1 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 13 October 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Jacob Saifiti (brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He has played for New South Wales in the State of Origin series.
Saifiti was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Fijian and Samoan descent[2] and moved to the Central Coast at a young age.[2]
He played his junior rugby league for the Terrigal Sharks and The Entrance Tigers, before joining the Newcastle Knights in 2015.[3]
Saifiti is the identical twin brother of Knights teammate Jacob Saifiti.[3]
In 2015, Saifiti played for the Newcastle Knights' NYC team.[4] On 2 May, he played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea, alongside his twin brother Jacob in the 2015 Melanesian Cup.[5] During the year, he re-signed with the Newcastle club on a two-year contract.[2][6]
In round 1 of the 2016 NRL season, Saifiti made his NRL debut for the Knights against the Gold Coast Titans,[7] playing alongside his brother Jacob, becoming the first twins in Australian rugby league's 108-year history to debut together.[8] He scored a try on debut.[9] On 7 May, he again played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the 2016 Melanesian Cup.[10] On 12 May, he and his brother extended their contracts with the Knights from the end of 2017 until the end of 2018.[11] In his 8th game of first-grade, he ran for a game-high 237 metres against the Wests Tigers.[12] Saifiti finished his debut season with Newcastle making 20 appearances as the club finished last on the table.[13]
Saifiti played 23 games for the Knights in the 2017 season,[14] before having his contract extended until the end of 2020. Newcastle would finish the year on the bottom of the table for a third straight season.[15][16]
Saifiti played 21 games for Newcastle in the 2018 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.[17]
Saifiti was selected in the starting side for Game 2 of the 2019 State of Origin series.[18]
Saifiti was retained for Game 3 of the 2019 State of Origin series which was won by New South Wales 26-20 at ANZ Stadium. It was the first time since 2005 that New South Wales had won back to back series.[19]
At club level, he played 21 games for Newcastle as the club finished a disappointing 11th on the table after being expected by many to qualify for the finals.[20][21]
He was selected for New South Wales in the 2020 State of Origin series. He played in all three games as New South Wales suffered a 2-1 series defeat to Queensland.[22]
For round 1 of the 2021 NRL season, Saifiti was announced as a Knights co-captain alongside Jayden Brailey.[23]
He was selected for game one of the 2021 State of Origin series. Saifiti scored his first try for New South Wales in game one as the Blues defeated Queensland 50-6. Saifiti played in the first two games during the series but was ruled out of the third due to injury. New South Wales went on to win the series 2-1.[24][25][26]
Saifiti caused a shock when he ruled himself of World Cup selection for Fiji, citing covid and injury issues earlier in the year as the reason.[27] Saifiti played 19 games for Newcastle in the 2022 NRL season as the club missed the finals finishing 14th on the table.[28]
Saifiti played a total of 22 games for Newcastle in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 5th on the table. Saifiti played in Newcastle's golden point extra-time victory over Canberra in week one of the finals.[29]
Late in the 2024 season, Saifiti was given permission by the Knights to negotiate with a new club for the 2025 season. In October, he signed a 3-year contract with the Dolphins.[30]
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