Bunty Afoa


Iulio "Bunty" Afoa is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL.

Background

Afoa was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Samoan descent and attended St Paul's College.
He played his junior rugby league for the Point Chevalier Pirates, before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors.

Playing career

Early career

From 2014 to 2016, Afoa played for the New Zealand Warriors' NYC team. In May 2015, he was selected as 18th man for the Junior Kiwis side to play the Junior Kangaroos. Afoa played in his 50th Holden Cup match in 2015 and was named the Junior Warriors player of the year at the end of the season.

2016

On 23 June, Afoa re-signed with the Warriors on a three-year contract until the end of 2019. In Round 17 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Warriors against the Gold Coast Titans. On 8 October, he made his international debut for Samoa in their historical test match against Fiji in Apia.

2017

In the 2017 NRL season, Afoa made 17 appearances as the club finished a disappointing 13th on the table.

2018

Afoa made 23 appearances for New Zealand in the 2018 NRL season as the club qualified for the finals for the first time since 2011. Afoa played in the club's elimination final loss to Penrith.

2019

Afoa played 20 games for New Zealand in the 2019 NRL season as the club missed out on the finals.

2020

On 18 February, Afoa was ruled out for the entire 2020 NRL season after suffering an ACL injury at pre-season training.