Viliami Vailea
Tongan rugby league footballer (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Viliami Vailea (born 17 November 2002)[2] is a Tongan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL).
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Viliami Vailea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 November 2002 Vaini, Tonga | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 98 kg (15 st 6 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 24 August 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
Before turning to rugby league, Vailea was a prominent rugby union player at Aorere College.
Playing career
2021
In round 20 of the 2021 NRL season, Vailea made his debut for the Warriors against the Wests Tigers at Suncorp Stadium in a 18–16 win.[3]
2022
He made a total of ten appearances for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2022 NRL season as they finished 15th on the table.[4]
2023
Vailea signed a two-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys.[5]
2024
In round 9 of the 2024 NRL season, Vailea made his debut for the North Queensland Cowboys against the Dolphins (NRL) at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in a 26-28 loss.[6]
He scored his first North Queensland Cowboys try in round 11 of the 2024 NRL season in round 11 in a 22-28 win against the South Sydney Rabbitohs during Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium.
2025
On 4 June, the Cowboys announced that Vailea and Zac Laybutt had re-signed with the club until the end of 2027.[7]
Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |  New Zealand Warriors |
2 | ||
| 2022 | 10 | 7 | 28 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2024 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
18 | 2 | 8 |
| 2025 | 14 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2026 | ||||
| Totals | 49 | 12 | 48 |
