Joseph Paulo

Joseph Paulo (born 2 January 1988) is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a loose forward, second-row and stand-off for Pia in the Elite Two Championship. He has played for both Samoa and the United States at international level.

Joseph 'Sefa' Paulo
Personal information
Full nameJoseph Paulo
Born (1988-01-02) 2 January 1988
Auckland, New Zealand
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight16 st 10 lb (106 kg)
Playing information
PositionLock, Second-row, Five-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2008–11 Penrith Panthers 30 4 0 0 16
2011–15 Parramatta Eels 86 2 9 0 26
2016–18 Cronulla Sharks 51 1 0 0 4
2019–20 St Helens 37 1 0 0 4
2021–22 Toulouse Olympique 18 1 0 0 4
2023– Pia 0 0 0 0 0
Total 222 9 9 0 54
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007 Samoa 12 1 3 0 10
2009–17 United States 34 2 16 0 40
2015 NRL All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
2015–17 NSW City 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2][3][4]
As of 4Sep 2022

He previously played for the Penrith Panthers, Parramatta Eels and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL, and St Helens in the Betfred Super League. He has played for the NRL All Stars and New South Wales City sides.

Early life

Paulo was born in Auckland, New Zealand to an American Samoan mother, Jane, and a Samoan father, Aukuso. He is also of Niuean descent.[5] He was raised in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is the younger brother of former professional rugby league footballer, and convicted criminal Junior Paulo.

As such, he is eligible to represent the national teams of Australia, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, and the United States.[6]

Paulo attended Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown, and represented the Australian Schoolboys team.[7]

Playing career

Penrith Panthers

In round 6, against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Paulo made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers, starting at second-row in the 21-20 golden point extra time win at Remondis Stadium.[8][9] Paulo would go on to play in 8 matches in his debut year, but also played for the Panthers NYC team.

Paulo was named in the Samoan squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[10][11]

Paulo training with Samoa

In round 17 of the 2009 NRL season, against the Parramatta Eels, Paulo scored his first NRL career try in the Panthers 38-34 win at Penrith Stadium.[12] Paulo finished the season with him playing in 14 matches and scoring 2 tries. He was named as part of the Samoan side for the Pacific Cup.[13] Paulo played at lock in Samoa’s 20-22 defeat by the Cook Islands at Barlow Park.[14]

Paulo finished the 2010 NRL season with him playing in 7 matches for Penrith. Paulo again represented Samoa, playing at five-eighth and kicking a goal in Samoa’s 6-50 loss against New Zealand at Mt Smart Stadium.[15]

Paulo only played in one match for Penrith in 2011, in round 15 against the Newcastle Knights. He instead played for the Windsor Wolves in the New South Wales Cup until he made a mid-year transfer to the Parramatta Eels.[16]

Parramatta Eels

In round 20 of the 2011 NRL season, against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Paulo made his club debut for Parramatta, coming off the interchange bench in the 8-7 loss at ANZ Stadium.[17] This was Paulo’s only match for the Eels in 2011, and he spent the rest of the year playing for the Wentworthville Magpies in the New South Wales Cup. At the end of the season, Paulo switched his international allegiance to the United States. Paulo played at five-eighth and lock for the Tomahawks in their 2013 World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and Jamaica, kicking 10 goals in the victories.[18][19][20]

On 16 June 2012, Paulo re-signed with the Eels, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2014 NRL season.[21] Paulo finished the season having played a full season of first grade, appearing in 23 matches for the Eels in the 2012 NRL season as the club finished last for the first time since 1972.[22]

In round 9 of 2013, against the Brisbane Broncos, Paulo scored his first club try for the Eels in the 19-18 win at Parramatta Stadium.[23] Paulo finished the 2013 NRL season having played in all of the Eels 24 matches, scoring a try and kicking 6 goals as the club finished last on the table for a second consecutive year.[24]

Paulo captained the United States national rugby league team in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, playing at five-eighth, scoring 2 tries and kicking 6 goals in their campaign, in which they reached the quarter finals.[25][26][27]

In round 24 of 2014, against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Paulo played his 100th NRL career match in the Eels 22-12 win at Parramatta Stadium.[28] Paulo finished the 2014 NRL season with him playing in all of the Eels 24 matches, scoring a try and kicking 3 goals. On 30 October 2014, Paulo extended his contract with the Eels to the end of the 2016 NRL season after rejecting offers from the Canberra Raiders.[29]

On 13 February 2015, Paulo was selected on the interchange bench for NRL All Stars to play against the Indigenous All Stars in the 2015 All Stars match at Cbus Super Stadium.[30] The NRL All Stars lost 20-6.[31] On 3 May 2015, Paulo played for New South Wales City Origin against New South Wales Country Origin, coming off the interchange bench in the 34-22 loss in Wagga Wagga.[32][33] After the City vs. Country clash, Paulo was axed to the Wentworthville Magpies due to bad form.[34] Paulo finished the 2015 NRL season having played in 14 matches for the Eels. On 2 November, Paulo was released from the final year of his Eels contract to sign a two-year contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks starting in 2016.[35][36]

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

On 28 January 2016, Paulo was named in the Sharks 2016 Auckland Nines squad.[37] In round 2 of the 2016 NRL season, Paulo made his club debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against the St George Illawarra Dragons, starting at lock in the Sharks 30-2 win at Southern Cross Group Stadium.[38]

Paulo made 10 appearances for Cronulla in the 2017 NRL season but spent the majority of his playing time with Cronulla's feeder club, the Newtown Jets, in the New South Wales Cup.[39][40] In 2018, Paulo made 21 appearances for Cronulla as the club reached the preliminary final but fell short of a grand final appearance losing to Melbourne 22-6. This would prove to be Paulo's final game with the club as the player had announced earlier in the season that he was to join St Helens in 2019.[41]

St Helens

He played in the 2019 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.[42]

Paulo did not feature for St. Helens in their 2019 & 2020 Grand Final victories.[43][44]

Toulouse Olympique

It was announced on 10 November 2020 that Paulo would leave St. Helens and had signed for Toulouse Olympique, playing in the RFL Championship, from the 2021 season on a two-year deal.

On 10 October 2021, Paulo played for Toulouse in their victory over Featherstone in the Million Pound Game which saw the club promoted to the Super League for the first time in their history.[45]

International caps
For  Samoa
CapDateVenueOpponentCompetition TGFGPoints
1
9 November 2007Lowerhouse Lane, Widnes United States2008 World Cup qualifying
0
5/8
0
10
2
9 November 2007Post Office Road, Featherstone Lebanon
0
7/8
0
14
3
31 October 2008Penrith Stadium, Sydney Tonga2008 World Cup
0
0
0
0
4
5 November 2008Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Ireland
0
0
0
0
5
9 November 2008Penrith Stadium, Sydney France
0
2/2
0
4
6
17 October 2009Barlow Park, Cairns Cook Islands2009 Pacific Cup qualifier
0
0
0
0
7
16 October 2010Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland New Zealand
0
1/1
0
2
8
24 October 2010Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Tonga
0
0
0
0
9
28 October 2017Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland New Zealand2017 World Cup
1
0
0
4
10
11 November 2017Barlow Park, Cairns Scotland
0
0
0
0
11
17 November 2017Marrara Oval, Darwin Australia
0
0
0
0
For  United States
CapDateVenueOpponentCompetition TGFGPoints
1
15 October 2011Campbell's Field, Camden South Africa2013 World Cup qualifying
0
4/8
0
8
2
23 October 2011Campbell's Field, Camden Jamaica
0
6/9
0
12
3
30 October 2013Memorial Stadium, Bristol Cook Islands2013 World Cup
1
4/8
0
12
4
3 November 2013Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Wales
1
2/5
0
8
5
7 November 2013Salford City Stadium, Salford Scotland
0
0/2
0
0
6
16 November 2013Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Australia
0
0
0
0

References
  1. loverugbyleague
  2. "Joseph Paulo - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
  3. "Toulouse sign Joseph Paulo from St Helens". www.loverugbyleague.com. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  4. "Joseph Paulo: St Helens sign back row on three-year deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  5. Gould, Joel (15 November 2017). "Pressure is on Australia: Paulo". NRL.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  6. "Uncle Sam Wants …. Matthew Elliott –". Stevemascord.com. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. "Australian Schoolboys". Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League. 10 October 2007. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  8. "Sammut field goal sinks Sharks and Thompson's farewell - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. 20 April 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  9. "NRL Rd 6 - Sharks v Panthers". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  10. "Samoa, Tonga and Fiji name squads". BBC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  11. "Samoa name World Cup Squad". League Unlimited. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  12. "Panthers scrape home in pointscoring spree". League Unlimited. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  13. Poching names strong Samoan squad Archived 2009-10-10 at the Wayback Machine therhinos.co.uk, 6 October 2009
  14. "Cook Island shock Samoa in Cairns". 18 October 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2017 – via Stuff.co.nz.
  15. "League: Kiwis outclass Toa Samoa in one-off test". New Zealand Herald. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  16. Josh Massoud (29 June 2011). "Reni Maitua to make NRL return with Parramatta after more than two years out of the game". PerthNow. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  17. "Canterbury-Bankstown beat Parramatta 8-7 in golden-point NRL clash at ANZ Stadium | Rugby League, NRL Scores, NRL Ladder | Fox Sports". www.foxsports.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  18. "Squads named for Atlantic World Cup qualifiers". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  19. "Joseph Paulo". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  20. "2013 World Cup Atlantic Qualifier Squads Announced". Rugby League International Scores. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  21. "Emerging stars sign Eel deals". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  22. "Season review: Parramatta Eels". www.nrl.com. 2 October 2012.
  23. "Parramatta Eels beat Brisbane Broncos – 2013 NRL Round 9 results". SportsNews. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  24. "Parramatta Eels work to erase bitter memories of 2013's wooden spoon season". Daily Telegraph.
  25. Walter, Brad (18 November 2013). "Joseph Paulo on journey from captain America to NRL star". Retrieved 8 May 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  26. "Subscribe - theaustralian". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  27. Carayannis, Michael (16 November 2013). "Rugby League World Cup: Australian Kangaroos thrash US Tomahawks 62-0 in quarter-final". Retrieved 8 May 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  28. "Magic Eels keep finals hopes alive". 22 August 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  29. Proszenko, Adrian (4 September 2014). "Joseph Paulo rejects Ricky Stuart's overtures to remain an Eel as Canberra Raiders miss out again". Retrieved 8 May 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  30. "Nathan Friend, Joseph Paulo join NRL All Stars". Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  31. "Indigenous All Stars leave it late". 13 February 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  32. "Country overcome City in seesawing affair". 3 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  33. "Captain America thankful for City safety net". 28 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  34. "Sandow driven back to reserves". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  35. "Parramatta release Joseph Paulo". Zero Tackle. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  36. "Sharks sign Paulo on two-year deal". Zero Tackle. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  37. "Cronulla Sharks name 2016 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  38. "Dragons cop Cronulla beat down". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  39. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  40. "Jets finals quest is getting harder". 10 July 2017.
  41. "Slater stars as Storm beat Sharks to reach NRL grand final". ABC News. 21 September 2018.
  42. "St Helens 4-18 Warrington RESULT: Challenge Cup Final as it happened from Wembley". Mirror. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  43. "Super League Grand Final: Wigan 4-8 St Helens". BBC Sport.
  44. Unwin, Will (12 October 2019). "St Helens 23–6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
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