Viliame Kikau

Viliame Hekmatzadah "Bill" Kikau (born 5 April 1995) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL), and Fiji at international level.

Viliame Kikau
Personal information
Full nameViliame lofu Kikau
Born (1995-04-05) 5 April 1995
Nausori, Fiji
Height195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight116 kg (18 st 4 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2017–22 Penrith Panthers 123 38 0 0 152
2023– Canterbury Bulldogs 9 1 0 0 4
Total 132 39 0 0 156
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015– Fiji 16 11 0 0 44
2019 Fiji 9s 3 0 0 0 0
Source: 3 September 2023[1]

He previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and is a dual NRL premiership winning player of 2021 and 2022.

Background

Kikau was born in Nausori, Fiji, and grew up in the small island of Bau.[2]

Kikau played rugby union in his youth and later earned placements at Queen Victoria School and Marist Brothers High School in Suva, where he played for their rugby union team and represented the Fiji Secondary Schools side against the Australian Schoolboys.[3] In 2013, Kikau who never played rugby league was scouted by North Queensland recruiter Adrian Thomson in a schoolboy match and was one of three Fijian players who spent six weeks in Townsville.[4]

Kikau was the only player to sign with the club and joined their Holden Cup team for the 2014 season. At the time Kikau was also being scouted by a number of French rugby union clubs[5]

Early career

2014

In 2014, Kikau's first season of rugby league, he played 21 games for North Queensland's Holden Cup team, scoring 11 tries. A centre in his rugby union days, Kikau switched to prop after joining North Queensland.[6]

2015

In 2015, Kikau played in a pre-season trial game with North Queensland's first grade team. He scored a try in the sides 24–12 victory over the Townsville Blackhawks.[7]

On 2 May 2015, Kikau made his international debut for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the Melanesian Cup match, playing off the interchange bench in the 22–10 win at Robina Stadium.[8][9] On 10 June 2015, Kikau signed a two-year contract with the Penrith Panthers.[10][11] On 14 September 2015, Kikau was named at prop in the 2015 NYC Team of the Year, finishing his Holden Cup career with the North Queensland club with 32 tries from 42 matches.[12]

2016

Kikau spent 2016 playing in Penrith's NSW Cup team. On 8 October 2016, Kikau played for Fiji against Samoa, starting at second-row in the 20–18 victory in Apia, Samoa.[13]

Playing career

2017

In Round 2, Kikau made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers against the Wests Tigers, playing off the interchange bench and scoring a try in the 36–2 win at Campbelltown Stadium.[14] On 15 April, he re-signed with the Penrith Panthers to the end of the 2019 NRL season.[15]

On 6 May, Kikau played for Fiji against Tonga, starting at second-row and scoring a try in the 26–24 loss at Campbelltown Stadium.[16] Kikau would play most of the year playing in Penrith's NSW cup team where they won the NSW Intrust Super premiership against the Wyong Roos 20–12.[17] A week later on 1 October, Kikau played in the NRL State Championship match against QLD Cup winners the Papua New Guinea Hunters starting at second-row and scoring a try in the 42–18 boilover win.[18] Kikau finished his debut year in the NRL with 9 matches and 1 try for the Panthers in the NRL. On 7 October, he was named in the 24-man squad for Fiji for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[19] Kikau had an outstanding tournament for Fiji playing in all of their 5 matches and scoring 3 tries and was rewarded with him being named in the World Cup Team of the Tournament.[20]

2018

After his impressive World Cup campaign, Kikau would cement a permanent place in Penrith's top 17.[21] He made 25 appearances in the 2018 NRL season as the club finished 5th and reached the elimination final against Cronulla-Sutherland before losing 21–20.[22]

2019

In round 23 of the 2019 NRL season, Kikau played his 50th NRL game for Penrith in their 24–10 defeat by the North Queensland Cowboys at 1300Smiles stadium. Kikau made a total of 18 appearances for Penrith in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table and missed out on the finals for the first time since 2015.[23]

2020

Kikau played 19 games for Penrith in the 2020 NRL season as the club won the Minor Premiership. Kikau played in the 2020 NRL Grand Final for Penrith in which they lost 26-20 against Melbourne.[24]

2021

In round 2 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 28-0 victory over Canterbury-Bankstown.[25]

In round 4 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 46-6 victory over Manly-Warringah at Brookvale Oval.[26]

On 27 September, Kikau was named Dally M Second Rower of the year alongside Parramatta's Isaiah Papali'i.[27]

Kikau played a total of 27 games for Penrith in the 2021 NRL season including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final victory over South Sydney. Kikau scored a second half try in the final but was disallowed on review due to the pass from Nathan Cleary being ruled forward.[28]

Following Penrith's grand final victory, an intoxicated Kikau went on Instagram and mocked South Sydney by singing their club song. Penrith teammate Tyrone May then appeared on the video and said "I don't give a f***. F*** every motherf***er, n***er".[29]

In November, an image of Kikau was leaked from a security camera within Canterbury Leagues Club showing Kikau posting in a Canterbury shirt along with head coach Trent Barrett and head of football Phil Gould. Kikau then took to social media and explained the situation saying "Today photos were taken of me wearing another club's colours," Kikau wrote. "Me and my manager were told the photos wouldn't become public until the appropriate time. I am very disappointed that didn't happen and regret the upset it has caused. I want the Panthers fans to know I remain fully committed to our club and the team for the upcoming season. I can't wait to celebrate our premiership with you".[30]

2022

In round 2 of the 2022 NRL season, Kikau scored two tries for Penrith in a 20-16 victory over St. George Illawarra.[31] Kikau played 25 games throughout the season for Penrith including the club's 2022 NRL Grand Final victory over Parramatta.[32] In the second group stage match of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, Kikau scored two tries for Fiji in their 60-4 victory over Italy.[33]

2023

In round 1 of the 2023 NRL season, Kikau made his club debut for Canterbury in their 31-6 loss against Manly at Brookvale Oval.[34] On 12 April, it was reported that Kikau had suffered a pectoral injury at training and would be ruled out for 8-10 weeks.[35] Kikau played a total of nine games for Canterbury in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 15th on the table.[36]

References
  1. "Viliame Kikau – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 5 April 1995. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  2. Sovatabua, Veronika (27 June 2017). "Player Profile VIliame Kikau". Fiji Times. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.
  3. Lee Grant (October 2013). "Australian Schools beat Fiji Schools". Green and Gold Rugby.
  4. "NRL 2021: The story of Viliame Kikau's rise to stardom will melt your heart". news.com.au. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  5. "Kikau rise no surprise". TownsvilleBulletin. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019.
  6. "Viliame Kikau". Rakaviti. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  7. NRL Digital Media (14 February 2015). "post Blackhawks win". Cowboys. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  8. "FIJI BATI NAMED TO FACE PNG". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  9. "Koroibete delights in Fiji win over PNG". NRL.com. 2 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  10. "Panthers sign Ben Garcia from Super League | NRL | Zero Tackle". www.zerotackle.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  11. "Viliame Kikau signs contract with Penrith Panthers | Fiji One". 2 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  12. "2015 Holden Cup Team of the Year". NRL.com. 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  13. "Brilliant Bati comeback steals Pacific Test win". National Rugby League. 8 October 2016. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  14. "NRL big hits: Viliame Kikau smashes James Tedesco, Panthers v Tigers". Fox Sports. 12 March 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  15. "Penrith Panthers 2017: Viliame Kikau re-signed on two-year deal". Fox Sports. 16 April 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  16. Campton, Nick (6 May 2017). "Unlikely hero inspires 12-man Tonga to victory". Daily Telegraph.
  17. "Cartwright dazzles as Panthers down Wyong". Daily Telegraph.
  18. "Brennan's Panthers maul Hunters". Daily Telegraph.
  19. "Hayne selected for Fiji". wwos.nine.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  20. "World Cup Team of the Tournament". News.com.au. 3 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  21. "Penrith Panthers' Viliame Kikau chose NRL over French rugby". National Rugby League. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  22. "Penrith Panthers 2018 season review". www.nrl.com. 24 October 2018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019.
  23. "Blame game will not solve Panthers' problems". Western Weekender. 10 September 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019.
  24. Hytner, Mike (25 October 2020). "Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers as it happened". The Guardian.
  25. "South Sydney opens NRL winning account against Manly Sea Eagles, Ben Hunt and Dragons bounce back against Cowboys". ABC News. 20 March 2021.
  26. "Kikau, Luai star as Panthers bury Manly at Lottoland". www.nrl.com. April 2021.
  27. McMurtry, Andrew (27 September 2021). "2021 NRL Dally M Awards Live: Tom Trbojevic crowned NRL's best". News.com.au.
  28. "One of finest NRL grand finals of all time provides cure to difficult season". www.theguardian.com. 3 October 2021.
  29. Otto, Tyson (8 October 2021). "NRL investigating Panthers over premiership trophy photo". News.com.au.
  30. "Bulldogs track down Viliame Kikau photo leaker after $3.2m coup". www.news.com.au.
  31. "Sydney Roosters score convincing 26-12 NRL win over Manly after Penrith defeats St George Illawarra 20-16". ABC News. 18 March 2022.
  32. "'Parra are our sons': Panther's cheeky Eels sledge as stars run riot, Luai has another dig". www.foxsports.com.au. 3 October 2022.
  33. "Rugby League World Cup: Fiji thrash Italy 60-4". BBC Sport.
  34. "Ciraldo's reality check as glaring problem emerges; 'masterclass' puts rivals on notice: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au. 4 March 2023.
  35. "Canterbury recruit Viliame Kikau could miss eight weeks after an injury at training". www.news.com.au.
  36. "NRL 2023: Canterbury Bulldogs season review". www.sportingnews.com.
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