Atu Bosenavulagi
Atunaisa "Atu" Bosenavulagi (born 17 September 2000) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
| Atu Bosenavulagi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Atunaisa Bosenavulagi[1] | ||
| Nickname(s) | R2[2] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 September 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Sawani, Naitasiri, Fiji | ||
| Original team(s) | Oakleigh Chargers | ||
| Draft | No. 77, 2018 AFL draft, Collingwood | ||
| Debut | 10 July 2020, Collingwood vs. Hawthorn, at GIANTS Stadium | ||
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward / Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | North Melbourne | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2019–2020 | Collingwood | 3 (0) | |
| 2021– | North Melbourne | 8 (1) | |
| Total | 11 (1) | ||
| 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2021 season. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early football
Bosenavulagi played junior football for the Boroondara Hawks in the Yarra Junior Football League, helping them win the premiership in 2017.[3] Bosenavulagi also played under-18s football for the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup, before getting selected by Collingwood.[1] In his junior years, Bosenavulagi represented Australia as a junior representative in rugby sevens, as well as playing Australian rules football.[4] He played for the Oakleigh Chargers 9 games in 2017, while juggling both codes, seeing him often play football on Saturday and rugby on Sunday.[5] In 2018, he played all 18 games for the Oakleigh Chargers, kicking 15 goals,[6][7] and helping lead them to the Grand Final,[8] which they lost to the Dandenong Stingrays by four points.[9]
AFL career
Bosenavulagi was part of Collingwood's Next Generation Academy.[10] The club drafted him to their Australian Football League (AFL) squad with the 77th draft pick in the 2018 AFL draft.[11] He debuted for Collingwood in Round 6 of the 2020 AFL season, in the club's 32-point victory over Hawthorn,[12][13] collecting 16 disposals, taking four marks, and laying one tackle.[14] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, his debut was in a game with no fans, meaning his mother, Meri, couldn't attend the game, making it only the third game of his that she missed.[15]
At the conclusion of the 2020 AFL season, Bosenavulagi was traded to North Melbourne along with North Melbourne teammate Jaidyn Stephenson.[16]
Personal life
Bosenavulagi was born in Fiji in the Sawani village in the Naitasiri Province, and has Fijian heritage.[4][17][18] He is the great-nephew of Collingwood's cheer squad leader, Joffa Corfe, who is married to Bosnavulagi's grandma's sister, but Bosenavulagi refers to Corfe as 'grandpa'.[1] Despite Corfe's efforts, Bosenavulagi grew up supporting the Western Bulldogs.[11] Bosenavulagi's father, Atu, played rugby in Fiji and continued when the family moved to Australia in 2003.[19] Bosenvulagi was educated at Christian Brothers College in Melbourne.[20]
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season[21]
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2019 | Collingwood | 40 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020 | Collingwood | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
| Career | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 | ||
References
- ^ a b c Waterworth, Ben (22 November 2018). "AFL draft 2018: Atu Bosenavulagi could join Collingwood — the club his 'grandpa' Joffa loves so much". Fox Sports. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "Weird footy nicknames: So why do they call Gov 'Brackets'?". Australian Football League. Telstra Media. 16 March 2019.
- ^ "2018 AFL Draft". Yarra Junior Football League. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Atu Bosenavulagi". Collingwood. Telstra Media. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ Cleary, Mitch (9 July 2020). "Pies pull second selection stunner, gun Sun to finally debut". Australian Football League. Telstra Media.
- ^ "Atu Bosenavulagi". DraftGuru. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "Atu Bosenavulagi". AFL Draft Central. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ "Preliminary Final match review – Gippsland Power v Oakleigh Chargers". Gippsland Power. 19 September 2018.
- ^ "AFL draft: Oakleigh Chargers deliver record haul from a TAC Cup club". Herald Sun. 25 November 2018.
- ^ Sankey, Daniel (23 November 2018). "AFL Draft 2018 Day 2 live coverage: Pies land Joffa's great nephew Atunaisa Bosenavulagi". The Australian.
- ^ a b Johnson, Adrian (23 November 2018). "Joffa's 'grandson' an X-factor with late pick for Pies". Australian Football League. Telstra Media. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ Cherny, Daniel (9 July 2020). "Hawks and Magpies turn to the kids". The Age.
- ^ McGowan, Marc (10 July 2020). "Horror fortnight ends as Pies punish Hawks in new low for Clarko". Australian Football League. Telstra Media. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ Ratcliffe, Damien (10 July 2020). "As it happened: Easy win for Pies, Kelly injured on debut". The Age.
- ^ Oudyn, Tamara (10 July 2020). "Atu Bosenavulagi's Mum can't wait to see him run out for Collingwood - from afar". ABC News.
- ^ "Trade raid: North loads up on pace with Magpie jets". AFL Media. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ Cama, Akuila (10 July 2020). "Fiji born Bosenavulagi to make AFL debut tonight". Fijian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ Cama, Akuila (16 July 2020). "Bosenavulagi's proud of Atu's achievement". Fijian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ "Atu Bosenavulagi". Harlequin Rugby Melbourne. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ McKenna, Paddy (27 November 2018). "ACC has the Numbers in the AFL Draft". Associated Catholic Colleges.
- ^ "Atu Bosenavulagi statistics". AFL Tables. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
External links
- Atu Bosenavulagi's profile on the official website of the Collingwood Football Club
- Atu Bosenavulagi's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Atu Bosenavulagi at AustralianFootball.com