Constantine Mika

Constantine Mika (born 14 September 1989) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row or loose forward for the Nyngan Tigers. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL, Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League, Toulouse Olympique in the Betfred Championship, as well as a spell playing rugby union for Provence Rugby in the French Pro D2.

Con Mika

Personal information
Full name	Constantine Mika
Born	(1989-09-14) 14 September 1989 (age 34) Auckland, New Zealand
Height	182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	105 kg (16 st 7 lb)
Playing information
Rugby league
Position	Second-row, Loose forward
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2009–11 Newcastle Knights 14 1 0 0 4 2012–13 Hull Kingston Rovers 52 10 0 0 40 2016–20 Toulouse Olympique 93 27 0 0 108 2020–21 Villeneuve Leopards 17 0 0 0 0 2021 Brooklyn Kings 0 0 0 0 0 2021 Keighley Cougars 9 2 0 0 8 2022–2023 Limoux Grizzlies 11 5 0 0 20 Total 196 45 0 0 180 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2010 Samoa 1 0 0 0 0 2012 Exiles 1 0 0 0 0
Rugby union
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2015–16 Provence Rugby 16 0 0 0 0
Source: ^[1]^[2]^[3] As of 10 October 2022

Background

Mika was born in Auckland, New Zealand.

Early years

Mika joined the New Zealand Warriors from the local Auckland Rugby League competition where he played for Otahuhu and the Tamaki Titans in the Bartercard Cup. He made two appearances in the Toyota Cup for the Junior Warriors, however he could not break into the Warriors first grade team.^[4]

Newcastle Knights

Mika joined the Newcastle Knights from the 2009 season.^[5] He made his first grade début in round 12 on 31 May 2009 against Canterbury. In June 2010 he quoted "Coming over here was the best move I've made for my footy career,"^[6]

After the conclusion of the 2011 season, Mika was released by the Newcastle club.^[7]

Hull Kingston Rovers

Mika signed with Rovers on 26 October 2011. It was a two-year deal to join, also departing from the Knights, the new Rovers head coach, Craig Sandercock and fullback Shannon McDonnell.^[8]

Return to Australia

After completing a stint in the Super League, Mika returned to Australia to compete in the Queensland Cup and debuted for the Redcliffe Dolphins in 2014. The following year, Mika signed with the Wave Tigers of the Bundaberg Rugby League competition.^[9]

France

Mika changed codes to rugby union and signed for newly promoted Provence Rugby of the Pro D2 in the summer of 2015, to play at centre.

Toulouse Olympique

After one season playing union Mika returned to rugby league to join Toulouse Olympique in 2016.^[10]

After four seasons with Toulouse Mike left to join another French team.^[11]

Villeneuve XIII RLLG

Mika signed for Villeneuve XIII RLLG in the Elite One Championship in July 2020 and played the rest of the French domestic season with the club^[12]

Brooklyn Kings

In April 2021 Mika signed for Brooklyn Kings in the North American Rugby League (NARL).^[13] When the first season of the NARL was cancelled Mika became a free agent.^[14]

Keighley Cougars

Mika's signing for English side, Keighley Cougars, for the remainder of the 2021 season was announced on 14 July 2021.^[14]

Limoux Grizzlies

On 5 August 2022, it was announced that Mika had signed for Limoux Grizzlies for the 2022-23 season.^[15]

Nyngan Tigers

On 16 June 2023, Mika signed for the Nyngan Tigers.^[16]

References

1. "Player Summary: Constantine Mika". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
2. "Constantine Mika - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
3. "Constantine MIKA - Player statistics - It's rugby". www.itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
4. . nzleague.co.nz. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011.
5. "2009 NRL Player Movements". NRL Live. 4 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
6. Dillon, Robert (11 June 2010). "Mika the Mack truck ready to dent more reputations". The Sydney Morning Herald.
7. Keeble, Brett (6 September 2011). "Knights in no hurry to go separate ways – Local News – Sport – Rugby League – Newcastle Herald". The Herald. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
8. Dillon, Robert (26 October 2011). "Knights sign Adam Cuthbertson". The Herald. from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
9. "Mika ready to make an impact". couriermail. 20 February 2015.
10. . Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
11. "Constantine Mika quits Toulouse after four years". Love Rugby League. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
12. "Constantine Mika signe à Villeneuve XIII". Trieze Mondial.fr. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
13. "Brooklyn Kings sign former Samoa international Constantine Mika". Love Rugby League. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
14. Darbyshire, Drew (14 July 2021). "Constantine Mika joins Keighley". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
15. "Constantine Mika returns to French Elite One". Love Rugby League. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
16. "Peter McDonald Premiership: Nyngan have signed Constantine Mika for 2023". www.dailyliberal.com.au. 16 June 2023.

External links

 

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