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| Full name | Apisai Koroisau[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1992-11-07)7 November 1992 (age 32) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 88 kg (13 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[2] As of 22 March 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Apisai Koroisau (born 7 November 1992) is aFiji internationalrugby league footballer who plays as ahooker and is the captain of theWests Tigers in theNational Rugby League (NRL).
A tripleNRL premiership winner with theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs (2014) and thePenrith Panthers (2021 & 2022), he previously played for theManly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL.
He has also representedNew South Wales in theState of Origin series.
Koroisau was born inSydney, New South Wales, Australia and is ofFijian descent. He played his junior football for theBerala Bears[citation needed], before being signed by theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs. He is the cousin ofSunia Turuva
Koroisau played for theSouth Sydney RabbitohsNYC U20s team in 2011 and 2012.[citation needed]
Koroisau played for theNorth Sydney Bears (Souths feeder) in theNew South Wales Cup. Koroisau made a total of 25 appearances and scored 6 tries in 2013.[3]
In October 2013, Koroisau was named in theFijian2013 World Cup squad.[4] Koroisau made his debut forFiji in Round 1 of the tournament againstIreland in the 32–14 win atSpotland Stadium.[5] Koroisau played in 4 matches in the tournament.
In Round 4 of the2014 NRL season, Koroisau made hisNRL debut for theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs athooker against theCanberra Raiders in South Sydney's 30–18 loss atANZ Stadium.[6] In Round 8 ANZAC Day match against theBrisbane Broncos, Koroisau scored his first NRL career try, and the game's opening try, in South Sydney's last minute 28-26 penalty goal win atSuncorp Stadium.[7] On 3 June 2014, Koroisau signed a two-year contract with thePenrith Panthers starting in 2015.[8] In the week leading up to Souths2014 NRL Grand Final against theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, after South Sydney hookerIssac Luke was ruled out from the Grand Final for his high tackle onSydney Roosters playerSonny Bill Williams a week earlier in Souths 32-22 Preliminary Final win, Koroisau was Luke's replacement at hooker for the match on 5 October 2014, in Souths 30-6 Grand Final victory.[9][10] Koroisau was rated a 7 out of 10 player rating byRugby League Week for his performance in the Grand Final.[11] Koroisau finished his debut year in the NRL in 2014 season with him playing in 14 matches and scoring a try for the South Sydney club.
On 24 January 2015, Koroisau was named in Penrith's2015 Auckland Nines squad.[12] On 2 May 2015, he played forFiji againstPapua New Guinea in the2015 Melanesian Cup.[13] On 2 July 2015, he signed a three-year contract with theManly-Warringah Sea Eagles starting in 2016, after being released from the final year of his Penrith contract.[14] He finished off his first stint with the Penrith club having played in 16 matches, scoring one try and kicking four goals.[15]
In Round 1 of the2016 NRL season, Koroisau made his club debut for Manly-Warringah against theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, starting at hooker in the Sea Eagles' 8–26 loss atBrookvale Oval.[16] However, he was dropped to New South Wales Cup in favour ofMatt Parcell after the Sea Eagles lost 22–36 to the Wests Tigers in Round 2 atLeichhardt Oval. He was recalled to the team for their Round 5 match against his former club South Sydney following an ankle injury that ruled out representative halfbackDaly Cherry-Evans. Playing at halfback, Koroisau scored his first club try for Manly in their 12–16 loss atBrookvale Oval. Despite the loss, his performance on the night won him the Man of the Match award from match broadcasterChannel 9.[17] He backed up his performance against the Rabbitohs when he was again one of Manly's leading players in their 34–18 away win over the New Zealand Warriors in Round 6.[18]
In the2017 NRL season, Koroisau played 23 games, scored 3 tries and kicked 1 goal for Manly. He was selected in thePrime Minister's XIII in the 48–8 win overPapua New Guinea atPNG Football Stadium. Koroisau was selected in the Fiji 24-man squad in the2017 Rugby League World Cup campaign. He played 5 matches and kicked 13 goals.[citation needed]
Koroisau made 13 appearances for Manly in 2018 as the club endured a horrid season on and off the field narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon by 2 competition points.[19]
On 30 August, Koroisau signed a three-year deal with thePenrith Panthers that started in 2020. Koroisau made 22 appearances for Manly in the2019 NRL season as the club qualified for the finals after finishing in sixth place. Koroisau played in the club's elimination final victory over Cronulla and also featured in Manly's elimination final loss against his former clubSouth Sydney atANZ Stadium.[20][21]
Koroisau played 20 games for Penrith in the2020 NRL season as the club finished asMinor Premiers. He played in the2020 NRL Grand Final where Penrith lost to Melbourne 26–20 atANZ Stadium.[22]
Koroisau was selected as 18th man in theNSW BluesState of Origin team for the 2021 series. Following injuries to halvesNathan Cleary andJarome Luai ahead of game three of the series, Koroisau made his debut for New South Wales in the number 14 jersey.[23] scoring a try in the 20–18 loss,[24] however New South Wales had already clinched the series by winning the first two games 50-6 and 26-0 respectively.[25]
On 22 July, Koroisau was placed under investigation by the NRL after allegations were made that he invited a woman into the NSW Blues bubble during the series, against strict biosecurity regulations. He was alleged to have snuck the woman in on two separate occasions, with the second coming on the day of Game Two on 27 June.[26] The following day, he was fined $35,000 and suspended for two matches over the incident. It was also revealed the woman he brought back to the hotel was not his wife.[27] On 4 August 2021, he was fined an additional $15,000 by the NSWRL over the incident.[28]
Koroisau played a total of 18 games for Penrith in the2021 including the club's2021 NRL Grand Final victory overSouth Sydney. It was his second premiership as a player.[29]
On 2 December, he signed a two-year deal with theWests Tigers starting in the 2023 season.[30]
Koroisau played 25 games for Penrith in the2022 NRL season including the clubs2022 NRL Grand Final victory overParramatta.[31]The following day, Koroisau mocked his new club theWests Tigers at the clubs fan day by saying “There’s so much young talent. To go out on a high like that, it’s pretty incredible, and I’ll probably do the same thing at the Tigers,” he added, before breaking into hysterics.[32]
On 22 May, Koroisau was selected by New South Wales for game one of the2023 State of Origin series.[33] On Thursday the 8th of June[34]In round 15 of the2023 NRL season, Koroisau suffered a broken jaw in the clubs loss against the Gold Coast and was ruled out for an indefinite period.[35]In round 25, Koroisau kicked a goal from the side line with less than three minutes remaining to win the game for the Wests Tigers 24-23. The victory broke a ten-game losing streak for the club and also ensured they avoided the wooden spoon for another week.[36]Koroisau played a total of 21 games for the Wests Tigers in the2023 NRL season as the club finished with theWooden Spoon for a second straight year.[37]
Koroisau played 22 games for the Wests Tigers in the2024 NRL season as the club finished with the wooden spoon for a third straight year.[38]
On 22 January. Koroisau was named co-captain of the Wests Tigers for the 2025 season alongsideJarome Luai.[39]
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 14 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2015 |  Penrith Panthers | 16 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
| 2016 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 18 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| 2017 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 14 | |
| 2018 | 13 | 3 | |||
| 2019 | 22 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2020 | Penrith Panthers | 20 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2021 | 18 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 2022 | 25 | 5 | 20 | ||
| 2023 |  Wests Tigers | 21 | 6 | 18 | 60 |
| 2024 | 22 | 5 | 43 | 106 | |
| 2025 | |||||
| Totals | 213 | 35 | 67 | 274 |
source;[40]
*denotes season competing