 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1981-03-07)7 March 1981 (age 44) Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 105 kg (16 st 7 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brent Kite (born 7 March 1981) is a former professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. ATonga andAustralia international, andNew South WalesState of Origin representative front-row forward, he played club football for theSt. George Illawarra Dragons,Manly Warringah Sea Eagles andPenrith Panthers. Kite was named theClive Churchill Medallist for his performance in the2008 NRL Grand Final, in which he helped steer Manly-Warringah to a 40–0 thumping of theMelbourne Storm, scoring a try.[4]
Kite was born inQueanbeyan,New South Wales of Tongan descent. He played junior football with theQueanbeyan Blues.[5] He represented theAustralian Schoolboys side their tour of New Zealand in 1998.[6] He spent three years with theCanberra Raiders' lower grades sides following his graduation fromErindale College.[6][7]
In late 2000 he travelled to Europe to play for theTonga national rugby league team alongsideWillie Mason in the2000 World Cup tournament.[8][9]
Kite made his NRL debut for the St George Illawarra Dragons against theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks atSydney Football Stadium on 17 March 2002.[10] Kite moved from thesecond-row into thefront-row following injuries atSt George in early 2004.[7][11] After showing good form in early 2004, Kite was selected for theCountry Origin side.[10][12] Kite was also selected to representNew South Wales, playing all three games in the2004 State of Origin series. Kite left theDragons at the end of the 2004 NRL season with both parties citing salary cap constraints as the reason for his move to theManly Sea Eagles.[13]
Kite moved toBrookvale Oval for the2005 NRL season, withManly beating off the likes ofCanberra for his signature.[7][13] Kite was recalled to the Blues side for the2006 State of Origin series, where he played the first two games. Kite was also selected to play at international level forAustralia, where he played in the2006 Tri-Nations series off the bench.[14]
Kite was selected to play for theAustralian national team at prop forward in the 2007ANZAC Test victory against New Zealand.[15] Kite played all three games of the2007 State of Origin series.[5][12] Kite played in the2007 NRL Grand Final defeat by theMelbourne Storm.[16]
Kite was selected for the Centenary Test againstNew Zealand at theSydney Cricket Ground.[17] Kite was controversially not selected for any game of the2008 State of Origin series.[18][19][20][21]
He played for Manly in the2008 NRL Grand Final, again against Melbourne. His powerhouse display which included a try in the 59th minute helped Manly to decimate the defending premiers 40–0. For his effort, Kite was awarded theClive Churchill Medal as man-of-the-match.[22]
Kite was named in theTonga training squad for the2008 Rugby League World Cup.[23] In August 2008, Kite was named in theAustralia train-on squad for the2008 Rugby League World Cup,[24][25] and in October 2008 he was selected in the final 24-manAustralia squad.[26]
In May 2009, Kite was named in the 17-man squad to representNew South Wales in the openingState of Origin match on 3 June 2009, in Melbourne.[27] He was selected forAustralia in the one-off test match againstNew Zealand on 8 May 2009.[28] In 2011, Kite won his second premiership with Manly as they defeated theNew Zealand Warriors in the2011 NRL Grand Final.[29]
In April 2013, Kite captainedTonga in theirPacific Rugby League International fixture against fierce Pacific rivalsSamoa. He led his team to demolish Samoa by 36–4.
In October 2013, Kite once again captained Tonga, this time in their2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign. However, even though he was a great leader, Tonga could not advance past the group stage. He played in all 3 of Tonga's matches.
Kite moved to the Panthers in the 2014 season. In his first season at Penrith, Kite was part of the side which reached the preliminary final after defeating Eastern Suburbs 19–18 in week one of the finals before being defeated by Canterbury the following week and missing out on a first grand final appearance since 2003. In 2015, Kite announced it would be his final year as a professionalrugby league footballer and retired at the end of the season.[30][31]
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 21 | 2 | 8 |
| 2003 | 23 | 5 | 20 | |
| 2004 | 23 | 2 | 8 | |
| 2005 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 | 2 | 8 |
| 2006 | 24 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2007 | 23 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2008 | 27 | 4 | 16 | |
| 2009 | 24 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2010 | 24 | |||
| 2011 | 23 | |||
| 2012 | 27 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2013 | 27 | |||
| 2014 |  Penrith Panthers | 19 | ||
| 2015 | 6 | |||
| Totals | 313 | 21 | 84 |
In 2018, Kite coached theTweed Coast Raiders to win aNorthern Rivers Regional Rugby League premiership and the NSW Country Rugby League'sClayton Cup.[32][33]
