| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1977-09-18)18 September 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lata,Temotu Province, Solomon Islands[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 18 November 2017(2017-11-18) (aged 40) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Honiara, Solomon Islands | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Marist | 8 | (15) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Nelson Suburbs | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2003 | Sydney United | 66 | (19) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Marist | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | JP Su'uria | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | YoungHeart Manawatu | 21 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Waitakere United | 39 | (21) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Marist | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Bundaberg Spirit | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Marist | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Western United | |||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2009 | Solomon Islands | 37 | (34) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Commins Menapi (18 September 1977 – 18 November 2017) was aSolomon Islandsfootball player and manager who played as astriker.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] As manager ofWestern United, he guided the club to their first and only Telekom S league title in the 2014–15 season.
Menapi played forYoungHeart Manawatu in New Zealand,Sydney United of the oldNational Soccer League in Australia and forMarist FC, a club from theSolomon Islands.
In the 2006–2007 season, he became the first player to be sent off in aNew Zealand Football Championship Grand Final with a nasty studs up kick onAuckland City defenderRiki van Steeden. Van Steeden's leg was broken in the incident andWaitakere United lost the final 3–2 however, he would not be suspended for theOFC Champions League final againstBa F.C. because of theOFC andNew Zealand Football being two separate organisations.Commins rejoined Solomon Islands teamMarist FC[9][10] after a period spent as afree agent.
Menapi represented theSolomon Islands national team on 37 occasions, scoring a record 34 goals (including 7 against non-FIFA members). Menapi was arguably the most famous Solomon Islands footballer, after scoring twice for his country againstAustralia in a sensational 2–2 draw in theOceania Nations Cup group match in 2004. The result was the only game in the competition that Australia did not win, and the result also ensured Solomon Islands' progression to the next phase at the expense ofNew Zealand. In that tournament, Menapi scored four goals in six games.[11] Since Australia's exit from theOceania Football Confederation in 2006 to joinAsian Football Confederation, he became the all-time leading goal scorer for the OFC untilChris Wood ofNew Zealand reached his record of 34 goals on the 13 October 2023 and untilRoy Krishna ofFiji surpassed both of them to break the record on the 18 November 2023.[12]
Menapi died in Honiara in November 2017 at the age of 40, in the early hours of the day, of undisclosed cause.[13]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 June 2000 | Stade Pater,Papeete, Tahiti |  Cook Islands | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2000 OFC Nations Cup |
| 2 | 28 June 2000 | Stade Pater, Papeete, Tahiti |  Vanuatu | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2000 OFC Nations Cup |
| 3 | 4 June 2001 | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Cook Islands | 2–1 | 9–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 5–1 | |||||
| 5 | 6–1 | |||||
| 6 | 8 June 2001 | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Vanuatu | 2–1 | 7–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 6–2 | |||||
| 8 | 7 July 2002 | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand |  Tahiti | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2002 OFC Nations Cup |
| 9 | 14 June 2003 | Sir John Guise Stadium,Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea |  Papua New Guinea | 5–3 | 5–3 | Friendly |
| 10 | 5–3 | |||||
| 11 | 1 July 2003 | ANZ National Stadium,Suva, Fiji | Vanuatu | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2003 South Pacific Games |
| 12 | 2–2 | |||||
| 13 | 3 July 2003 | ANZ National Stadium, Suva, Fiji |  Kiribati | 2–0 | 7–0 | 2003 South Pacific Games |
| 14 | 3–0 | |||||
| 15 | 4–0 | |||||
| 16 | 5–0 | |||||
| 17 | 6–0 | |||||
| 18 | 5 July 2003 | Ratu Cakobau Park,Nausori, Fiji |  Tuvalu | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2003 South Pacific Games |
| 19 | 4–0 | |||||
| 20 | 7 July 2003 | Churchill Park,Lautoka, Fiji |  Fiji | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2003 South Pacific Games |
| 21 | 3 April 2004 | Korman Stadium,Port Vila, Vanuatu | Vanuatu | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 22 | 2–1 | |||||
| 23 | 6 April 2004 | Korman Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu | Vanuatu | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 24 | 2 June 2004 | Hindmarsh Stadium,Adelaide, Australia | Tahiti | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2004 OFC Nations Cup |
| 25 | 4–0 | |||||
| 26 | 6 June 2004 | Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, Australia |  Australia | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2004 OFC Nations Cup |
| 27 | 2–2 | |||||
| 28 | 25 August 2007 | National Soccer Stadium,Apia, Samoa |  American Samoa | 3–0 | 12–1 | 2007 South Pacific Games |
| 29 | 4–0 | |||||
| 30 | 8–1 | |||||
| 31 | 9–1 | |||||
| 32 | 27 August 2007 | National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa |  Tonga | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2007 South Pacific Games |
| 33 | 2–0 | |||||
| 34 | 5 September 2007 | National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa |  New Caledonia | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2007 South Pacific Games |
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands squads | |||||||||||||
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