Malakai Watene-Zelezniak was born on 27 August 1991 and is a former rugby league footballer who played on the wing.
18 Facts About Malakai Watene-Zelezniak
1.
2.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak played for the Penrith Panthers in two separate spells, and the Wests Tigers in the NRL.
3.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is of Maori, Tongan and Polish descent.
4.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak played his junior rugby league for the St Clair Comets.
5.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak is the great-grandson of former New Zealand rugby league captain and politician, Steve Watene.
6.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
7.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak played for the Penrith Panthers in the NYC from 2009 to 2011.
8.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak returned to the Panthers during the 2015 season to play in their New South Wales Cup team.
9.
On 25 September 2015, Malakai Watene-Zelezniak was named in Tonga's preliminary train-on squad ahead of their 2017 World Cup qualifying match against the Cook Islands.
10.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak was selected to represent the New Zealand Maori in their match against the New Zealand Residents on 15 October 2016.
11.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak's selection came after Matt Moylan, Waqa Blake and Peta Hiku were dropped for disciplinary reasons.
12.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak played on the wing outside his younger brother Dallin, who said.
13.
On 29 April, it was announced that Malakai Watene-Zelezniak had been released from the Panthers to immediately join the Wests Tigers until the end of 2018.
14.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak made 12 appearances for Wests Tigers and scored 3 tries as the club missed out on the finals by finishing 9th on the table.
15.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak then departed the club at the end of the season to re-join Penrith on a two-year deal.
16.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak only made four appearances for Penrith in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished a disappointing 10th on the table and missed out on the finals.
17.
Malakai Watene-Zelezniak played only one game for Penrith in the 2020 NRL season.
18.
On 21 January 2021, Malakai Watene-Zelezniak announced his immediate retirement from rugby league due to acute kidney failure and associated complications.