1. Tepai Moeroa was born on 2 October 1995 and is a dual code Cook Islands professional rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League and the Cook Islands at international level.
36 Facts About Tepai Moeroa
1. 2.
Tepai Moeroa played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL and has played for the Prime Minister's XIII and the World All Stars at representative level.
3.
Tepai Moeroa moved to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia as a 5-year old.
4.
Tepai Moeroa played his junior rugby league for the Colyton Colts, St Clair Comets and Seven Hills Kangaroos.
5.
Tepai Moeroa started his Rugby Union career playing fullback for the highly successful Rooty Hill Raptors Junior Rugby Union club in western Sydney.
6.
When Tepai Moeroa moved to Newington College he was no longer able to play club rugby but continued to play rugby union for Newington before being signed by the Parramatta Eels.
7.
In 2011, Tepai Moeroa played for the New South Wales under-16s team and was selected for the under-18s team in 2013 but had to withdraw because of rugby union commitments.
8.
In 2012, Tepai Moeroa played for the Australian Schoolboys rugby union team in 2013, along with the Australian rugby sevens team.
9.
Tepai Moeroa received nine caps over two years playing for Australian Schoolboys, the third highest number of caps equal with Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale.
10.
Tepai Moeroa played for the Parramatta Eels NRL Under-20s team in 2013 and 2014.
11.
Tepai Moeroa was compared with Sonny Bill Williams, who was a cross-code athlete.
12.
On 24 July 2014, Tepai Moeroa re-signed with Parramatta on a three-year contract to the end of the 2017 season after Super Rugby clubs Waikato Chiefs and New South Wales Waratahs were trying to sign him to return to rugby union.
13.
Tepai Moeroa finished off his debut year in the NRL with him playing in nine matches and scoring three tries for the Eels in the 2014 NRL season.
14.
On 2 September 2014, Tepai Moeroa was named at second-row in the NRL Under-20s team of the year.
15.
In late September 2014, Tepai Moeroa was contacted by New Zealand Kiwis officials asking about his international intentions, wanting to include him in the Kiwis squad for the 2014 Four Nations, although Tepai Moeroa turned down the opportunity to pursue his dream of representing New South Wales in State of Origin and Australia and the country of his birth Cook Islands.
16.
On 18 December 2014, Tepai Moeroa was selected in the Emerging Blues Camp by Laurie Daley, identifying him as well as 21 others as potential future New South Wales State of Origin players.
17.
On 31 January and 1 February, Tepai Moeroa played for Parramatta in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.
18.
Tepai Moeroa finished off the 2015 season having played in 19 matches and scoring one try for the Eels.
19.
On 1 February, Tepai Moeroa was named in the Eels' 2016 NRL Auckland Nines squad.
20.
Tepai Moeroa finished the 2016 NRL season with him playing in 22 matches for the Parramatta club.
21.
In February 2017, Tepai Moeroa was named in the Eels 2017 NRL Auckland Nines squad.
22.
Tepai Moeroa was part of the Parramatta side which finished fourth in the regular season but were eliminated in the finals series losing to Melbourne and North Queensland.
23.
On 19 December 2017, Tepai Moeroa was named in the emerging blues squad by coach Brad Fittler.
24.
Tepai Moeroa started the 2018 season at lock forward and played the first six games of the season until suffering a serious concussion in round 6 and was ruled out for two weeks.
25.
On 4 June 2018, Tepai Moeroa was suspended for three matches after taking an early guilty plea.
26.
In total, Tepai Moeroa made 19 appearances for Parramatta as the club endured a horror season finishing in last place on the table and claiming its fourteenth wooden spoon.
27.
Tepai Moeroa started the 2019 NRL season in the front row but switched back to lock as Parramatta won their first two games against Penrith and Canterbury.
28.
On 15 July, Tepai Moeroa announced that he had signed a two-year deal to join Super Rugby club the NSW Waratahs starting in 2020.
29.
On 10 October, Tepai Moeroa was named in the Cook Islands squad for the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s.
30.
On 10 June, Melbourne announced that Tepai Moeroa had been signed for the remainder of the 2021 NRL season, after securing a release from the NSW Waratahs.
31.
Tepai Moeroa made his debut for the club in round 21 against Manly.
32.
Tepai Moeroa subsequently signed a contract extension to stay with Melbourne to the end of the 2023 season.
33.
Tepai Moeroa played eight games for Melbourne in the 2022 NRL season as the club finished fifth on the table.
34.
Tepai Moeroa did not feature in the clubs elimination final loss to Canberra.
35.
Tepai Moeroa was limited to only six games for Melbourne in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished third on the table.
36.
Tepai Moeroa held many state-age shot put records and was ranked third in Australia for under 20s.