Mosese Fotuaika
{{Short description|New Zealand rugby league footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name = Mosese Fotuaika
|fullname =
|nickname =
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption =
|birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1992|3|25}}
|birth_place = Gisborne, New Zealand
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2013|2|28|1992|3|25}}
|death_place = Merrylands, New South Wales, Australia
|height = {{convert|181|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight = {{convert|104|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}
|position = {{rlp|PR}}
|retired =
|updated = 25 August 2013
|source =
|club1 = Wests Tigers
}}
Mosese Fotuaika (25 March 1992 – 28 February 2013) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who was contracted to the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/wests-tigers-mourn-death-of-young-prop-mosese-fotuaika/story-e6frexnr-1226588692092|title=Wests Tigers mourn death of young prop Mosese Fotuaika|publisher=dailytelegraph.com.au|date=2 March 2013}} He primarily played {{rlp|pr}}. He was of Tongan and New Zealand Māori descent.
Playing career
Mosese Fotuaika played his junior football for Keebra Park before being signed by the Wests Tigers. He played for the Tigers' NYC team in 2012.
In 2012, Fotuaika played in the Tigers' 2012 NYC Grand Final win over the Canberra Raiders. Mosese played a key role in Wests Tigers winning their inaugural NYC premiership in 2012 and was a full-time member of the Wests Tigers NRL squad for 2013.
Death
On 28 February 2013, Fotuaika was found dead by his girlfriend, Shanice Alaiasa at his home in Merrylands in Greater Western Sydney. Police had been called to the home and they confirmed that they had found a man dead and his death was not being treated as suspicious. Hours earlier he had been at the Wests Tigers club Concord gym and he injured himself while bench pressing with friends and it is believed that Fotuaika suffered a badly-torn pectoral muscle while exerting himself hours before taking his own life.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/promising-young-wests-tigers-prop-mosese-fotuaika-dead/story-e6frexnr-1226588044039|title=Promising young Wests Tigers prop Mosese Fotuaika found dead, aged 20|publisher=dailytelegraph.com.au|date=1 March 2013}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130919035653/http://www.weststigers.com.au/playerprofiledisplay/Wests%20Tigers/Mosese%20%20Fotuaika/6963 Mosese Fotuaika at weststigers.com.au]
{{Wests Tigers squad - 2012 NYC premiers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fotuaika, Mosese}}
Category:21st-century New Zealand sportsmen
Category:New Zealand Māori rugby league players
Category:New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent
Category:People educated at Keebra Park State High School
Category:Rugby league players from Gisborne, New Zealand