Quick Facts
Biography
James Gavet (born 19 October 1989) is an Australian-born New Zealand professional rugby league footballer of Samoan heritage who currently plays for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League. His regular field position is prop forward and he previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Wests Tigers and Brisbane Broncos.
Playing career
Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Gavet moved to New Zealand at a young age and played his junior football for rugby union club Ponsonby and the Richmond Bulldogs before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors. Gavet played for the Warriors NYC team in 2009, scoring 2 tries in 18 matches before moving on to the Warriors' NSW Cup reserve-grade team, the Auckland Vulcans, in 2010. In 2011, Gavet was named Prop of the Year in NSW Cup and signed a 2-year contract with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs after playing them in the 2011 NSW Cup Grand Final.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
In Round 23 of the 2012 NRL season, Gavet made his NRL debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the Brisbane Broncos playing off the interchange bench in the Bulldogs 22-14 win at ANZ Stadium. Gavet played one match for the Bulldogs in the 2012 NRL season. On 12 December 2012, Gavet signed a 1-year contract with the Wests Tigers starting in 2013.
Wests Tigers
Gavet missed most of the 2013 season with a foot injury and failed to make a first grade appearance.
On 14 February 2014, Gavet was selected in the Tigers inaugural 2014 Auckland Nines squad. In Round 1 against the St George Illawarra Dragons, Gavet made his club debut for the Tigers off the interchange bench in the Tigers 44-24 loss at ANZ Stadium his first match in 574 days. In Round 19 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium, Gavet scored his first NRL career try in the Tigers 46-18 win. Gavet finished off the Tigers 2014 season with him playing in 12 matches and scoring a try. On 8 September 2014, Gavet was named in the Samoa train-on squad for the 2014 Four Nations, but didn’t make the final 24 man squad.
Brisbane Broncos
On 13 October 2014, Gavet was granted an immediate release from the Tigers to join the Brisbane Broncos on a 2-year contract. In his debut game for the club, he was put on report late in the match for a shoulder charge and was served a three-game suspension. While serving the suspension, he ruptured his ACL at training, ruling him out for the rest of the season. On 20 October 2015, he was granted release from the final year of his Broncos contract.
New Zealand Warriors
In January 2016, Gavet returned to the New Zealand Warriors on a trial basis, before signing a 1-year contract starting effective immediately on 22 February. On 8 October 2016, he made his international debut for Samoa in their historical test match against Fiji in Apia.