Quick Facts
Biography
Pat Politoni (born 17 March 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League. He plays at hooker. He previously played for the Wests Tigers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Playing career
Born in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Politoni is of Tongan descent and played his junior football for the Leichhardt Juniors, before being signed by the Wests Tigers. He played for the Tigers' Toyota Cup team from 2009 to 2011, playing over 30 games before moving on to the Tigers' NSW Cup reserve-grade side in 2012.
In Round 11 of the 2012 NRL season, Politoni made his NRL debut for the Tigers against the New Zealand Warriors.
Politoni is considered to be a similar player in style to Wests Tigers first choice hooker Robbie Farah. "I always make sure I watch game highlights of Robbie Farah to see what he does."
Despite making just one appearance in first grade for 2012, Politoni finished the season playing for feeder team Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers in the NSW Cup grand final.
In 2013, Politoni joined the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, however he did not commence the season in the first-grade training squad, and made no appearances in first-grade.
On April 20, Pat played for Tonga in their Pacific Rugby League International clash with fierce Pacific rivals Samoa.
Later in the year, Pat played for Tonga in their 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign. Pat made just one appearance, and that was against Pacific rivals the Cook Islands in their inter-group match, which Tonga won by a tight and narrow six-point margin.
In Round 17 of the 2014 NRL season, Politoni made his debut for Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against the Sydney Roosters.
On 2 May 2015, Politoni played for Tonga in their 2015 Polynesian Cup clash with Pacific rivals Samoa. Later in October that year, Politoni played for Tonga in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against the Cook Islands for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.