Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Jacob Laban | |||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Motoʻotua, Samoa | 17 April 2004|||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Jacob Laban (born 17 April 2004) is a Samoan rugby league player who plays as a second-row for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).
Background
Laban was born in Moto'otua near Apia in Samoa before his family moved to Wellington, New Zealand in 2008 when he was four years old. Related to Wellington rugby league identity Ken Laban, he played his junior rugby league for the Randwick Kingfishers, a club synonymous with New Zealand rugby league great Stephen Kearney. He was educated at St Bernard's College, which boasts former Kiwis and New Zealand Warriors players Ben Matulino and Issac Luke among its former pupils. Sam Tagataese, Earl Va'a and Sione Katoa also went to St Bernard's.[2]
Playing career
In 2019, Laban was named College Sport Wellington's rugby league player of the year before moving to Auckland in 2021 to complete his studies at Kelston Boys' High School and to prepare for the next step of his rugby league career with the Warriors. While at Kelston Boys' High, Laban was named the College Sport Auckland 2021 Young Sports Person of the Year for rugby league.[3]
He was based in Redcliffe with the New Zealand Warriors in 2022, making appearances for feeder club Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup's under-18 and under-20 teams. He started the 2023 season with the club's SG Ball Cup (under-19) team and also appeared in the NRL trial against the Wests Tigers in February while developing his game in the New South Wales Cup. In 15 games he scored four tries while averaging 77 metres and 24 tackles a game. For the Warriors' round 27 match of the 2023 NRL season against the Dolphins, Laban was initially named as 19th man.
Laban made his first grade debut in his side's 34−4 victory over the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 5 of the 2024 NRL season.
References
- ^ "Jacob Laban - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project".
- ^ Miller, Scott (7 April 2024). "KIWI-NRL SPOTLIGHT: THE JACOB LABAN DEBUT FOR NZ WARRIORS". The Niche Cache.
- ^ O'Loughlin, Liam (29 November 2023). "NRL contract news: Warriors rookies Jacob Laban and Zyon Maiu'u sign two-year extensions". The Sporting News.