Playing Career
Vital Statistics
- Born
- Thursday, 9th July, 1970
- Died
- Saturday, 18th May, 2019 (Aged 48 years and 314 days)
- Place Of Birth
- Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Known Family Links
- Grandfather
- Jim Calder
Biography
Kiwi prop came to Canberra from the C’bury (NZ) club in 1993. After securing a place on the 1993-94 Kiwi tour of England and France, Pongia added much-needed muscle to the Canberra pack in the Raiders' grand final win over C’bury in 1994. Following his return to Auckland to play with the Warriors in 1998 Pongia captained the Kiwis in the Third Test of the Trans-Tasman series but the move was short-lived and he returned to Australia to play for Easts in 1999. Named NZ captain for the ANZac Test that year he withdrew from the fixture after being injured in a club match. Injury also saw Pongia miss out on the Tri Nations competition in 1999 and, after returning from a seven match suspension in early 2000, a torn muscle injury saw him miss the remainder of the domestic season. After representing NZ in the World Cup Pongia’s club appearances were limited to just three matches in 2001. Released by the Roosters he sought a two-year deal with the London Broncos but the deal fell through and he joined Chaitillon of Paris as captain-coach. After a disastrous start to the season he moved to the south of France with Villeneuve. Pongia was a member of the team that won the French Cup in 2003 and he linked with Wigan in the English Super League where he contested the Challenge Cup final. Pongia played in 35 Tests between 1992 and 2000.
- ALAN WHITICKER
Playing Career Statistics
All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.
To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.
Competitions | ||||||||||||||
Competition | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tour Matches | New Zealand | 15 | - | - | - | - | 10 | 4 | 1 | 66.67% | List | |||
World Cup | 9 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 77.78% | List | ||||
Test Series | 19 | - | - | - | - | 9 | 7 | 3 | 47.37% | List | ||||
Challenge Cup AU | 7 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71.43% | List | ||||
NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL Premiership | 137 | 6 | - | - | 24 | 85 | 50 | 2 | 62.04% | List | ||||
NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL Finals | 12 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 41.67% | List | ||||
Anzac Tests | 2 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | List | ||||
Super League | 25 | - | - | - | - | 17 | 6 | 2 | 68.00% | List | ||||
Super League Finals | 4 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00% | List | ||||
Challenge Cup | 5 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 1 | 0 | 80.00% | List | ||||
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Test Matches - By Team | ||||||||||||||
Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
New Zealand | 1992-93, 1995-98, 2000 | 35 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 57.14% | List | |||
World Cup Matches - By Team | ||||||||||||||
Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
New Zealand | 1992, 1995, 2000 | 9 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 77.78% | List | |||
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NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL Premiership - By Year | ||||||||||||||
Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
Canberra | NSWRL 1993 | 18 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 66.67% | List | |||
Canberra | NSWRL 1994 | 20 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 85.00% | List | |||
Canberra | ARL 1995 | 12 | - | - | - | - | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
Canberra | ARL 1996 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 4 | 1 | 50.00% | List | |||
Canberra | Super League 1997 | 14 | - | - | - | - | 8 | 6 | 0 | 57.14% | List | |||
Auckland | NRL 1998 | 18 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 11 | 0 | 38.89% | List | |||
Sydney City | NRL 1999 | 21 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 61.90% | List | |||
Sydney | NRL 2000 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | |||
Sydney | NRL 2001 | 19 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 42.11% | List | |||
St George Illawarra | NRL 2003 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | List | |||
NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL Premiership - By Team | ||||||||||||||
Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
Canberra | 1993-97 | 74 | 3 | - | - | 12 | 54 | 19 | 1 | 72.97% | List | |||
Auckland | 1998 | 18 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 11 | 0 | 38.89% | List | |||
Sydney City | 1999-01 | 43 | 3 | - | - | 12 | 23 | 19 | 1 | 53.49% | List | |||
St George Illawarra | 2003 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | List | |||
Overall | 1993-2003 | 137 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 85 | 50 | 2 | 62.04% | List | |||
English Career - By Year | ||||||||||||||
Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
Wigan | 2003 | 16 | - | - | - | - | 15 | 4 | 1 | 93.75% | List | |||
Wigan | 2004 | 14 | - | - | - | - | 9 | 4 | 1 | 64.29% | List | |||
English Career - By Team | ||||||||||||||
Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
Wigan | 2003-04 | 30 | - | - | - | - | 21 | 7 | 2 | 70.00% | List |
Contributions:
Rugby League Tables, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, AJ Lucantonio, Alan Katzmann, Terry Liberopoulos, Bill Bates, Paul Carter, Greg Fiveash, Cymru RL
Sources:
David Middleton's Rugby League Yearbook (1987-88 to present), Richard Bailey's Rugby League World, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook (1981-82 to 1999)
Your Say
04/03/2019
Amazing person truly beautiful heart and soul. Exspecially off the field !! I have known him since he was 17years old watched him grow into the true gentleman he is. But on the field the hardest worker and so focused on his game. I have never seen him not sign something for fans always made time. If you don’t know him he would shake your hand and have a conversation. He would leave people better than he found them ????
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