Lopini Paea is an Australian rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 player of Tongan descent who currently plays for the Catalans Dragons

Catalans Dragons

The Catalans Dragons are a French professional rugby league club based in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales. They currently play in the Super League, and are the only team in the competition from outside of the United Kingdom...

 in the European Super League. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters

Sydney Roosters

The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...

 in the National Rugby League

National Rugby League

The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

. His position of choice is at second-row forward

Rugby league positions

A rugby league football team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Players are divided into two general categories: "forwards" and "backs"....

.
Lopini Paea attended Sarah Redfern High School.
Paea played junior league for Minto Cobras

Paea has represented on several occasions for the Tonga

Tonga

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

n national team with his most recent international games during the 2007 Junior Kangaroos tour, in which Paea also captained the Tongan side.

In August 2008, Lopini Paea was named in the Tonga training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup

2008 Rugby League World Cup

The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...

, and in October 2008 he was named in the final 24-man Tonga squad.

He is the brother of Canterbury/Bankstown Bulldogs Player Mickey Paea

Mickey Paea

Mickey Paea is an Australian rugby league player of Tongan descent who currently plays for the Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League competition.-Playing career:...

 & Lelea Paea

Lelea Paea

Lelea Paea born is an Australian rugby union player of Tongan descent who currently plays for the Coca Cola West Red Sparks. He usually plays Centre, but has played in Wing at times throughout his career...

.

Career highlights

• First-grade debut: Round 15, 2003, against the Cronulla Sharks
  Cronulla Sharks
  The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
  
  
• Representing Tongan National Team
• Captaining Tongan National Team
• 2007Junior Kangaroos tour

External links

• Lopini Paea Sydney Roosters player profile