Ata Hingano


Mafoa'aeata "Ata" Hingano is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Mackay Cutters in the Queensland Cup.
He has played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League.

Background

Hingano was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Tongan descent. He attended Pakuranga College.

Playing career

Early career

He played his junior rugby league for the Pakuranga Jaguars, before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors.
From 2014 to 2016, Hingano played for the New Zealand Warriors' NYC team. On 12 December 2014, he re-signed with the Warriors on a 2-year contract until the end of 2016. In 2015 he also spent some time with the Warriors' NSW Cup team.

2016

In 2016, Hingano played for the Warriors at the 2016 Auckland Nines. He also spent some time with the Warriors' Under-20's and Intrust Super Premiership NSW teams.
On 7 May, Hingano played at halfback for the Junior Kiwis against the Junior Kangaroos, scoring two tries in the Kiwis' 20-34 loss. In round 24 of the 2016 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Warriors against the North Queensland Cowboys, coming on at five eighth from the interchange bench.

2017

Hingano signed a three-year contact with the Warriors, until the end of the 2020 season.
At the end of the year, he was selected to play for Tonga in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. He was the starting halfback in every match of the tournament including their semi-final loss to England.

2018

On 28 February 2018, Hingano was released by the New Zealand Warriors to join the Canberra Raiders.
He also retained his place in the Tonga squad as halfback for their historic first Test match against the Australian Kangaroos on October 20, but left the field with a dislocated shoulder early in the match.

2019

Hingano made no appearances for Canberra in the 2019 NRL season. Hingano instead played for Canberra's feeder club Mounties in the Canterbury Cup NSW competition. Hingano played for Mounties in their elimination final loss against Newtown at Campbelltown Stadium.
On 13 October, it was announced that Hingano had been released by Canberra. However, it was later revealed that Hingano would remain with the club as part of the development squad in 2020, before his release was once again confirmed two weeks later.
On 16 December, he signed with the Mackay Cutters for the 2020 Queensland Cup season.