Atu Bosenavulagi


Atunaisa "Atu" Bosenavulagi is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Early football

Bosenavulagi played junior football for the Boroondara Hawks in the Yarra Junior Football League, helping them win the premiership in 2017. Bosenavulagi also played under-18s football for the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup, before getting selected by Collingwood. In his junior years, Bosenavulagi represented Australia as a junior representative in rugby sevens, as well as playing Australian rules football. He played for the Oakleigh Chargers 9 games in 2017, while juggling both codes, seeing him often play football on Saturday and rugby on Sunday. In 2018, he played all 18 games for the Oakleigh Chargers, kicking 15 goals, and helping lead them to the Grand Final, which they lost to the Dandenong Stingrays by four points.

AFL career

Bosenavulagi was part of Collingwood's Next Generation Academy. The club drafted him to their Australian Football League squad with the 77th draft pick in the 2018 AFL draft. He debuted for Collingwood in Round 6 of the 2020 AFL season, in the club's 32-point victory over Hawthorn, collecting 16 disposals, taking four marks, and laying one tackle. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, his debut was in a game with no fans, meaning his mother, Meri, couldn't attend the game, making it only the third game of his that she missed.

Personal life

Bosenavulagi was born in Fiji in the Sawani village in the Naitasiri Province, and has Fijian heritage. He is the great-nephew of Collingwood's cheer squad leader, Joffa Corfe, who is married to Bosnavulagi's grandma's sister, but Bosenavulagi refers to Corfe as 'grandpa'. Despite Corfe's efforts, Bosenavulagi grew up supporting the Western Bulldogs. Bosenavulagi's father, Atu, played rugby in Fiji and continued when the family moved to Australia in 2003. Bosenvulagi was educated at Christian Brothers College in Melbourne.