Wellington Albert


Wellington Albert is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, on loan to Featherstone Rovers in the Championship and Papua New Guinea at international level.
He previously played for the Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Championship and asked to leave the Widnes Vikings after they went into administration.

Background

Albert was born in Mendi, Southern Highlands in Papua New Guinea. He is the elder brother of fellow PNG international Stanton Albert.

Playing career

He played for the Mendi Muruks and the Lae Snax Tigers in the PNGNRL before being selected to represent Papua New Guinea at the 2013 World Cup. He played for the Kumuls in their pre-tournament match against Scotland, where he scored a try. His only match of the tournament was against New Zealand on 8 November 2013, where he again scored a try.
On 12 December 2013, Albert was named in the Papua New Guinea Hunters' squad for their inaugural 2014 season in the Queensland Cup, though he later signed a two-year deal with the Penrith Panthers starting in 2014. He was the second Papua New Guinean player to be signed by an NRL club without having played junior rugby league in Australia.
Albert played 5 games for the Panthers' NYC team in 2014 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. In 2015, Albert moved into the Panthers' NSW Cup team. On 2 May 2015, he represented Papua New Guinea in the 2015 Melanesian Cup against Fiji.

Personal life

In 2014, Albert started an economics degree at the University of Western Sydney. His brother Stanton has returned to Papua New Guinea from England to play for the PNG Hunters team in the Queensland Cup in 2018.