Malakai Watene Zelezniak

Club

_Retired Rugby

Position

Winger

Nationality

Australia

Date of birth

1991-08-28

Birthplace

Sydney, NSW

Height

1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)

Weight

94 kg

Malakai Watene-Zelezniak (born 27 August 1991) is a former rugby league footballer who played on the wing. He played for the Penrith Panthers in two separate spells, and the Wests Tigers in the NRL.
Watene-Zelezniak was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is of Māori, Tongan and Polish descent. At 2 years old he moved Hamilton, New Zealand, and returned to Sydney at 9 years old.
He played his junior rugby league for the St Clair Comets. He attended St. Dominic’s College, Penrith.
Watene-Zelezniak is the great-grandson of former New Zealand rugby league captain and politician, Steve Watene. Watene-Zelezniak is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Malakai is the older brother of Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Fullback Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
Watene-Zelezniak briefly played rugby union for the New South Wales Country Eagles in the National Rugby Championship.