Former Penrith Panthers hooker Masada Iosefa has passed away following a quad bike accident in Darwin last night.
Iosefa was due to turn 33 today.
The former Samoan international played 43 games for Penrith across four seasons from 2008 until 2011, including a match in the 2010 Finals.
He switched to the Wests Tigers for the 2012 and 2013 NRL seasons, playing a further 14 matches, but his first grade career ended after that.
Last night’s accident happened in Herbert, about 40km from the Darwin CBD, at about 9.15pm last night.
The quad bike Iosefa was riding rolled, with crash investigators working to determine the exact cause of the crash.
In recent times Iosefa had been employed as a youth worker.
Former Penrith teammate Frank Pritchard has lead tributes online, saying Iosefa was “tough as nails” in an emotional Instagram post.
“Always went hard without any preservation for his body,” Pritchard said.
“Never took a step back to any situation. Always had my back from the get-go.”
Luke Lewis offered condolences to his family, saying: “Saddened to hear the news this morning. May he rest in peace.”
Troy Dodds is the Weekender’s Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.
