Born: August 20, 1980 - Apia, Samoa
Test record: 14 Tests (2001-04) - 6 tries (24 points)
Tours: 2002 tour of Britain and France, 2004 Tri Nations
Powerhouse Warriors winger Francis Meli scored tries in 14 Tests for New Zealand during the first half of the 2000s.
Born in Apia, Meli was a City-Marist junior and still only 18 when he made his NRL debut for the Warriors as a centre against South Sydney in 1999. He made a pair of tryscoring appearances on the wing later that season but could only managed two top-grade games in 2000 before representing Samoa in the World Cup at the end of the year.
Meli enjoyed a breakout season in 2001, cementing a wing spot and scoring 11 tries for the finals-bound Warriors. He played in both of the Kiwis' Test fixtures, debuting in a win over France and scoring a try in a loss to Australia.
The 22-year-old featured in the Warriors' historic 2002 grand final charge (ending with a loss to Sydney Roosters), then featured in all five Tests on the Kiwis' tour of Britain and France. He scored a hat-trick in a 50-22 win over Wales and dotted down in the 14-all draw in the second Test against Great Britain at Huddersfield.
Meli rewrote the record books at club level in 2003, smashes the Warriors' mark for most tries in a season with 23 and bagging an all-time finals record five tries in a memorable victory over the Bulldogs. He was subsequently named the Warriors' Player of the Year and buried the disappointment of New Zealand 48-6 midyear loss to Australia by lining up in the 30-16 victory over the Kangaroos at North Harbour at season's end.
While the Warriors imploded in 2004, Meli topped the club's tryscoring charts again with 10 in 16 games and played five Tests for New Zealand - the Anzac Test loss to Australia and all four matches of the end-of-season Tri Nations campaign.
Meli left the Warriors at the end of 2005 after 110 appearances and 60 tries, joining Super League heavyweights St Helens for a decorated eight-season stay that garnered 145 tries from 224 games, a grand final win in 2006 and three straight Challenge Cup triumphs.
He featured in Samoa's 2008 World Cup campaign - scoring two tries in three matches - and represented his nation of birth against New Zealand and Tonga in 2010.
Meli retired in 2014 after a sole season with Salford City, in which he crossed for 14 tries in 18 games.