Marly Bitungane

Emarly Bitungane (born 27 October 2002) is a Tanzanian-born rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Marly Bitungane

Personal information
Full name	Emarly Bitungane
Born	(2002-10-27) 27 October 2002 (age 22) Tanzania[1]
Playing information
Position	Prop
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2025– Nth Qld Cowboys 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [2] As of 10 August 2025

Background

Bitungane was born in Tanzania to Burundian parents. In 2007 he moved to Australia, growing up in Woodridge, Queensland.^[3][4]

He played his junior rugby league for Logan Brothers and attended Woodridge State High School and St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace.^[5]

Playing career

Early career

In 2019 and 2020, Bitungane played for the Easts Tigers in the Mal Meninga Cup.^[6][7]

In 2021, after playing for the Tigers in the Hastings Deering Colts and spending a year in the Melbourne Storm's junior system, Bitungane signed with the North Queensland Cowboys, joining their Young Guns program.^[8][9] In 2022, he played for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Colts competition, playing in their Grand Final win over the Redcliffe Dolphins.^[10]

In 2023, Bitungane moved up to the Queensland Cup, playing nine games for Townsville. On 24 October 2023, he was upgrade to an NRL development contract with the Cowboys.^[11] In 2024, he moved to the Northern Pride, playing 19 games.^[12]

2025

In Round 22 of the 2025 NRL season, Bitungane made his NRL debut against the Cronulla Sharks.^[13]