Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (born 5 September 2001), also known by the nickname of "Hammer", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow
Tabuai-Fidow in 2022
Personal information
Born (2001-09-05) 5 September 2001
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight89 kg (14 st 0 lb)
Playing information
PositionFullback, Centre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2020–22 North Qld Cowboys 50 21 0 0 84
2023– Dolphins 20 15 0 0 60
Total 70 36 0 0 144
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2021–23 Queensland 4 5 0 0 20
2022 Indigenous All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
2022 Samoa 1 0 0 0 0
2023 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
2023 Australia 2 2 0 0 8
Source: [1]
As of 14 October 2023

He has also played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL, Queensland in the State of Origin series, as well as Samoa and Australia at international level. Tabuai-Fidow can also play as a centre and wing.

Background

Born and raised in Cairns, Queensland to an Indigenous Australian Torres Strait Islander mother and a Samoan father,[2][3] Tabuai-Fidow played his junior rugby league for the Cairns Kangaroos. He also played junior Australian rules football, being named one of the best in AFL Cape York's Crusaders and Peninsula representatives teams in the 2013 Queensland state underage championships[4] and after a best on ground performance for Cairns Hawks in an AFL Cairns under-15s grand final at Cazalys Stadium in 2016[5] was signed up to the Gold Coast Suns Academy.[6] The Suns unsuccessfully attempted to relocate him to the Gold Coast however he continued with the Suns Far North Queensland Academy in Cairns before accepting a scholarship to play rugby union for Brisbane Grammar School.[7] While living in Brisbane, Tabuai-Fidow was a member of the Queensland Reds rugby union development squad before being signed by the North Queensland Cowboys rugby league club in 2017.[8] His schooling was completed at Kirwan State High School in Townsville.

Playing career

Early career (2018-2019)

In 2018, Tabuai-Fidow played for the Cairns-based Northern Pride's Mal Meninga Cup team, scoring five tries in seven games.[9] In 2019, he moved to Townsville, joined the North Queensland under-20 squad, and played for the Townsville Blackhawks Mal Meninga Cup team, where he scored 13 tries in six games. Following the Mal Meninga Cup competition, he started at fullback for the Queensland under-18 team in their win over New South Wales.[10][11]

He then moved up to the Blackhawks' Hastings Deering Colts side, where he scored eight tries in five games. In June 2019, he re-signed with the North Queensland side until the end of the 2022 season.[12] On 29 September 2019, he started at centre for the Australian Schoolboys, scoring two tries in their win over the Junior Kiwis.[13]

North Queensland Cowboys (2020-2022)

In 2020, Tabuai-Fidow joined the North Queensland Cowboys NRL squad and was a member of their 2020 NRL Nines winning side, finishing the tournament as the equal leading try scorer.[14]

In round 5 of the 2020 NRL season, Tabuai-Fidow made his NRL debut against the New Zealand Warriors, setting up two tries in a 26–37 loss.[15][16] In round 7, he scored his first NRL try in a 32–20 win over the Newcastle Knights.[17] In his rookie season, Tabuai-Fidow played 14 games and scored six tries. On 3 October, he was named the North Queensland club's Rookie of the Year.[18]

Tabuai-Fidow playing for the North Queensland Cowboys in 2021

2021

Tabuai-Fidow was selected by Queensland for game 3 of the 2021 State of Origin series which Queensland won 20-18.[19]

On 21 July, it was announced that Tabuai-Fidow would be out for six weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.[20]

2022

In round 13 of the 2022 NRL season, he scored two tries for North Queensland in a 32-6 victory over the Gold Coast.[21]

Tabuai-Fidow played 23 games for North Queensland throughout the year and scored seven tries. He played in both of the clubs finals games including their preliminary final loss against Parramatta at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium. On 5 October, he signed a two-year deal to join the newly admitted Dolphins side starting in 2023.[22]

In October, Tabuai-Fidow was named in the Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup and played one game late 2022 in England.[23]

Dolphins (2023-present)

In round 1 of the 2023 NRL season, Tabuai-Fidow scored the first try in the Dolphins' NRL history.[24] The following week, he scored two tries as the Dolphins defeated Canberra 20–14.[25]

In round 6, Tabuai-Fidow scored two tries in the Dolphins' 32–22 victory over his former club, the North Queensland Cowboys, at Queensland Country Bank Stadium and became the second player in first-grade Australian Rugby League history to score at least one try in each of the first six games of their team's inaugural season, after Eastern Suburbs winger Horrie Miller in the 1908 NSWRFL season.

Prior to round 8, the Dolphins extended Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow's contract until at least the end of the 2027 season.[26] In Round 9, he scored a try in the Dolphins 30-31 loss to the Canberra Raiders at McDonalds Park, Wagga Wagga.[27] In round 10 against the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks at Suncorp Stadium, Tabuai-Fidow scored a try for the Dolphins in their 36–16 victory.[28]

In May, Tabuai-Fidow was selected to play for Queensland as a centre in Game I of the 2023 State of Origin series against New South Wales on 31 May at Adelaide Oval in South Australia.[29] In the series opener, Tabuai-Fidow scored two tries as Queensland defeated New South Wales 26–18.[30]

Tabuai-Fidow holds a number of first tryscorer records for the Dolphins by virtue of playing in their inaugural season. He is the first Dolphin to score in an NRL game, the first Dolphin to score at home venues Suncorp Stadium and Kayo Stadium, and the first Dolphin to score in a representative game (Game 1 of the 2023 State of Origin series).

In October, Tabuai-Fidow was selected to play for Australia in the 2023 Pacific Championships.[31][32]

Achievements and accolades

Individual

Statistics

NRL
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2020 North Queensland 146———24
2021 138———32
2022 237———28
2023 Dolphins 2015———60
Career totals 70 36 144
Source[34]

References
  1. "Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow - Playing Career - Summary". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. "NRL 2020: Perth NRL Nines, young kids to watch, Cory Paix, Harley Smith-Shields, Jayden Sullivan". 14 February 2020.
  3. Brad Walter (10 December 2020). "Hammer aims to nail centre spot for Cowboys, Indigenous All Stars". nrl.com.au.
  4. Peninsula win Country Pool from AFL Cairns 31 July 2013
  5. Former coach: NQ Cowboys flyer could have made AFL from Cairns Post 21 February 2020
  6. "NQ Cowboys flyer could have made AFL". 21 February 2020.
  7. "Cowboys talent Hamiso Tabaui-Fidow has sckills of Matt Bowen, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis in one". www.cairnspost.com.au.
  8. "Couriermail.com.au | Subscribe to The Courier Mail for exclusive stories". www.couriermail.com.au.
  9. "Subscribe to the Cairns Post". www.cairnspost.com.au.
  10. "Queensland Under 18 team named". Queensland Rugby League. 26 May 2019.
  11. "Couriermail.com.au | Subscribe to The Courier Mail for exclusive stories". www.couriermail.com.au.
  12. "Hamiso wins new Cowboys deal and thanks Bowen". Queensland Rugby League. 1 June 2019.
  13. "Dailytelegraph.com.au | Subscribe to The Daily Telegraph for exclusive stories". www.dailytelegraph.com.au.
  14. "Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow's Perth Nines tries" – via www.cowboys.com.au.
  15. "NRL team list: Round 5 v Warriors". North Queensland Cowboys. 9 June 2020.
  16. "Holmes hurt as Warriors overrun Cowboys". NRL. 12 June 2020.
  17. "Cowboys click into gear to to[sic] take down Knights". NRL. 27 June 2020.
  18. "2020 Presentation Night: Live Updates". NQ Cowboys. 2 October 2020.
  19. "Green's rookie call pays off big time... but questions remain over Origin future". www.foxsports.com.au.
  20. "Cowboys star out for six weeks after surgery, Reason Roosters star was dropped". www.foxsports.com.au.
  21. "Hammer blows: Tabuai-Fidow strikes twice as Cowboys take down Titans". www.nrl.com.
  22. "North Queensland young gun Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow leaves Cowboys for Dolphins". wwos.nine.com.au.
  23. "Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021". LoveRugbyLeague. 4 October 2022.
  24. "Hammer etched into Dolphins history". www.dolphinsnrl.com.au.
  25. "NRL Saturday AS IT HAPPENED: Craig Bellamy goes 'nuclear' as Dogs shock Storm; Dolphins fairytale rolls on in dramatic victory over Raiders". wwos.nine.com.au.
  26. "2023 NRL Signings Tracker: Patolo's new Dogs deal; Warbrick extends at Storm" (Press release). National Rugby League. 2 June 2023.
  27. "Raiders v Dolphins". National Rugby League.
  28. "Sharks v Dolphins". National Rugby League.
  29. "Queensland Maroons Game I team confirmed". Queensland Rugby League. 21 May 2023.
  30. "State of Origin 2023 Game 1: Queensland beat NSW 26-18 – as it happened". www.theguardian.com.
  31. https://www.nrl.com/news/2023/10/03/kangaroos-name-five-debutants-in-pacific-championships-squad/
  32. https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/other/australia-vs-samoa-kangaroos-prove-far-too-strong-in-pacific-championships-opener/ar-AA1icHuz?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=75cf80c032fb41efb79a7d9dbedd35bf&ei=15
  33. https://www.dolphinsnrl.com.au/news/2023/09/07/emotional-isaako-sweeps-dolphins-awards/
  34. "Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project.
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