Born and bred in Mangere, Taumalolo moved to Townsville at the age of 12 and entered a scholarship with the Cowboys.
He’s eligible to play for Queensland and Australia, representing the state at junior level and also appearing for Australian schoolboys.
But he declared his allegiance to New Zealand early and his debut has been eagerly awaited by those who see him as the “next Sonny Bill Williams”.
He helped the Cowboys to the 2011 NYC Grand Final, where they lost by golden point to the NZ Warriors.
Became the youngest player (17 years, two months & 1 days) to make his first-grade debut for the Cowboys in 2010 and was named the Rugby League Players Association NYC Player of the Year the following year.
He played for the Juinior Kiwis in 2010-12 and was a non-playing reserve for the senior side for the 2012 Anzac Test, but represented Tonga at the 2013 World Cup.
Finally took the field for the Kiwis for the 2014 Four Nations, playing all four games en route to the title.
Taumalolo was a key performer for the Cowboys in their 2016 NRL premiership triumph and stood out individually in 2016, winning RLPA Player of the Year and sharing the Dally M Medal with Melbourne’s Cooper Cronk.
He was also Cowboys Player of the Year.
Achievements
- NZ Kiwis 2014, 17
- Four Nations 2016
- World Cups 2013 (Tonga)
- Tonga 2013
- NZ Junior Kiwis 2012
