Dolphins lock up Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow with huge contract upgrade

3 years ago - Sportingbase

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is now set to play on with the Redcliffe Dolphins until at least the end of the 2027 NRL season after the Queensland expansion club extended his deal—and on significantly more money too.

The Dolphins fullback, known across the NRL as the “The Hammer,” was already signed up to 2024 with the Redcliffe outfit. The new deal stretches it out a further three years.

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Tabuai-Fidow will now earn up to $800,000 a season between 2024 and 2027.

The increased pay and extended term come amid a blistering run of form for The Hammer. The 21-year-old, who requested an early exit from the Cowboys to join the Dolphins project, has scored eight tries in seven games for the team and starred in their four wins.

On top of that, he’s got two try assists, 31 tackle busts, four line breaks, and 1,130 running metres across his first 560 minutes of Dolphins footy.

The fullback’s extension follows Wayne Bennett and the Redcliffe powerbrokers already re-signing hooker Jeremy Marshall-King—another star enjoying a breakout year—and back-rower Connelly Lemuelu.

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Before his shift to Redcliffe, the 21-year-old played 50 games for the North Queensland Cowboys between 2020 and 2022. He played a majority of his games in his last Cowboys season on the wing. He was crowned North Queensland’s Rookie of the Year in 2020.

In the past two years, he has made several representative debuts, including a game for Queensland in State of Origin in 2021 and a test cap for Samoa at the Rugby League World Cup.

Last year, he represented the Indigenous All Stars in a 16-10 loss to the Māori All Stars in Parramatta.

After his move, Tabuai-Fidow became the second player in first-grade Australia Rugby League to score a try in each of a club’s first half-dozen games. Before that, it had only been done by Horrie Miller in 1908 for Eastern Suburbs (now the Roosters).

“It was a big call to get out of my comfort zone and test myself at the Dolphins, but I’ve enjoyed coming down here and the club has been welcoming. It’s been great,” Tabuai-Fidow said of his move up north. “I came to the Dolphins with no real pressure, I just tried to play my natural way and Wayne Bennett has supported me with that.

The Dolphins fullback added with confidence: “It’s been a good move.”

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