‘Just go out and play footy’: Tabuai-Fidow reveals coach’s advice to keep powering on

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, a revelation for the Maroons, has divulged the advice that NRL super-coach Wayne Bennett gave him that helped him unlock his tryscoring prowess and return to the form that had him hailed as one of the most promising up-and-comers in rugby league.

Tabuai-Fidow has been in sublime touch as the Dolphins' debut fullback in the midst of a campaign that has lots of Cowboys fans doubting their club's move to release the Cairns Kangaroos junior. This is because Tabuai-Fidow was the Cairns Kangaroos' junior before he was traded to the Dolphins.

Tabuai-Fidow has always been a standout as a fullback, and he has scored a plethora of tries by combining his raw speed, deft technique, and brute force at every stage of his career. When he was a teenager, he was a sprinting wonder, and he excelled at three different types of football.

In 2023, he's taken that to a new level as one of the main reasons the Dolphins are off to a strong start in the NRL for the first time in franchise history.

Despite just playing 14 games so far this season, Tabuai-Fidow has already scored 14 tries, which is only seven tries short of what he scored in 50 games for North Queensland.

While the Maroons were in Cairns, the winger told this masthead that master coach Wayne Bennett was the reason his junior Kangaroos team was so successful.

Tabuai-Fidow remarked, "Wayne has been good to me with that; he tells me to just go out and play footy."

Having the kind of preparation I envisioned having and knowing I could play well this year were likely contributing factors.

When I'm having fun playing soccer, my performance improves.

I think the future has promise if I can keep on having fun with it.

Channel 9 will offer a look at Tabuai-Fidow's journey to the NRL during their broadcast of State of Origin on Wednesday night. During the Maroons' trip to the tropics, a video crew followed Tabuai-Fidow for parts of his time in Cairns.

He began his career in rugby league with the Kangaroos, the same team for which current Cowboys player and fellow Maroons rising star Jeremiah Nanai played in his youth.

Former players for the Maroons include Justin Hodges, who played 24 Origins for Queensland during the course of his 254-game NRL career, and Gavin Allen, who played eight games for the Maroons, including in the infamous 3-0 drubbing by the "Neville Nobodies" in 1995.

Tabuai-Fidow's return to his hometown as a Maroon is a sobering event for him.

Tabuai-Fidow began his junior career at the club. "I started my junior career at the club.

Coming full circle is like a dream.

"Darren Archer coached me in junior high, and Francis Stephen coached me in high school.

It was amazing to be back in the place where I grew up.

It was awesome to have the fan day and see so many people come out despite the rain.

Up north, football is a way of life; locals wouldn't give it up for the world.

I still have to remind myself that I wasn't a dreamer when I saw the young fans cheering for us from the sidelines.

Indeed, "it's pretty special."

Tabuai-Fidow is a great talent, according to Queensland captain Daly Cherry-Evans.

"It's hard to put words into what he's done so quickly," Cherry-Evans remarked.

I've been looking up to playing with Hammer because we all knew he was a fantastic talent from his time with the Queensland Cowboys, but I've been blown away by how far he's come with the Dolphins and how vital he's been in this series.

It's hard not to root for Hammer right now, even though he's playing for the Dolphins.

While Tabuai-Fidow has been at his most dominant at fullback, the 21-year-old isn't worried about playing in the center position again as the Maroons try to win the Origin series 3-0.

After all, he played there in 2019 for the Australian Schoolboys, and he's started 16 of his 70 total games there.

Tabuai-Fidow never considered asking coach Billy Slater to put the No. 1 on his back when Broncos goaltender Reece Walsh was suspended and Kalyn Ponga elected to focus on club football at Newcastle.

Having played center for the past two games, he is "happy" in that position and has no plans to switch to fullback.

We've had a couple of injuries, so I'm willing to try my hand at any position in this team for the time being.

I'd rather be the No. 1, but if the coach needs me at the center, I'll gladly step up to the plate.