Taliah Fuimaono
Australia international rugby league footballer

Taliah Fuimaono
Personal information
Born (1999-05-11) 11 May 1999 (age 26)
Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
Height171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight73 kg (11 st 7 lb)
Playing information
PositionFive-eighth, Hooker, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2021–22 St George Illawarra Dragons 13 1 0 0 4
2023–2025 Gold Coast Titans 16 3 0 0 12
2026 St George Illawarra Dragons 0 0 0 0 0
Total 29 4 0 0 16
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022–25 Indigenous All Stars 4 0 0 0 0
2019–25 Samoa 3 0 0 0 0
2022 Australia 3 1 0 0 4
2023–24 New South Wales 5 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2][3]
As of 09 December 2025

Taliah Fuimaono (born 11 May 1999) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays primarily as a five-eighth for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL Women’s Premiership (NRLW). She has played club football for the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Gold Coast Titans.

At the representative level, Fuimaono has played for Samoa and Australia internationally, and for New South Wales in State of Origin. She has also represented the Indigenous All Stars.

Personal life

Fuimaono was born in Penrith, New South Wales on 11 May 1999.[4] She is of Indigenous Australian and Samoan descent.[5]

Career

Fuimaono played junior rugby league for the St Clair Comets.[4]

2019

Fuimaono was selected to make her test debut for Samoa against New Zealand at halfback. Samoa lost the test 46–8 at Mount Smart Stadium.[6]

2022

Fuimaono made her Indigenous All Stars debut in the annual clash against the Maori All Stars playing off the bench in the 18–8 victory at CommBank Stadium.[7]

Fuimaono signed with St. George Illawarra Dragons for the delayed 2021 NRL Women's Premiership. She and her older brother Tyrell Fuimaono became the first ever brother and sister to represent the same club.[8]

She debuted for the Dragons on 27 February 2022 in a 20–12 win over the Gold Coast Titans at McDonald Jones Stadium.[9] She played all seven games in the St. George Illawarra Dragons' run to the 2021 Grand Final, in all of which she played at five-eighth, including the 16-4 Grand Final loss to the Sydney Roosters at Moreton Daily Stadium.[citation needed]

At the RLPA Player Awards for the 2021 season, she was named RLPA five-eighth of the year,[10] along with several of her St. George Illawarra Dragons teammates: Emma Verran, Jaime Chapman, Teagan Berry, Rachael Pearson and Elsie Albert.[citation needed]

In July 2022, the Dragons finalized their squad for the 2022 season, retaining Fuimaono in the Team.[11]

In the 2022 season, Fuimaono started at five-eighth in the season-opening 26–12 win over the Gold Coast Titans at WIN Stadium. Fuimaono would go on to show her versatility during the campaign, playing five-eighth, centre, and lock.[12][13]

She scored her first NRLW try in Round 5 of the 2022 season, playing in the centers in the St George Illawarra Dragons' 30–8 loss to eventual premiers the Newcastle Knights at Central Coast Stadium.[14]

In October, Fuimaono was selected in the Australia squad for the 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup in the UK.[15]

On 2 November 2022, Fuimaono made her debut for the Australian National Team in the Rugby World Cup match against the Cook Islands, scoring a try in the 74–0 shutout at LNER Community Stadium in York. Fuimaono came off the bench in jersey number 19.[16]

Fuimaono played two more games in the tournament in her preferred position of five-eighth, firstly in the 92-0 shutout against France and then in the 82-0 semi-final win over Papua New Guinea.[17][18]

2023

On 5 April 2023, Fuimaono signed with the Gold Coast Titans on a three-year deal, after being unsigned by the St George Illawarra Dragons.[19] Fuimaono was signed to a marquee contract.

In May, Fuimaono was selected to make her Origin debut for New South Wales against Queensland in Game 1 of the 2023 series, which saw New South Wales suffer an 18–10 loss at CommBank Stadium. Fuimaono started in the centers in jumper number 14.[20][21]

In the second game of the 2023 series, Fuimaono played five-eighth, partnering Jesse Southwell in the halves. New South Wales won the match 18–14 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.[22]

On 2 July 2023, in the opening game of the 2023 NRL Women's Premiership season, Fuimaono made her debut for the Gold Coast Titans in a 16–6 win over NRL Women's Premiership debutants the North Queensland Cowboys. Fuimaono sustained an Achilles' tendon injury during the game, leading her to miss the remaining season.[23]

By the end of the regular season, Fuimaono was to return from her injury. As the Titans finished in third place, qualifying for the finals, coach Karyn Murphy had to decide if Fuimaono would play.[24] But with the Titans winning, Murphy was reluctant to change the team.

The Titans went on to play the 2023 Grand Final, with Fuimaono's close friend and teammate Jaime Chapman scoring a hattrick, but they did not win against the defending premiers Newcastle Knights 24–18 at Accor Stadium.[25]

2024

Fuimaono retained her spot in the New South Wales team for Game 1 of the 2024 series, which kicked off the NRL Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Fuimaono played off the bench in a utility role, where the Sky Blues won 22–12.

She retained her spot for the next two games both on the interchange bench, which New South Wales game two 11–10 on a wet night at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, and therefore losing the series after successive defeats, again in slippery conditions 22–6 in the decider at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville.

Fuimaono made her return for the Gold Coast Titans in the 2024 season opener against her former club, the St. George Illawarra Dragons. winning 18–10 at WIN Stadium in Wollongong.[26]

She went on to play six more games that season, ending in seven appearances, scoring a try in the Gold Coast Titans' final game of the season in a 16–12 loss to the Canberra Raiders at CommBank Stadium.[27]

2025

For the 2025 season, Fuimaono was preparing for her third season with the Gold Coast Titans, playing in eight matches, and playing a starring role in wins over the St. George Illawarra Dragons and Parramatta Eels and scoring a try in the game that secured a finals berth, pipping the Canberra Raiders in golden point 17–16 in the final round of the regular season at Cbus Super Stadium.

Fuimaono got recalled to the Samoan team for the Pacific Championships tournament against Australia and New Zealand. She played five-eighth in both games against New Zealand at Go Media Stadium, which Fetu Samoa led 20–0 at halftime, before New Zealand overcame them in the second half to win 22–20. In the Samoa vs. Australia game at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia had a 60-0 shutout.

On 5 November 2025, Fuimaono signed a two-year deal to return to the St. George Illawarra Dragons.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Taliah Fuimaono - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. ^ https://www.titans.com.au/teams/womens-premiership/gold-coast-titans-women/taliah-fuimaono/
  3. ^ https://www.nrl.com/players/womens-premiership/gold-coast-titans-women/taliah-fuimaono/
  4. ^ a b "Taliah Fuimaono". St. George Illawarra Dragons. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Why Indigenous All Stars honour means so much for Fuimaono siblings". National Rugby League. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Custom Match List - RLP". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  7. ^ "All Stars 2022 - Maori All Stars (W) 8 lost to Indigenous All Stars (W) 18 - RLP". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Finalised Dragons 2021 Women's Premiership signing tracker". St George Illawarra Dragons. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  9. ^ "2021 NRL Telstra Women's Premiership - Round 1 - St George Illawarra Dragons (W) 20 def. Gold Coast Titans (W) 12 - RLP". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Sky Blues dominate major awards". New South Wales Rugby League. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Finalised Dragons 2022 Women's Premiership signing tracker". St George Illawarra Dragons. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  12. ^ Dollin, Shawn; Lucantonio, AJ; Costello, Tim. "2022 Telstra Women's Premiership - Round 1 - St George Illawarra Dragons (W) 26 def. Gold Coast Titans (W) 12 - RLP". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  13. ^ Dollin, Shawn; Costello, Tim. "2022 NRL Telstra Women's Premiership - Round 4 - St George Illawarra Dragons (W) 19 def. Brisbane Broncos (W) 18 - RLP". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  14. ^ Dollin, Shawn; Ferguson, Andrew. "2022 NRL Telstra Women's Premiership". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  15. ^ Helmers, Caden (8 October 2022). "Why Fuimaono could 'barely speak' when the Jillaroos came calling". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Women's Internationals 2022 - Standalone Match - Wednesday 2 November, 2022 - Australia (W) 74 def. Cook Islands (W) 0 - RLP".
  17. ^ "Women's Internationals 2022 - Standalone Match - Sunday 6 November, 2022 - Australia (W) 92 def. France (W) 0 - RLP".
  18. ^ Dollin, Shawn. "Australia (W) vs. Papua New Guinea (W) - Australia (W) 82 def. Papua New Guinea (W) 0 - RLP". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  19. ^ https://www.nrl.com/news/2023/04/05/murphy-hoping-jillaroos-trio-can-take-titans-to-new-level/
  20. ^ https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/everything-happens-for-a-reason-fuimaono-set-for-origin-start-at-last-20230525-p5db88.html
  21. ^ https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/women-s-state-of-origin-2023/game-1/new-south-wales--w--vs-queensland--w-/summary.html
  22. ^ https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/women-s-state-of-origin-2023/game-2/queensland--w--vs-new-south-wales--w-/summary.html
  23. ^ https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrlw/nrlw-2023-scores-results-gold-coast-titans-vs-north-queensland-cowboys-taliah-fuimaono-injury-video-highlights/news-story/a580e8acef0cee334caf50a64a41e5f5
  24. ^ https://www.nrl.com/news/2023/09/18/murphy-facing-fuimaono-call-with-titans-halves-firing/
  25. ^ "Spirited Titans fight to the finish against Knights in Grand Final". Gold Coast Titans. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  26. ^ https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrlw-2024/round-1/st-george-illawarra-dragons--w--vs-gold-coast-titans--w-/summary.html
  27. ^ https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrlw-2024/round-9/canberra-raiders--w--vs-gold-coast-titans--w-/summary.html
  28. ^ https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2025/11/05/dragons-sign-taliah-fuimaono/
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