1. Jason Taumalolo has played for Tonga and New Zealand at international level.
43 Facts About Jason Taumalolo
1. 2.
Jason Taumalolo is notable the only forward in the 21st century to be awarded the Dally M Medal other than Danny Buderus and Cameron Smith.
3.
Jason Taumalolo was born in Auckland, New Zealand to parents Tominika and Vaai Akolo, and is of Tongan descent.
4.
Jason Taumalolo grew up in Mangere and started playing rugby league at the age of 4 for the Papakura Sea Eagles and attended De La Salle College along with older brother Warner.
5.
In Townsville, Jason Taumalolo played his junior rugby league for Townsville Brothers and attended Kirwan State High School, where he represented the Australian Schoolboys at the age of 16.
6.
In 2009, Jason Taumalolo played for the Townsville Stingers in the Cyril Connell Cup, scoring seven tries.
7.
In 2010, Jason Taumalolo joined the Cowboys' under-20 side, making his debut at age 16.
8.
Jason Taumalolo would make his second NRL appearance almost a year later in Round 24 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
9.
Jason Taumalolo starred for the Cowboys in Round 25 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, coming off the interchange bench for the 3rd time to score two crucial tries and making two line breaks and 125 metres.
10.
Jason Taumalolo played in three matches and scored two tries for the North Queensland outfit in 2011.
11.
On 17 February, Jason Taumalolo re-signed with North Queensland until the end of the 2015 season.
12.
Jason Taumalolo was named as a reserve in the New Zealand squad for the 2012 ANZAC Test against Australia, but was not selected to play.
13.
Jason Taumalolo finished the season with five tries in 17 matches.
14.
Jason Taumalolo was described as the "next Sonny Bill Williams".
15.
Jason Taumalolo was a standout in the Intrust Super Cup in the 2013 season, playing for Cowboys feeder club, the Mackay Cutters.
16.
Jason Taumalolo played 14 matches and scored 2 tries for the Cowboys in 2013.
17.
Jason Taumalolo capped off 2014 winning Tonga International Player of the Year Award.
18.
On 27 January, Jason Taumalolo was named in the Cowboys 2015 NRL Auckland Nines squad.
19.
Jason Taumalolo finished North Queensland's premiership winning season with two tries from 26 matches.
20.
Jason Taumalolo was selected in the 23-man New Zealand Test squad for the Baskerville Shield series but later withdrew due to injury.
21.
Jason Taumalolo was named the Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year by his fellow players.
22.
Jason Taumalolo was named as the joint winner of the Dally M Medal with the Melbourne Storm's Cooper Cronk, in addition to being named Lock of the Year for the second consecutive season.
23.
On 22 March, Jason Taumalolo re-signed with the North Queensland club on a ten-year deal, which would see him stay with the club until the end of the 2027 season.
24.
Jason Taumalolo would go on to play 26 games for the Cowboys during the 2017 season, starting all of them at lock.
25.
Jason Taumalolo became the first forward in NRL history to run for over 5000 metres in a season, averaging 205.8 metres per game for the 2017 season.
26.
On 5 October, Jason Taumalolo was named in the Tonga squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.
27.
Jason Taumalolo chose to represent the nation of his parents' birth, for whom he played for at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, over the country of his birth New Zealand.
28.
Jason Taumalolo was awarded the Royal Order; alongside his Mate Ma'a Tonga players by King Tupou VI in their final visit to Tonga in 2017.
29.
Jason Taumalolo returned from injury in the Cowboys' Round 8 win over the Gold Coast Titans, scoring a try.
30.
In Round 21, Jason Taumalolo suffered a partial tear to his plantar fascia, ruling him out for one week.
31.
Jason Taumalolo returned to play through the injury for the final three games of the season.
32.
Jason Taumalolo played 18 games in 2019, his lowest tally since 2013.
33.
Jason Taumalolo finished the season with an average of 196.6 metres per game, the most for any forward in the competition.
34.
Jason Taumalolo stated that it was the greatest moment of his career.
35.
In February, Jason Taumalolo was the captain of the Cowboys' 2020 NRL Nines winning squad and was named in the Team of the Tournament.
36.
In Round 6, Jason Taumalolo captained the Cowboys for the first time, going onto captain the side six more times that season.
37.
Jason Taumalolo returned off the bench in Round 19 in a loss to the Penrith Panthers.
38.
On 16 December, Jason Taumalolo was named as co-captain of the Cowboys for the 2021 season, alongside Michael Morgan.
39.
Jason Taumalolo played 15 games in the NRL, scoring one try.
40.
Jason Taumalolo was sin binned during the game for a high tackle.
41.
Jason Taumalolo played 16 games for North Queensland in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.
42.
Jason Taumalolo played 23 games for North Queensland in the 2024 NRL season as they finished 5th on the table and qualified for the finals.
43.
Jason Taumalolo played in both finals games for North Queensland as they were eliminated in the second week by Cronulla.