Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow went from being the Cowboys’ most harmful participant to combating for a spot within the 17 final season.
The knee damage he suffered in Round 4 solely sidelined him for 3 weeks however that was all Scott Drinkwater wanted to overhaul him because the Cowboys’ first alternative fullback.
Tabuai-Fidow returned through the bench and though he slotted into the surface backs at instances, it was clear the 21-year-old had fallen down the pecking order.
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Sometimes he’d get near half an hour on the sector, however different instances he’d be fortunate to see 10 minutes.
Tabuai-Fidow performed simply three minutes within the Cowboys’ preliminary remaining loss. They ended up being his remaining minutes for his hometown membership too as a result of he knew the benchwarmer factor wasn’t going to work out.
The born-and-bred North Queenslander swapped his house for the unknown when he signed a two-year cope with the Dolphins in early October.
Crichton to go away Panthers after 2023 | 00:43
He informed foxsports.com.au on Tuesday that it was a “pretty hard decision” however one he needed to make.
While the Cowboys had been flying excessive because the story of the season, Tabuai-Fidow — one of the thrilling gamers within the recreation on his day — was in a stoop. Being relegated to the bench induced his motivation plummet.
“It was pretty hard for myself, being young and just not knowing what was going to happen when I did come back because Scott Drinkwater came onto the scene and he did well — big raps to him, he’s a good player,” Tabuai-Fidow stated.
“Coming back into the team off the bench was hard in the first couple of games, just not knowing how much time I’d get on the field.
“There were some moments when I thought ‘I don’t really want to do this — I want to be a starter.’
“Being a professional athlete, that drive and hunger is important. At the back end of the season I sort of lost that.
“It’s the NRL and everyone is good so you have to have that drive to be better.
“I didn’t know how much time I’d get on the field — sometimes I was only playing five minutes and that hit me hard.
“It was weird because I’ve never played just five minutes in my life.
“I was coming off the bench and that’s not what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a starter.
“I still tried to play with 100 per cent and did whatever the team needed me to do. But as the season went on I knew it (coming off the bench) wasn’t for me.”
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Tabuai-Fidow knew the place he belonged however he additionally knew it wasn’t going to occur on the Cowboys, so he gave his supervisor the go forward to discover choices.
The Bulldogs had been eager however there was no means he was going to go away Queensland. So when the Dolphins got here knocking all that wanted to occur was a dialog with coach Wayne Bennett.
“The first time I spoke to him was on FaceTime. He said ‘I’ve got the trust in you, you just need to trust me’,” Tabuai-Fidow recalled.
“The way he speaks, you can tell he really cares.
“He’s a good bloke and just the way he speaks to the team, you really tune into what he says. I could listen to him for ages. He’s one of the legendary coaches.”
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The Cowboys understood Tabuai-Fidow’s need to play completely at fullback and granted him a launch from the ultimate 12 months of his contract.
Tabuai-Fidow stated there’s “absolutely no bad blood there” regardless of the early exit. In reality the Cowboys helped him out when he arrived again to Australia with an ankle damage suffered whereas representing Samoa within the World Cup.
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“When I did my injury I was still up there doing rehab at their facilities so they were good to me there, letting me see the physios and stuff like that because I was still moving to down here,” Tabuai-Fidow stated.
“I still have love for the club and all that they’ve done for me.”
Tabuai-Fidow underwent surgical procedure on a syndesmosis damage however this setback gained’t value him the No.1 jersey. He’ll be again to full health in time for the Dolphins’ first trial recreation — paradoxically in opposition to the Cowboys.
They face one another once more in Round 6 in Townsville.
“It’ll be bittersweet playing up there, it’ll hit hard. At the end of the game we’re brothers but in it we’re enemies,” Tabuai-Fidow laughed.