HOW COWBOYS POACHED THIS CAIRNS STAR FROM RUGBY
THE Cowboys pulled off a cross-code poaching raid by prising NRL Nines teenage sensation Hamiso TabuaiFidow from rugby’s Queensland Reds for just $2000.
News Corp can reveal the cut-price contract that convinced the “Hammer” to turn his back on rugby union and join the Cowboys in a deal that put the 18-year-old on a path to NRL Nines stardom.
Just last week, only Cowboys insiders and local North Queensland fans were truly aware of Tabuai-Fidow’s potential to carve up at the NRL’s nine-a-side showpiece.
In the space of 48 hours, “HTF” has hit the code like a tsunami, with the Cowboys rookie lighting up the tournament in Perth with his tryscoring magic to propel North Queensland to their second Nines trophy.
But if it wasn’t for the eagle eye of Cowboys recruitment chief Clint Zammit, TabuaiFidow could easily be a Queensland Reds whiz-kid dreaming of a Wallabies jumper.
Two years ago, the flying fullback was a boarder at Brisbane Grammar on scholarship with the Reds.
Zammit, who also spotted Kalyn Ponga playing GPS rugby, just happened to be at a schoolboy game when TabuaiFidow terrorised Ipswich Grammar.
The Cowboys scout pounced immediately, sneaking under the Reds’ guard to bring home a kid from Cairns who is already being hailed as rugby league’s fastest man and a future NRL superstar.
“I didn’t really get picked up by league when I was younger, so I tried union out,” TabuaiFidow said after spearheading the Cowboys’ 23-14 defeat of the Dragons in the Nines final.
“I got pretty far in union. I would have been pretty happy even if I got a professional contract in rugby.
“I was with the Reds for a little bit, just in their development squad, but then the Cowboys were pretty keen on me.
“I had moved down from Cairns to go to boarding school at Brisbane Grammar. It was pretty hard to move away from my family.
“I was at a rugby union school and then one of the guys from the Cowboys (Zammit) talked to me after a game.
“He said the Cowboys wanted to sign me, so I was pretty happy that I had the chance to move back closer to home.”
Such is the Hammer’s meteoric rise, he isn’t yet eligible for the NRL.
Every NRL club has a 30man full-time roster plus provisions for six Player Development contracts.
Tabuai-Fidow holds one of the Cowboys’ six rookie deals and will be available for NRL selection from July 1 this year.
It seems only a matter of time before Cowboys coach Paul Green bloods TabuaiFidow, who scored two sublime kick-and-regather efforts at the Nines to earn comparisons with Storm flyer Josh Addo-Carr.
The Hammer idolised fullback greats Billy Slater and Matt Bowen and clocked 10.85 seconds over 100 metres as a 16-year-old.
Now, two years more mature, it’s fair to suggest TabuaiFidow is even quicker.
“I’m still working out how fast I am now,” he said. “It’s great to put on the Cowboys jersey. I supported them when I was younger, so putting on (the jersey) is a privilege for me and my family.”