Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow went from being the Cowboys’ most dangerous player to fighting for a spot in the 17 last season.
The knee injury he suffered in Round 4 only sidelined him for three weeks but that was all Scott Drinkwater needed to overtake him as the Cowboys’ first choice fullback.
Tabuai-Fidow returned via the bench and although he slotted into the outside backs at times, it was clear the 21-year-old had fallen down the pecking order.
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He told foxsports.com.au on Tuesday that it was a “pretty hard decision” but one he had to make.
While the Cowboys were flying high as the story of the season, Tabuai-Fidow — one of the most exciting players in the game on his day — was in a slump. Being relegated to the bench caused 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 said.
“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 where he belonged but he also knew it wasn’t going to happen at the Cowboys, so he gave his manager the go ahead to explore options.
The Bulldogs were keen but there was no way he was going to leave Queensland. So when the Dolphins came knocking all that needed to happen was a conversation 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 desire to play exclusively at fullback and granted him a release from the final year of his contract.
Tabuai-Fidow said there’s “absolutely no bad blood there” despite the early exit. In fact the Cowboys helped him out when he arrived back to Australia with an ankle injury suffered while representing Samoa in 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 said.
“I still have love for the club and all that they’ve done for me.”
Tabuai-Fidow underwent surgery on a syndesmosis injury but this setback won’t cost him the No.1 jersey. He’ll be back to full fitness in time for the Dolphins’ first trial game — ironically against the Cowboys.
They face each other again 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.
