Jason Taumalolo

Taumalolo is notable the only forward in the 21st century to be awarded the Dally M Medal.

Taumalolo was born in Auckland, New Zealand to parents Tominika and Vaai Akolo, and is of Tongan descent.

Enrolled in primary school under his given name, Vaai, his teacher was unable to pronounce it correctly, instead deciding to call him "Jason".

He grew up in Māngere 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.

At age 12, he moved to Townsville after being scouted and signed to a scholarship by the North Queensland Cowboys while playing for a touring New Zealand under-16 team.

In Townsville, 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.

He 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.

At the end of the season, Taumalolo was awarded the Rugby League Player's Association's Toyota Cup Player of the Year award and was named in the Toyota Cup Team of the Year in the.

Taumalolo played in the Cowboys in the NYC grand final against the New Zealand Warriors, scoring a try in the golden point 31–30 loss.

Vaai Taumalolo (born 31 May 1993), better known by the nickname Jason, is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He has played for Tonga and New Zealand at international level.

In 2009, Taumalolo played for the Townsville Stingers in the Cyril Connell Cup, scoring seven tries.

Later that year, he was selected in the Queensland under-16 team.

In 2010, Taumalolo joined the Cowboys' under-20 side, making his debut at age 16.

In Round 24 of the 2010 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Cowboys against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, becoming the youngest ever player to debut for the club, aged 17 years, 2 months and 21 days, when he came off the bench in a 20–22 loss at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

It was his only appearance for 2010.

In October, Taumalolo played for the Junior Kiwis.

Taumalolo would make his second NRL appearance almost a year later in Round 24 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

He played in three matches and scored two tries for the North Queensland outfit in 2011.

In October, he again played for the Junior Kiwis.

Taumalolo was named as a reserve in the New Zealand squad for the 2012 ANZAC Test against Australia, but was not selected to play.

Taumalolo finished the season with five tries in 17 matches.

In October, he was again selected for the Junior Kiwis.

He was described as the "next Sonny Bill Williams".

On 20 April, Taumalolo made his international debut for Tonga in the Pacific Rugby League International against Samoa at Centerbet Stadium.

Taumalolo was a standout in the Intrust Super Cup in the 2013 season, playing for Cowboys feeder club, the Mackay Cutters.

The Cutters won the competition and dedicated their win to recently deceased teammate Alex Elisala.

He would later go on to star for the Cowboys at the backend of the season including the club's semi-final loss to Cronulla.

Taumalolo played 14 matches and scored 2 tries for the Cowboys in 2013.

In October, he represented Tonga in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, playing in 2 matches and scoring a try in their match against the Cook Islands.

In February, Taumalolo was selected in the Cowboys tournament winning inaugural Auckland Nines squad.

2014 was a stand out season for Taumalolo with him playing 25 matches and scoring 6 tries as the Cowboys finished 5th.

He made 241 hitups and gained 2889 metres.

On 7 October, Taumalolo was selected in the Kiwis final 24 man squad for the Four Nations series.

He made his test debut for New Zealand against Australia at in the Kiwis 30–12 win at Suncorp Stadium.

Taumalolo played at lock in the Kiwis 22–18 Four Nations final win over Australia at Westpac Stadium.

He capped off 2014 winning Tonga International Player of the Year Award.

Taumalolo played for the NRL All Stars and he was a member of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL Grand Final and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides, and won the Dally M Medal in 2016.

On 17 February, Taumalolo re-signed with North Queensland until the end of the 2015 season.

In March, he was reported to have declared his allegiance to Queensland and Australia, though on 7 April, New Zealand Rugby League's high performance manager Tony Kemp confirmed that Taumalolo had pledged allegiance to New Zealand, the country of his birth.