The motivation that fuels the Maroons’ new deadly left edge

May 26, 2026 — 8:29pm

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Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow feels a sense of duty to serve as a role model to the next generation of Indigenous talent.

That’s why when he made his move from the Cowboys to the Dolphins, he was quick to shut down assumptions that his famous shark celebration was recognition of his new club.

“At the start, it was a bit funny, and then I had to correct them because it’s my totem, and it’s something that I’m proud of,” he said.

“To show it on this stage, in this level of rugby league, it’s something pretty important.”

That duty is the higher purpose that drives The Hammer, who will be donning the Queensland Maroons jersey on Wednesday to launch the 2026 State of Origin series.

Wednesday also marks the start of National Reconciliation Week, a celebration of the 1967 referendum that allowed the Commonwealth to create laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and count them in the census.

Selwyn Cobbo, Ezra Mam and Gehamat Shibasaki will join Tabuai-Fidow in the Maroons jumper as representatives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

But Tabuai-Fidow’s approach........

© The Sydney Morning Herald