Felise Kaufusi

The younger brother of former Queensland and Australian forward, Antonio Kaufusi, Felise was born in New Zealand of Tongan parents, but played junior football with Bundaberg Brothers, after the family move to the Burnett River city, when he was six.

Felise was signed by North Queensland Cowboys in 2011 and played all 27 games for the club's under 20s outfit. He signed with Melbourne Storm in 2014 and played with Queensland Cup feeder club, Brisbane Easts, from where he was selected for Queensland Residents.

Kaufusi made his NRL debut in 2015, and when not required for NRL duty, played for Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Intrust Super Cup. He played for Tonga against Samoa that same year. In 2016, he represented Tonga in another international against Samoa, this time alongside younger brother, Patrick.

He's one of the player’s people want to come along to watch.

Craig Bellamy Melbourne Storm coach

The brothers again represented Tonga in 2017, in a Test against Fiji. Felise was 18th man for Queensland for Game III of the 2017 series. He scored a try in the Storm's 34-6 win over North Queensland in the 2017 NRL grand final, and was selected for Australia's defence of the Rugby League World Cup, making his debut off the bench in a Test against France, and then playing lock against Lebanon.

Kaufusi made his Origin debut in Game I of the 2018 series, and the tireless second rower has not missed a game since. In 2018 he also played Tests against New Zealand and Tonga.

Kaufusi had a huge year in 2020, winning a second premiership, with Storm defeating Penrith 26-20 in the grand final. The Storm back-rower capped of a huge year playing for the Maroons in their series victory over the Blues.

Kaufusi was apart of a successful Queensland Maroons outfit in 2022, where he played two games, before missing the series decider for personal reasons. Felise Kaufusi pledged his allegiance to Tonga for the 2022 World Cup, and went on to make four appearances.

After 174 games for the Melbourne Storm, Kaufusi returned to his home state of Queensland to join the newly formed Dolphins for the 2023 season. Kaufusi quickly became a leader at the Dolphins, putting on some huge hits and leading the pack with aggression. Unfortunately it was this manner of aggression in defence that saw him suspended for a number of games, finishing his debut season for the dolphins playing 16 games.

Kaufusi continued his form with the Dolphins forward pack which saw him selected for the Queensland Maroons as 18th man for Game I. Kaufusi entered the game as 18th man after foul play on Reece Walsh resulted in him being ruled out of the match. The Dolphins forward played the remainder of the series with the Maroons in their series defeat to the Blues. Kaufusi finished the year with selection for Tonga in the Pacific Championships.