Jason Taumalolo

In February, Taumalolo was the captain of the Cowboys' 2020 NRL Nines winning squad and was named in the Team of the Tournament. He and teammate Kyle Feldt became the first players to win two NRL Nines championships.

In Round 1 of the 2019 NRL season, Taumalolo ran for a career-high 301 metres in the Cowboys' 24–12 win over the St George Illawarra Dragons. In Round 2, he suffered a medial injury in a loss to the Brisbane Broncos, ruling him out for six weeks. He returned from injury in the Cowboys' Round 8 win over the Gold Coast Titans, scoring a try.

In Round 21, Taumalolo suffered a partial tear to his plantar fascia, ruling him out for one week. He returned to play through the injury for the final three games of the season. Taumalolo played 18 games in 2019, his lowest tally since 2013. He finished the season with an average of 196.6 metres per game, the most for any forward in the competition.

In Round 11 of the 2018 NRL season, Taumalolo played his 150th NRL game for the Cowboys in their 19–20 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Following another strong season, in which he averaged 177m per game, Taumalolo was awarded the Paul Bowman Medal for Cowboys' Player of the Year for the third straight time. On 26 September, he was named Lock of the Year at the 2018 Dally M Awards and finished sixth in voting, the highest of any forward.

On 5 October, Taumalolo was named in the Tonga squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. He chose to represent the nation of his parent's birth, for whom he played for at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, over the country of his birth New Zealand. This move although negatively portrayed in mainstream media, was deemed a noble move by many of the public not only in New Zealand but around the world. On 6 October, he was awarded the Paul Bowman Medal for Cowboys' Player of the Year for the second straight season.

He was also awarded the Royal Order; alongside his Mate Ma'a Tonga players by Princess Salote Lupepau'u Tuita at the residency or the current Tongan King, Tupou VI in their final visit to Tonga in 2017.

On 29 October in the Rugby League World Cup 2017 against Scotland, Taumalolo was award a man of a match for show his way past several Scottish defenders to score Tonga's try in the lead of 50-4 win at Barlow Park.

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

On 27 January, Taumalolo was named in the Cowboys 2015 NRL Auckland Nines squad. On 13 February, he was selected at lock for the NRL All Stars in the All Stars match at Cbus Super Stadium. Rejecting a $2 million contract offer from the New Zealand Warriors, Taumalolo extended his contract with the Cowboys to the end of the 2017 season. On 28 September, Taumalolo was named at lock in the Dally M Team of the Year. On 4 October, in the Cowboys Queensland derby 2015 NRL Grand Final against the Brisbane Broncos, Taumalolo started at lock in the Cowboys golden point 17–16 win. He finished the Cowboys premiership winning season with 2 tries from 26 matches. Taumalolo was selected in the 23-man New Zealand Test squad for the Baskerville Shield series but later withdrew due to injury.

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 lock 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 debuted for the Cowboys NRL team in round 24 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 interchange bench in the Cowboys 22–20 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 starred for the Cowboys in round 25 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, coming off the interchange bench for the 3rd time to score 2 crucial tries and making 2 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 second-row. 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. He played in 3 matches and scored 2 tries for the Cowboys in 2011. In October, he again played for the Junior Kiwis.

On 20 April, Taumalolo made his international debut for Tonga in the Pacific Test 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 the pre-season, Taumalolo again played in the Auckland Nines, and was a member of the Cowboys' World Club Challenge winning side, starting at lock in the 38–4 victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium. On 6 May, Taumalolo played for the Kiwis against Australia, starting at lock in the 18–0 loss. In Round 14, he played his 100th NRL game.

In Round 13, he set a new career-high with 311 running metres in a 20–22 loss to the Manly Sea Eagles. In June, he started at lock for Tonga in their 14–34 loss to New Zealand.

In Round 2, he set a new career-high with 345 running metres in a 24–16 win against the Canterbury Bulldogs. This was the most metres gained by a forward in one match and the third most of all time.

Vaai "Jason" Taumalolo (born 31 May 1993) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row and lock for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and New Zealand at international level.