The family bonds and Indigenous sporting icons behind Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow’s rapid NRL rise

When the Cowboys fullback was still at school he had three professional football codes vying for his signature, but he says “there‘s only one thing that counts in life and that is family”.

In Hamiso‘s case that is his dear Cairns-based mum Karina, father Sy, four brothers and two sisters.

His parents told their oldest son, while on a rugby union scholarship, to “go with your heart” when making a huge call on his future.

“I was with the emerging Queensland Reds program and moved away from my family in Cairns when I was 15 to attend Brisbane Grammar. That feeling of being away from family was the biggest obstacle I have ever come across,” Tabuai-Fidow says.

“I was getting homesick in the final term, and that is when the Cowboys came knocking. I was stoked because I had always followed the Cowboys and looked up to Matty Bowen, but at the same time the Gold Coast Suns were showing interest in me as well.

“I had a chat with my parents and they said to follow my heart. It was the right decision to come home to North Queensland and play rugby league. Being Indigenous, family is everything to me. The Cowboys offered me a contract of around $2000 and it was pretty cool to get my first pay cheque while still at school.”

Call it one of the best investments the Cowboys have ever made.

Tabuai-Fidow, still just 20, inspired an NRL Nines win for the Cowboys in 2020 when he announced himself as the fastest new kid on the block, the same season he was the club‘s rookie of the year.

In 2021 he scored a try on his Origin debut with the Maroons and has been re-signed with the Cowboys until the end of 2023.

Tabuai-Fidow would seem to have the world at those feet that famously have been clocked at 10.85 seconds over 100 metres. But he’s unlikely to forget those who have helped him on his way anytime soon.

Home away from home

Tabuai-Fidow is quick to credit Merv and Charity Ackers, who hosted him in their family home for two years after he moved to Townsville in 2019.

As he completed his final year of school at famed NRL nursery Kirwan State High, the Ackers provided Tabuai-Fidow with a home away from home that saw him thrive.

“They were a lovely family and looked after me so well. I still go to dinner once a week to see them just because of the amount of stuff they have done for me. I appreciate them so much,” Tabuai-Fidow says.

The Ackers family had previously hosted students attending Kirwan and when Dave Ackers, who works at the school and is Merv‘s brother, asked if they could take Hamiso in, the family jumped at the chance.

They initially hosted barnstorming forward Griffin Neame and Tabuai-Fidow for 12 months. Tabuai-Fidow ended up staying for two years, at one point joined by back-rower Heilum Luki as well for four months.

“Hamiso hates corn, and you don‘t serve up macaroni and cheese because he won’t eat that either,” Charity chuckles.

“He is very traditional and a strong believer in carb loading the night before a game, so I‘d always make him spaghetti bolognaise. On game day he would wake up and cook himself bacon and eggs.”

Before each home game to this day, Tabuai-Fidow arrives for his favourite spaghetti dish with Cowboys teammates Neame, Luki and Daejarn Asi.

“Then we‘ve got to have 12 loaves of garlic bread to go with it,” Charity grins, having seen just how much family means to the Origin flyer.

“Hamiso was homesick when he first came to stay but he would talk to his family each day. He still does. He loves his family and goes home each holiday to see them.

“I don‘t think people understand how hard it is when you are so young to be living away from your parents.

“What you see is what you get with Hamiso. He was just a really nice homestay kid to have. We loved having him and I was very sad when he left. We miss him.

“Our son Brady, Merv and I loved watching him play and we go to all the home games at the Cowboys where he sometimes gets us passes into the dressing room, so he is very caring. Brady loves Hammer.”

Buddy, Bowen and an Indigenous bond

On his mother’s side, Tabuai-Fidow traces his ancestry back to the island of Saibai in the Torres Strait, just five kilometres south of the Papua New Guinea mainland.

His mother was born in Cairns, where Tabuai-Fidow attended church each Sunday as a devout Christian, with both influences acknowledged in his own quiet way.

“I have got a tattoo of a shark and a cassowary on my forearm just to pay tribute to my clan and that Saibai side of the family,” he says.

“Before I run out on the field I usually put a cross on the tape on my wrist, and I just write ‘family’ on it. That really gets me going.

“Being a family man, that is why I play footy and that is what is closest to my heart. It is a big boost to me whenever I am on the field because it always feels like I have got my family out there with me.”

Given the authenticity he plays with in thrill-a-minute fashion, it’s no surprise Bowen, North Queensland’s greatest ever fullback, and Swans hero Buddy Franklin remain two of his idols.

“It is pretty crazy. I pinch myself every time I get picked in the Cowboys team, just wearing that number one jersey that Matty Bowen wore,” he says.

“Matty coached me in the (Townsville) Blackhawks 18s and that was so cool. The first time I met him I didn‘t have too much to say, but I was stoked to get to know him. Now we text each other and catch up all the time. He has been so important for my development in the NRL and takes an active role.

“Growing up I looked up to Matty, with him being Indigenous ... and what he did on the field was exciting and hectic to watch. He is a local from North Queensland and I wanted to put on a Cowboys jersey because of him and the way he played.”

Bowens instinctive style is one that Tabuai-Fidow wants to emulate, and one Cowboys coach Todd Payten is smart enough to embrace.

“When I run on the field, in the back of my head is the thought to just play what is in front of me and on instinct like Matty did. Todd and the coaches are always into me to back myself and go looking for the ball, and to just do what I do,” Tabuai-Fidow says.

“It is important for me to have fun out there. That’s why you see me play with a smile on my face. I love rugby league. I love what I am doing. That is the biggest thing.”

Buddy Franklin, who just kicked a 1000th career goal and marked an AFL milestone that may never be matched again, was the magnet for yet another potential code switch when Tabuai-Fidow was a teen.

“Growing up I played rugby union and rugby league and Aussie Rules. While I didn’t watch a lot of AFL, the big one for me to aspire to follow was Buddy Franklin,“ he says.

“I always admired his incredible skills and his toughness too. Then you look at the way he carries himself. That just earns respect. He’s a great model.

“I started as a ruck rover and went to centre-half forward. While I was in talks with the Cowboys the Gold Coast Suns were pretty interested in me and it took me a couple of weeks to think about it because I do love playing Aussie Rules as well.

“My parents put the onus on me. I picked the Cowboys. It‘s local. It’s close to home and I supported them growing up.

“I am here until 2023 and I hope I get another contract. I think this will be a good season for us and I am keen to see how it pans out.”

Tabuai-Fidow’s innate ability to relate his own journey to others, his empathy, reveals he is a fast learner and a caring man.

He is an enthusiastic ambassador for Cowboys House, which provides accommodation and education support for more than 100 First Nations students from North Queensland‘s remote and educationally disadvantaged communities.

“For Indigenous kids coming from small communities, family is all they know,” he says.

“The Cowboys established a boarding house for them in Townsville to excel with their education and sport and keep those community connections. So when I was asked to be an ambassador for Cowboys House it was a privilege. I didn’t hesitate to get involved. It’s wonderful and it puts a smile on my face as much as it does for the children.”

Tabuai-Fidow still feels the pangs of homesickness himself, but he’s also found one permanent remedy.

“I am getting better at it. I bought a house last month and my parents were up here the other day to have a look at it,” he says.

“Cairns is only a four-hour drive so whenever we have home games they try and make the trip.”