There haven't been many Kiwi-NRL journeys as funky as Connelly Lemuelu's and the former Tangaroa College first-five is now settling at edge forward with Dolphins. The Lemuelu story was covered in this Kiwi-NRL Spotlight yarn from last season and after playing in round one, Lemuelu missed a chunk of games due to injury.

Now Lemuelu has played two consecutive games and both are wins. There have been some shenanigans in what role Lemuelu has played and while he can offer an intriguing middle forward presence for Dolphins, edge forward is his best spot. With enough power to play any forward position, Lemuelu's history as an outside back/play-maker makes him a dangerous edge forward as his speed and balance is perfect for hitting gaps off Isaiya Katoa or Kodi Nikorima.

According to the good folk at Rugby League Project, Lemuelu has played every position except hooker across NRL, Queensland Cup and NSW Cup. Lemuelu was a fullback for Keebra Park High School and he then zoned in on centre/wing in stints with Tigers and Bulldogs before joining Cowboys.

During his three years with Cowboys, Lemuelu transitioned from those outside back roles to an edge forward, playing 24 games over three seasons. As soon as Lemuelu moved to Dolphins he found a groove and rolled through 23 games last season which saw him blow out his previous best tallies for linebreaks and offloads.

Lemuelu had one linebreak in each of his three seasons with Cowboys and then he had 11 last year with Dolphins. Same with the offloads as he put up six, five and two offloads in each season with Cowboys before offering 25 offloads last season for Dolphins. While he hasn't played enough to get close to that mahi this season, Lemuelu has made a decent jump up in tackle efficiency; Lemuelu hovered between 86-91% efficiency in his first four NRL seasons and is at 95.7% this season.

Lemuelu hasn't played 80 minutes this season either, so he is averaging 58m/game which is well below his 96m/game last year. How this looks with more game time will be interesting and the youngster from Otara has also been able to offer efficiency with the footy, averaging 9.8m/run from five runs vs Cowboys followed by 9.9m/run from 10 runs vs Sea Eagles.

Another layer of Lemuelu in 2024 was his appearance for Norths Devils in Queensland Cup where he showcased his NRL class. Lemuelu played 80mins at edge forward a few weeks ago and scored a try, with 15 runs - 159m @ 10.6m/run, a try assist, one offload and 15 tackles @ 83%. Somehow Lemuelu's tackling is better in the NRL and this defensive focus probably comes as a directive from coach Bennett.

The combination with Nikorima will be crucial for Lemuelu and Dolphins. Lemuelu's try vs Sea Eagles saw him cut back under Nikorima and along with a short ball, these option is amplified by the fullback wrapping around the back. Lemuelu also has to help out Nikorima defensively and while his tackling is impressive, Sea Eagles were able to score points down this edge as they challenged the decision making of the Dolphins right edge.

The win over Sea Eagles was Lemuelu's 50th NRL game and he is still learning his edge forward craft, so consistency will be key in helping Dolphins stay in the finals mix. Having left Aotearoa to embark on his Kiwi-NRL journey in two different states, a few different organisations and different positions, Lemuelu may now benefit from a steady role in Redcliffe.

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