Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: The Return Of Moala Graham-Taufa
Moala Graham-Taufa didn't make his NRL debut in the tremendous win for New Zealand Warriors over Dolphins, but it felt like a spiritual debut at the temple of Mt Smart. The actual debut for Graham-Taufa came in 2021 when he was the 18th lad for Roosters and while he didn't register a touch of the footy, he did make his one and only tackle.
That debut came after Graham-Taufa spent plenty of time in the Roosters' junior system. This started when Graham-Taufa was making all sorts of NZRL representative teams as a Marist junior and student at Mt Albert Grammar, working his way through the Roosters system as one of their best Kiwi-NRL juniors.
Graham-Taufa couldn't progress with Roosters though and like a decent crop of Kiwi-NRL juniors, he soon departed Roosters. Mid-way through 2022, Graham-Taufa switched to Eels where he rolled through a bunch of Jersey Flegg games. Then came a move back to Aotearoa where Graham-Taufa settled into the NZ Warriors system under the two Andys and a refreshed regime.
One of the undercover storylines for NZ Warriors during this period has been their sneaky recruitment of high quality Kiwi-NRL youngsters from Australia. Taine Tuaupiki is the most notable lad here while others like Setu Tu, Toni Tupouniua, Harry Durbin and Caleb Laiman have all returned to Aotearoa to join NZ Warriors. Graham-Taufa is funky because of his representative pedigree in Aotearoa, which made him a consistent presence in Roosters junior teams over four years.
This pedigree and potential was blatant in his second NRL game. Graham-Taufa had a tricky battle against Herbie Farnworth and that may have been the biggest factor in Graham-Taufa rolling out 15 tackles @ 71.4% efficiency. Graham-Taufa made a try-saving tackle on Farnworth early in the game though and Dolphins didn't score a try down their left edge; Farnworth bounced back towards the middle for his try and Graham-Taufa made a valiant effort to try shut that down.
The zip of Graham-Taufa's runs stood out, even at this level where lots of blokes have speed and footwork. Graham-Taufa embraced the NRL physicality and his late footwork saw him get between defenders, with impressive drive forward while he was being tackled. Graham-Taufa finished with 17 runs - 121m @ 7.1m/run and his five tackle breaks put him alongside Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Te Maire Martin as the most for NZ Warriors.
Here's how Graham-Taufa elevated to command this opportunity in NSW Cup...
2023 (stats per game)
0.3 tries, 0.3 linebreaks, 115m
2024
0.5 tries, 0.7 linebreaks, 152m
Six of his seven linebreaks this season in NSW Cup came in his last three games and he had 21 tackle breaks in those three games, rolling out 170+ metres as well. Graham-Taufa averaged 4.4 tackle breaks per game in NSW Cup this season and he went above that for his first NRL game at Mt Smart.
An exciting wrinkle for Graham-Taufa is his ability to play centre and wing at a high level. Seven of his nine games in NSW Cup this season were at centre and two on the wing, while Rugby League Project lists Graham-Taufa as playing 23 games (reserve grade and above) on the wing and 13 at centre. This makes Graham-Taufa an ideal squad member as he can step in to cover the outside back positions and after 37 games of NSW Cup (Roosters and NZW), Graham-Taufa has ample experience to build upon.
That experience brews maturity. Graham-Taufa is 22-years-old and he has gathered elite junior experience with Roosters as well as consistent mahi in NSW Cup. Some folks love to be in Aotearoa and returning to Auckland after facing adversity has helped Graham-Taufa emerge as an excellent outside back for NZ Warriors.
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