Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Aublix Tawha Debut For Dolphins
Turangawaewae junior Aublix Tawha added himself to the list of 2025 Kiwi-NRL debutants with a hearty stint coming off the bench for Dolphins in their loss to Knights. Playing through the middle, Tawha had 22 minutes of action either side of half-time and showed impeccable mana by getting through lots of tough mahi as a small forward.
For the first few minutes of his debut it felt like Tawha was getting a game for NZ Warriors as his name was pronounced 'Ta-wah' which along with very little information in his NRL and QRL player profiles, as well as different reports about his age, shows how undercover Tawha's rise has been in recent years.
Recent years and Tawha's age are key details in telling his story because of his amazing journey to earn an NRL debut. Earlier this year there was a report out of Australia described Tawha as 23-years-old which would be tricky given that Tawha played for the NZ Under 18 Select team in 2017 and had two years of Under 20s with Tweed in 2018/19. His correct age will soon be updated as more folks learn about Tawha but like 25-year-old Glenora junior Sean Mullany who debuted for Titans earlier in the season, Tawha is a mature debutant who has been on the long slow grind towards NRL footy.
Tawha appears to have left Aotearoa to enter the Raiders system and then moved to Tweed Seagulls in Queensland. Tawha made a bunch of NZRL and Aotearoa Maori teams before then during his time in Australia, as part of a funky theme of Tawha always returning to Aotearoa throughout his journey.
He appeared for Waikato in the 2019 NZRL National Premiership as a fullback and played for Paraparaumu rugby union in 2021, even representing Netherlands in rugby union around that time. Tawha later returned to Canberra where he was playing for local rugby league club Yass Magpies and mid-way during the 2023 season he joined Redcliffe in Queensland Cup.
Dolphins have done fantastic scouting and recruitment mahi in their Kiwi-NRL. They have a bunch of Kiwi-NRL juniors who they recruited directly from Aotearoa but they also have players like Tawha who they picked up from nowhere and he quickly settled into a consistent groove with Dolphins in Queensland Cup.
Tawha played six games in 2023, followed by 18 games last year and after spending the summer as part of their NRL squad he rolled through 10 games to start this season. Most of his games in 2025 were at edge forward but he also played three games starting at prop and while he may have split time between middle and edge forward, he played 40+ minutes in the three games he started at prop.
This forecasted what role he could play for the NRL team and under coach Kristian Woolf, Dolphins love their small forwards. Kurt Donoghoe and Ray Stone both started as middle forwards against Knights, with Tawha adding a similar style of middle forward mahi. Tawha entered the game late in the first half and immediately settled into the grind where his agility and physicality added to the Dolphins forward pack.
Given that Tawha has played nearly every position in rugby league, there was a possibility that he would move out wider to cover an injury to winger Jack Bostock. Tawha stayed in the middle though and while he does offer edge forward cover, as well as centre if Dolphins need him, Tawha appears to be zoned in on middle forward.
Tawha finished his debut with 6 runs - 59m @ 9.8m/run and 16 tackles @ 94.1%. His maturity saw him quickly rise through the Dolphins ranks and he has plenty to offer the NRL team as Tawha is faster than most middle forwards, with the required physicality to do a job in the middle at an NRL level.
All of which makes Tawha a funky player to track this season. His junior pedigree and style of play makes him an intriguing contender for Aotearoa Kiwis selection, but first he will need to earn consistent selection for Dolphins. That will depend on how the Dolphins forward depth is challenged but Tawha's versatility should be an asset that boosts his chances of more game time.
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