![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/441fcc43b663461ee537a1fa43bde38dbfcd68a8.png\")
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Kulikefu Finefeuiaki\u2019s Maroons debut is more than just a chance to grace rugby league\u2019s biggest stage. It\u2019s also his chance to repay the state that gave him and his family a \u201csecond chance at life\u201d.<\/p>\n Growing up in Mangere in South Auckland, the softly spoken but cheeky Finefeuiaki was witness to \u201ca lot of things that you don\u2019t want to see as a little kid\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a pretty tough area to grow up in. There was a lot of violence,\u201d the 22-year-old said.<\/p>\n When he was a child, his extended family moved over from New Zealand to Ipswich, with his immediate family the last ones to leave.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents made the decision to move over to Australia to Ipswich for a better life and a better opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cI just want to repay that to Queensland. They gave my family a better purpose and life.\u201d<\/p>\n Finefeuiaki was 11 years old during the move, before he blossomed into a future NRL star through his junior days at the Redbank Plains Bears.<\/p>\n \u201cThe young Kuli was a bit chubbier back then,\u201d he said, when asked how his younger self would view his Origin ascent.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time I was running on the field I was getting a bit too tired, so I had to lay off the food a bit. The young Kuli just liked to live life and play footy with his cousins and all his older brothers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gave me that desire to try and do it as a job and a life. Looking back at it now, I hope [young Kuli] is proud and knows that I\u2019m laying off the big food now.\u201d<\/p>\n Finefeuiaki was heralded a slumbering talent before his first steps in the NRL for the North Queensland Cowboys. His shift to the Dolphins has unlocked his potential.<\/p>\n After he was ushered into Maroons camp in 2025, he took the opportunity to learn how the more seasoned forwards prepared, and sought to elevate his game from short-stint wrecking ball to 80-minute weapon.<\/p>\n Come 2026, and he has missed less than a minute of action across 12 games \u2013 courtesy of a late-game sin bin against the Bulldogs \u2013 and sits fifth in the competition for post-contact metres (825).<\/p>\n Related Article He said swearing off lu sipi, a Tongan lamb delicacy favoured by his father, was a sacrifice he had to make.<\/p>\n \u201cI was having that a bit too much. Sorry, dad \u2026 it tastes good, but it\u2019s not good for you,\u201d Finefeuiaki said.<\/p>\n Instead, he observed how fellow Queensland stars Kurt Capewell and Reuben Cotter prepared for their games and tried to adopt those habits.<\/p>\n \u201cThey do a lot of extras after sessions,\u201d he said. \u201cDiet-wise, I changed a lot of island foods that weren\u2019t good for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Having been elevated from his 20th-man duties in game one, Finefeuiaki admits he shed tears when Maroons coach Billy Slater called to tell him he would line up on June 17,<\/a> as Queensland fight to save the State of Origin series after their last-minute defeat in Sydney.<\/p>\n His selection comes after Pat Carrigan was ruled out for six to eight weeks, having undergone surgery on a syndesmosis injury.<\/p>\n Finefeuiaki said he would need to find a new gear for the faster pace of Origin football, but vowed he was up for the fight.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think [selection] would come so soon, to be honest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just at home, chilling with my parents, watching footy, but to get the call from Billy \u2013 I was pretty emotional to my mum and had a bit of a cry.\u201d<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Kulikefu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/14a1fe21d9176f1b15fe38ed4ff36e9bce86f066.jpeg\")
Kulikefu Finefeuiaki will make his State of Origin debut for Queensland off the bench in game two.AAPIMAGE<\/p>\n![\"Kalyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8dd4c9a8882508e695189f651ca8344ca4f76263.jpeg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Kulikefu](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f12aae7d416a36da11f6440a6ac1a4aa15cd236c35068016aa7a8cd584d3259d.gif\")
Kulikefu Finefeuiaki scores against the Rabbitohs.Gif<\/p>\n