{"id":896008,"date":"2026-09-18T02:08:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T02:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/896008\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T02:08:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T02:08:24","slug":"dolphins-lock-down-key-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/896008\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolphins lock down key forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dolphins<\/a> have secured another key piece of their forward pack, with Kulikefu Finefeuiaki<\/a> agreeing to a two-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2029 season.<\/p>\n

The deal is another important retention for the Dolphins<\/a> ahead of November 1, with the club also recently securing outside back Tevita Naufahu<\/a> on a new contract.<\/p>\n

The Courier-Mail has revealed that Finefeuiaki, who made his Queensland Maroons<\/a> debut this year, has agreed to the new deal after producing a breakout season under Dolphins<\/a> coach Kristian Woolf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The second rower made his State of Origin<\/a> debut in Game Two, featuring in Queensland’s defeat to NSW before returning to the Dolphins<\/a> for the remainder of the regular season.<\/p>\n

\"NRLQUEANBEYAN, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 25: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki of the Cowboys during the NRL Pre-season challenge match between Canberra Raiders and North Queensland Cowboys at Seiffert Oval on February 25, 2024 in Queanbeyan, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Finefeuiaki made his NRL<\/a> debut with the North Queensland Cowboys<\/a> in 2023 before joining the Dolphins<\/a> last season, and has continued to develop into an important part of Woolf’s side.<\/p>\n

His rise has been particularly evident throughout the 2026 season, with the forward establishing himself as one of the Dolphins’ most reliable performers.<\/p>\n

Finefeuiaki has made 23 appearances this season, scoring three tries and registering five line breaks while averaging 150 metres per game.<\/p>\n

He has also racked up a remarkable 843 tackles across the season, underlining his value as an 80-minute forward capable of contributing at both ends of the field.<\/p>\n

His new deal comes at an ideal time for the Dolphins<\/a>, who are preparing for a Grand Final qualifier at Suncorp Stadium next week against either the Sydney Roosters<\/a> or Cronulla Sharks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins<\/a> have already exceeded expectations this season and will now have the chance to move within one win of their maiden NRL<\/a> Grand Final appearance.<\/p>\n

\"NRLSYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 07: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki of the Dolphins looks on during the round one NRL match between the Dolphins and South Sydney Rabbitohs at CommBank Stadium on March 07, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

While Finefeuiaki is now locked away, the Dolphins<\/a> still have plenty of decisions to make before November 1, with a host of players remaining off-contract and potentially able to negotiate with rival clubs.<\/p>\n

Jack Bostock<\/a>, Selwyn Cobbo<\/a>, Herbie Farnworth<\/a>, Tom Flegler<\/a>, Trai Fuller<\/a>, Felise Kaufusi<\/a>, Morgan Knowles<\/a>, Connelly Lemuelu<\/a>, LJ Nonu<\/a>, Elijah Rasmussen<\/a>, Sebastian Su’a<\/a> and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow<\/a> are among those who will be eligible to speak with rival clubs in November if not extended.<\/p>\n

The Finefeuiaki extension therefore provides some welcome certainty for the Dolphins<\/a> as they enter the most important stage of their season, while the club continues working to keep its wider squad together beyond 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dolphins have secured another key piece of their forward pack, with Kulikefu Finefeuiaki agreeing to a two-year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":896009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-896008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}