⏪ David Fifita: 2026 Year in Review
David Fifita's first season in the red and green gave South Sydney a powerful new presence on the edge. Across 17 NRL appearances, every one of them in the second row, he scored six tries, broke 87 tackles and ran for 2368 metres, finishing the year with a start in the Club's Elimination Final.
The Rabbitohs confirmed his signing from the Gold Coast Titans in October 2025, on a deal covering the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The move reunited the Badu Island man with Head Coach Wayne Bennett, who handed him his NRL debut at the Brisbane Broncos in 2018. It also brought a former Dally M Second Rower of the Year (2023) to the Club, with representative honours for Tonga, Queensland and the Indigenous All Stars already to his name.
Fifita wasted no time making an impression. On debut against the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium in round one, he ran for 171 metres and set up a try in a 40-30 win.
That set the tone for his year. Fifita's game was built on hard carries, work after contact and keeping the ball alive for the players outside him. He averaged 139 running metres a game and finished with 21 offloads, seven line breaks, three line-break assists and two try assists, while making 392 tackles at 87.5% efficiency.
The tries came in bunches. He crossed in back-to-back weeks against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Brisbane Broncos in rounds 14 and 15, then scored against the Newcastle Knights in round 19. His best run came late in the season, with tries against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, his former Club the Gold Coast Titans, and the Sydney Roosters in round 27 as South Sydney closed the regular season with a 50-20 win at Allianz Stadium.
That final-round win was also a milestone afternoon, with Fifita and teammate Keaon Koloamatangi both running out for their 150th NRL match. For Fifita, it marked another chapter in a first-grade career that began at Brisbane and ran through the Gold Coast before his move to South Sydney.
A week later he started in the second row in the Elimination Final against the Newcastle Knights at Allianz Stadium, his 151st NRL game and the last of his first campaign with the Club.
With his first season in the red and green behind him and another year to run on his deal, Fifita heads into 2027 as a key part of South Sydney's forward pack.
