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FWC: SUI v CAN live on SN ExtraDolphins forward hits 100 after early Warriors sniff
Joel Gould, AAP •  June 24th, 2026 10:25 am
Dolphins forward Connelly Lemuelu will play his 100th NRL match against the Warriors | Photo: AAP
The door for Dolphins forward Connelly Lemuelu to become a Warriors player closed soon after it opened, but he's glad he will play his 100th NRL match against them.
The 27-year-old Auckland-born second-rower started life wanting to play for the legendary Blues in Super Rugby before a move to Keebra Park High on the Gold Coast when he was 16, in the footsteps of Benji Marshall, changed his life.
"The Warriors were the local rugby league team but I didn't really follow it too much," Lemuelu said ahead of Saturday's clash at Suncorp Stadium.
"The closest I got was when I came to Keebra and they probably saw me play there. They asked me to train with their under 20s team for about a week, but nothing came out of that and I ended up at the Tigers."
Connelly Lemuelu (right) is enjoying life at the Dolphins | Photo: Dave Hunt/AAP
Lemuelu said his U20s experience made him "hopeful" of a Warriors contract, but he has no hard feelings about the way his career panned out.
"It would have been good to go back there and stay in New Zealand ... but I'm happy where I am at now," he said.
"I am contracted here until next year and would love to stay. The Dolphins are a club that gave me a chance and my career has really taken off down here."
Lemuelu, who played one Test for Samoa in 2023, trained alongside his idol Marshall at the Tigers early in his career before debuting in the NRL as an outside back for North Queensland in 2020, where his sense about where to run to beat defenders proved invaluable.
Connelly Lemuelu has become a try-scoring second-rower to be reckoned with for the Dolphins | Photo: Dave Hunt/AAP
He has since turned himself into one of the NRL's best wide running back-rowers. He hits a hole and often sails right through to score, as he did last week in the win over the Tigers.
Last year he scored nine tries and made 13 line breaks and he has continued that form in 2026, while improving his defensive efficiency to a career-high 95 per cent.
Lemuelu has now played 75 of his 99 games at the Dolphins, where he has found a home.
"It is the best team I have been a part of," he said.
"It is a real fun environment and it definitely helps when you are winning."
The third-placed Dolphins are targeting an eighth-straight win and Lemuelu will have his nearest and dearest in the stands.
The third-placed Dolphins are targeting an eighth-straight win and Lemuelu will have his nearest and dearest in the stands.
"It is very special. It's good getting the family over here," he said.
"I debuted in COVID so didn't get to have any family at my debut so I get to have everyone coming over for my hundredth."
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