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| Born | (1999-03-12)12 March 1999 (age 26) Auckland, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] As of 21 March 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Jamie-Jerry Taulagi (brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Murray Taulagi (born 12 March 1999) is a professionalrugby league footballer who plays as awinger orcentre for theNorth Queensland Cowboys in theNRL. He has played for bothAustralia andSamoa at international level.
Taulagi was born inAuckland, New Zealand, and is ofSamoan descent.[2]
His older brother,Jamie-Jerry, is a professional rugby union player, who previously played forSuper Rugby sides, theQueensland Reds andSunwolves.[3]
He grew up playing rugby union forOtahuhu RFC before moving toBrisbane, Queensland in 2011.[4] In Brisbane, he attendedBrisbane State High School, playing fullback for their rugby union side.[5]
In 2016, while playing in theGPS competition, Taulagi was spotted byNorth Queensland Cowboys recruitment manager Clint Zammit and signed with theNRL club, despite having never playedrugby league.[6]
In 2017, Taulagi relocated toTownsville and joined the Cowboysunder-20 squad. He began the season playing for theTownsville BlackhawksMal Meninga Cup side before making hisNYC debut for the Cowboys, scoring two tries in a victory over theSt George Illawarra Dragons.[7][8] In June 2017, he started at centre for theQueensland under-18 side, scoring a try in their loss to New South Wales.[9] On 17 July 2017, he signed a two-year NRL contract with the Cowboys.[10]
In 2018, Taulagi spent the entire season playing for the Cowboys'Queensland Cup feeder club, theNorthern Pride, scoring nine tries in 19 games. In June 2018, he started on the wing for theQueensland under-20 side in their win over New South Wales.[11] In October, he started on the wing for theJunior Kangaroos in their win over theJunior Kiwis.[12][6]
Following the 2018 season, Taulagi was elevated to the Cowboys' Top 30 NRL squad.[13]
In 2019, Taulagi switched Queensland Cup sides, joining North Queensland's other feeder club, theTownsville Blackhawks.[14] On 22 February, he tore hismedial collateral ligament (MCL) in a pre-season trial against theGold Coast Titans, ruling him out for six weeks.[15] On 5 April, he re-signed with the North Queensland outfit until the end of 2021.[16]
He returned from injury in Round 5, playing just four games before tearing his lateral meniscus against theCQ Capras, which forced him to miss nine weeks.[17] On 10 July, he started at centre and scored a try in theQueensland under-20 side's loss to New South Wales.[18]
In Round 18 of the2019 NRL season, Taulagi made his NRL debut for the North Queensland club againstSouth Sydney.[19][20] In Round 23, he scored his first NRL try in North Queensland's 24–10 win over thePenrith Panthers.[citation needed]
In February, Taulagi was a member of the North Queensland2020 NRL Nines winning squad.[21] He played four NRL games for the North Queensland club in 2020, finishing the season as a startingcentre.
In round 11 of the2021 NRL season, he scored ahat-trick for North Queensland in a 36–20 victory overNewcastle.[22]
In round 10 of the2022 NRL season, he scored two tries for North Queensland in a 36-12 victory over theWests Tigers.[23]
Taulagi played 25 matches for North Queensland in the2022 NRL season as the club finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Taulagi played in both finals matches including their preliminary final loss toParramatta. He finished as the clubs top try scorer for the season with 17 tries.[24]
In October he was named in theAustralia squad for the2021 Rugby League World Cup.[25] In the third group stage match at the2021 Rugby League World Cup, Taulagi scored two tries for Australia in their 66-6 victory over Italy.[26]
In round 18 of the2023 NRL season, Taulagi scored ahat-trick in North Queensland's 74-0 victory over the Wests Tigers.[27]Taulagi played 20 matches for North Queensland in the2023 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.[28]
Taulagi was named on the wing for Queensland ahead of game one in the2024 State of Origin series.[29]In round 22 of the2024 NRL season, Taulagi scored a hat-trick in North Queensland's 48-30 victory over the Wests Tigers.[30]In round 27, Taulagi scored two tries for North Queensland in their 44-6 victory over Canterbury.[31]Taulagi 18 games for North Queensland in the 2024 NRL season as they finished 5th on the table. He played in both finals games for North Queensland as they were eliminated in the second week by Cronulla.[32]
| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  North Queensland | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 8 |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 40 | |||
| 2022 | 25 | 17 | 0 | 68 | |||
| 2023 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 36 | |||
| 2024 | 18 | 11 | 44 | ||||
| Career totals | 93 | 49 | 0 | — | 0 | 196 | |
