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| Born | (1995-04-05)5 April 1995 (age 30) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 kg (18 st 4 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: 21 September 2025[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Viliame Kikau (born 5 April 1995) is a Fijian professionalrugby league footballer who plays as asecond-row forward for theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in theNational Rugby League andFiji at international level.
He previously played for thePenrith Panthers in the NRL, and is a dual NRL premiership winning player of 2021 and 2022.
Kikau was born inNausori,Fiji, and grew up in the small island ofBau.[2]
Kikau playedrugby union in his youth and later earned placements atQueen Victoria School andMarist Brothers High School inSuva, where he played for their rugby union team and represented the Fiji Secondary Schools side against theAustralian Schoolboys.[3] In 2013, Kikau who never played rugby league was scouted byNorth Queensland recruiter Adrian Thomson in a schoolboy match and was one of three Fijian players who spent six weeks inTownsville.[4]
Kikau was the only player to sign with the club and joined theirHolden Cup team for the 2014 season. At the time, Kikau was also being scouted by a number of French rugby union clubs[5]
In 2014, Kikau's first season of rugby league, he played 21 games for North Queensland'sHolden Cup team, scoring 11 tries. A centre in his rugby union days, Kikau switched to prop after joiningNorth Queensland.[6]
In 2015, Kikau played in a pre-season trial game with North Queensland's first grade team. He scored a try in the sides 24–12 victory over theTownsville Blackhawks.[7]
On 2 May 2015, Kikau made his international debut forFiji againstPapua New Guinea in theMelanesian Cup match, playing off the interchange bench in the 22–10 win atRobina Stadium.[8][9] On 10 June 2015, Kikau signed a two-year contract with thePenrith Panthers.[10][11] On 14 September 2015, Kikau was named at prop in the 2015 NYC Team of the Year, finishing hisHolden Cup career with the North Queensland club with 32 tries from 42 matches.[12]
Kikau spent 2016 playing in Penrith'sNSW Cup team. On 8 October 2016, Kikau played for Fiji againstSamoa, starting at second-row in the 20–18 victory inApia,Samoa.[13]
In Round 2, Kikau made his NRL debut for thePenrith Panthers against theWests Tigers, playing off the interchange bench and scoring a try in the 36–2 win atCampbelltown Stadium.[14] On 15 April, he re-signed with thePenrith Panthers to the end of the2019 NRL season.[15]
On 6 May, Kikau played for Fiji againstTonga, starting at second-row and scoring a try in the 26–24 loss at Campbelltown Stadium.[16] Kikau would play most of the year playing in Penrith's NSW cup team where they won the NSW Intrust Super premiership against theWyong Roos 20–12.[17] A week later on 1 October, Kikau played in theNRL State Championship match againstQLD Cup winners thePapua New Guinea Hunters starting at second-row and scoring a try in the 42–18 boilover win.[18] Kikau finished his debut year in the NRL with 9 matches and 1 try for the Panthers in the NRL. On 7 October, he was named in the 24-man squad for Fiji for the2017 Rugby League World Cup.[19] Kikau had an outstanding tournament for Fiji playing in all of their 5 matches and scoring 3 tries and was rewarded with him being named in the World Cup Team of the Tournament.[20]
After his impressive World Cup campaign, Kikau would cement a permanent place in Penrith's top 17.[21]He made 25 appearances in the2018 NRL season as the club finished 5th and reached the elimination final against Cronulla-Sutherland before losing 21–20.[22]
In round 23 of the 2019 NRL season, Kikau played his 50th NRL game for Penrith in their 24–10 defeat by theNorth Queensland Cowboys at1300Smiles stadium. Kikau made a total of 18 appearances for Penrith in the2019 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table and missed out on the finals for the first time since 2015.[23]
Kikau played 19 games for Penrith in the2020 NRL season as the club won theMinor Premiership. Kikau played in the2020 NRL Grand Final for Penrith in which they lost 26-20 against Melbourne.[24]
On 27 September, Kikau was named Dally M Second Rower of the year alongside Parramatta'sIsaiah Papali'i.[25]
Kikau played a total of 27 games for Penrith in the2021 NRL season including the club's2021 NRL Grand Final victory overSouth Sydney Kikau scored a second half try in the final but was disallowed on review due to the pass fromNathan Cleary being ruled forward.[26]
Following Penrith's grand final victory, an intoxicated Kikau went onInstagram and mockedSouth Sydney by singing their club song. Penrith teammateTyrone May then appeared on the video and said "I don't give a f***. F*** every motherf***er, n***er".[27]
In November, an image of Kikau was leaked from a security camera within Canterbury Leagues Club showing Kikau posting in a Canterbury shirt along with head coachTrent Barrett and head of footballPhil Gould. Kikau then took to social media and explained the situation saying "Today photos were taken of me wearing another club's colours," Kikau wrote. "Me and my manager were told the photos wouldn't become public until the appropriate time. I am very disappointed that didn't happen and regret the upset it has caused. I want the Panthers fans to know I remain fully committed to our club and the team for the upcoming season. I can't wait to celebrate our premiership with you".[28]
Kikau played 25 games throughout the2022 NRL season for Penrith including the club's2022 NRL Grand Final victory overParramatta.[29]In the second group stage match of the2021 Rugby League World Cup, Kikau scored two tries for Fiji in their 60-4 victory over Italy.[30]
In round 1 of the2023 NRL season, Kikau made his club debut for Canterbury in their 31-6 loss againstManly atBrookvale Oval.[31]On 12 April, it was reported that Kikau had suffered a pectoral injury at training and would be ruled out for 8-10 weeks.[32]Kikau played a total of nine games for Canterbury in the2023 NRL season as the club finished 15th on the table.[33]
Kikau played 23 games for Canterbury in the2024 NRL season as the club qualified for the finals finishing 6th. This was the first time in eight years that Canterbury had managed this. Kikau played in the club's elimination final loss against Manly.[34]
In round 2 of the2025 NRL season, Kikau suffered an MCL injury in Canterbury's 40-24 victory over theGold Coast Titans and was ruled out from playing for at least a month.[35]Kikau played 22 games for Canterbury in the 2025 NRL season as the club finished fourth and qualified for the finals. Canterbury would be eliminated from the finals in straight sets.[36]
| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Penrith Panthers | 9 | 1 | 4 |
| 2018 | 25 | 5 | 20 | |
| 2019 | 18 | 7 | 28 | |
| 2020 | 19 | 7 | 28 | |
| 2021 | 27 | 9 | 36 | |
| 2022 | 25 | 9 | 36 | |
| 2023 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 9 | 1 | 4 |
| 2024 | 23 | 5 | 20 | |
| 2025 | 19 | 6 | 24 | |
| Totals | 174 | 50 | 200 |
