NRLW 2024: Titans star Taliah Fuimaono on battling mental demons after injury hell

A surgeon once told Taliah Fuimaono she would never play rugby league again after ACL surgery and a shoulder reconstruction. The Titans recruit defied doctor’s orders before disaster struck again.

Taliah Fuimaono has been to hell and back with injury problems, but this past NRLW season was the worst of them.

Three weeks post-surgery on an ankle injury she suffered in July, the Gold Coast star has spoken about the mental struggles she endured as she fought in vain to get back on the field with this year’s grand finalists.

As she packs up her apartment on the Gold Coast to relocate to Sydney with her Manly-bound partner Jaxson Paulo for the next few months, Fuimaono describes her NRLW season, from an injury in round 1, being told her season was over, and then leaving no stone unturned to try and do the impossible.

MENTAL BATTLES

The Gold Coast half started the NRLW season on a high but in round 1 her dreams came crashing down when she was carried from the field with a serious ankle injury.

Scans showed she had ruptured the ligaments and needed surgery, but she begged for the chance to prove she could make it back on the field.

The 24-year-old had done this before. Long before she established herself as an NRLW star and a NSW and Australia representative, she suffered an ACL injury and needed a shoulder reconstruction. A surgeon told her she would never play rugby league again, yet she made it to the highest pinnacles of the sport.

She took that level of mental toughness into her most recent injury but found it was the hardest battle yet.

Fuimaono delayed surgery every week with hopes she could recover, but she never made it back on the field as she watched the Titans’ run to the NRLW grand final.

Titans half Taliah Fuimaono after ankle surgery.

Fuimaono protecting her leg cast.

“Even though this is probably one of my better injuries, in terms of time on the sideline, this was one of the hardest mentally just because I was stuck in the middle,” she says.

“I was holding the hope because if there was any chance I could play I wanted to be there just in case something happened to the girls and there was an injury.

“If I could be an option, I wanted to be.

“It was really hard just not being physically where I’m used to being.

“I got it to a point where I was up for selection, but it was a risk to play me. It wasn’t because I wasn’t good enough, but it was just emotional.

“I’d have a good session and then the next session it wouldn’t feel right. In the end I’m glad I did hold off, and the decisions that I made I have no regrets. If I did get the surgery right away I would have been wondering what if, but I literally tried every option.”

PROUD TITAN

The luxury of a three-year contract with the Titans helped ease her anxiety during what was already a stressful time.

And while she was thrilled to watch her close friends’ success, she was frustrated that she didn’t play an on-field part in the Gold Coast’s first ever grand final.

“The whole week leading up to the grand final, as excited as I was, it was really emotional,” she admits.

“It’s a hard feeling to describe when you’re not in it.

Taliah Fuimaono in action for the Titans. Picture: Getty Images

“I pictured the year so differently with so many hopes for the season, and as excited as I was for the girls, I was on the outside a bit and I didn’t feel a part of it.

“It makes me super excited for the year ahead now though. It’s a good reminder for when you’re not injured, to be grateful and realise how lucky you are in those situations.”

Her determination in the gym and in physio sessions helped inspire the Titans to the NRLW decider, where they played out a heart-stopping 24-18 loss to Newcastle.

She sobbed on the sidelines, already planning for a better season in 2024.

“It was so cool to see some of those girls establish themselves, and some of the younger members of our team just grow throughout the year. It was awesome,” she says.

WHAT’S NEXT

Fuimaono will temporarily move to Sydney with her partner Paulo at the end of this month while she waits for the women’s rugby league calendar to be finalised.

In the meantime, she will rest and recover, with hopes of being fit to play for Indigenous All Stars in February with a return to play period of three to four months.

“I still have so much to learn and so much to develop in my game, but that security (of a contract with the Titans) is so important to me, I don’t have to worry about ending my career now, it’s just another speed bump in the road,” she says.

“I’m super fortunate to have that luxury,”