Early career From 2010 to 2012, Kaufusi played for the North Queensland Cowboys'
NYC team, including their
2011 NYC Grand Final 30-31 golden point extra time loss to the
New Zealand Warriors. In 2013, he moved on to the Cowboys'
Queensland Cup team,
Northern Pride RLFC. The following year, Kaufusi played for the
Queensland Residents against the
New South Wales Residents.
Melbourne Storm (2015-2022) In Round 1 of the
2015 NRL season, Kaufusi made his
NRL debut for the
Melbourne Storm against the
St. George Illawarra Dragons, playing off the interchange bench in the 12-4 win at
Jubilee Oval. In Round 4 against the
North Queensland Cowboys, Kaufusi scored his first NRL career try in the Storm’s 18-17 loss at
1300SMILES Stadium. On 2 May 2015, he played for
Tonga against
Samoa in the
Polynesian Cup. On 2 July 2015, Kaufusi re-signed with the Storm on a two-year contract. On 7 May 2016, Kaufusi played for Tonga against Samoa in the 2016
Polynesian Cup. On 6 July, he was named as 18th man for
Queensland in Game 3 of the
2016 State of Origin series. Kaufusi was named as 18th man for the Storm in their
2016 NRL Grand Final clash against the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks but didn’t play in the 12-14 loss. Kaufusi finished the
2016 NRL season having played in twenty-one matches and scoring four tries for the Storm. On 21 April 2017, Kaufusi re-signed with the Storm to the end of the 2019 season. On 6 May 2017, he played for Tonga against
Fiji in the
2017 Pacific Test, where he started at second-row in the 26-24 win at
Campbelltown Stadium. During the season, Kaufusi took over the void second-row position from the departed
Kevin Proctor and was instrumental for the Storm to their run leading up to the Finals series when they won the Minor Premiership trophy. In the Storm’s 2017 NRL Grand Final 34-6 victory against the
North Queensland Cowboys, Kaufusi started at second-row and scored a try. Kaufusi finished the
2017 NRL season having played in all of the Storm’s twenty-seven matches and scored nine tries. Two days after the Grand Final win, Kaufusi was selected in the Kangaroos squad for the
2017 Rugby League World Cup. On 3 November 2017, Kaufusi made his test debut for
Australia against
France, where he played off the interchange bench in the 52-6 win at
Canberra Stadium. In Round 1 of 2018, Kaufusi suffered a
hamstring injury and was sidelined for three weeks. In May, he signed a two-year extension to remain with the Melbourne Storm. Kaufusi made his debut for
Queensland in Game 1 of the
2018 State of Origin series, starting at second-row in all three games. He then featured in the
Melbourne Storm's grand final loss to the
Sydney Roosters. Kaufusi played in twenty-one games for the Storm in 2018, scoring five tries. He also played for
Australia in the end of season tests vs
New Zealand and
Tonga. Kaufusi played twenty-five games for Melbourne in the
2019 NRL season. Although Melbourne finished as
minor premiers, they were defeated by the
Sydney Roosters in the preliminary final. In the
2020 NRL season, Kaufusi played twenty-one games for Melbourne including the club's
2020 NRL Grand Final victory over Penrith. In round 2 of the
2021 NRL season against Parramatta, Kaufusi was placed on report suspended for three games after tackling Parramatta player
Ryan Matterson, who subsequently missed the following five matches. In round 10, Kaufusi was placed on report for tripping a
St. George Illawarra but later beat the charge, and was then selected for Queensland to play in the
2021 State of Origin series. Kaufusi was selected by Queensland for game one of the
2022 State of Origin series. In game two, he scored a try but was later sin binned for a professional foul during Queensland's 12-44 loss against New South Wales. Kaufusi played twenty-one games for Melbourne in the
2022 NRL season including the club's elimination final loss to
Canberra.
Dolphins (2023-present) In round 1 of the
2023 NRL season, Kaufusi made his club debut for the
Dolphins in their
inaugural game in the national competition, defeating the
Sydney Roosters 28-18 at Suncorp Stadium. After a late tackle in round 3 against the
Newcastle Knights at
McDonald Jones Stadium, Kaufusi was suspended on a dangerous contact charge for the next four games (rounds 4-7). In round 10 against the
Cronulla Sutherland Sharks at
Suncorp Stadium, Kaufusi captained the Dolphins in their 36-16 victory at Suncorp Stadium. In the second minute of round 12 against the Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium, Kaufusi was sin-binned for a grade-two careless high tackle and suspended for the next three rounds. Internationally, Kaufusi was selected to represent Tonga in a three-Test series against England that commenced at St Helens'
Totally Wicked Stadium on 22 October 2023. In game 1 of the
2024 State of Origin series, Kaufusi became the first 18th man to be activated in a State of Origin match due to
Reece Walsh being fouled out of the game following a high tackle by
Joseph Suaalii which he was sent from the field for. Kaufusi played 18 games for the Dolphins in the
2024 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table. On 28 August 2025, the Dolphins announced that Kaufusi had re-signed with the team until the end of 2027. Kaufusi played 16 matches for the Dolphins in the
2025 NRL season as the club narrowly missed out on the finals finishing 9th. ==Honours==