In 2007, he was the
Sydney Roosters Jersey Flegg Cup Player of the Year and was selected to play for the
Junior Kiwis.
2009 In round 8, Tamou made his NRL debut against the
Parramatta Eels where he played off the interchange bench and scored a try in North Queensland's 18–28 loss at
Parramatta Stadium. He finished his
debut year in the NRL with 12 matches and two tries.
2010 In
2010, Tamou was named the North Queensland club's most improved player of the year, after playing in 19 matches and scoring a try. His good form was rewarded that year, when he re-signed with North Queensland for a further three years. On 16 October, Tamou once again represented New Zealand Māori when they faced
England before the start of the
2010 Four Nations tournament.
2011 On 12 April, Tamou and teammate
Blake Leary were suspended by the North Queensland club for one game for "breaking team alcohol rules". Tamou later played a major part in North Queensland's surge to the finals, finishing the
season with him playing in 23 matches and scoring two tries. He averaged 108 metres per game. In September, Tamou was selected in
New Zealand's train-on squad for the
Four Nations, although he was not selected in the final squad.
2012 In April, despite just weeks earlier expressing his desire to represent New Zealand, Tamou pledged his allegiance to
Australia and
New South Wales. Tamou had received phone calls from then New South Wales coach
Ricky Stuart and captain
Paul Gallen about making the switch. On 20 April, Tamou made his Australian international in the
Anzac Test, playing off the interchange bench in the 20–12 win at
Eden Park. On 22 May, Tamou made his
State of Origin debut for New South Wales, starting at prop in the Blues 10–18 loss at
Docklands Stadium in
Melbourne. Tamou played in all three games of the
series. The
2012 NRL season was a breakout year for Tamou, playing in 24 matches and scoring two tries as well as averaging more metres per game than any other prop in the NRL. On 13 October, Tamou played for Australia in the trans-Tasman test, where he started at prop and scored a try in the 18–10 victory. On 10 December, Tamou re-signed with the Cowboys, keeping him at the club to the end of the 2016 season.
2013 On 19 April, Tamou was selected for Australia in the
Anzac Test, starting at prop in the 32–12 win at
Canberra Stadium in what was the first
test match ever played in
Canberra. In game 1 of the
2013 State of Origin series, Tamou was selected for New South Wales and started at prop in a 14–6 victory over
Queensland at
ANZ Stadium. Less than a week later, Tamou was fined $20,000 by the NRL and suspended for two NRL matches for drink driving and driving unlicensed in Townsville on 11 June. He was suspended for the second Origin match. Tamou returned in game 3, where New South Wales lost 12–10, resulting in Queensland winning the series 2–1. In the club's elimination final match against the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Tamou played his 100th NRL match in the 20–18 loss at
Sydney Football Stadium. Tamou finished the
year with 22 appearances for North Queensland. In October, he played for Australia in the
World Cup, playing in 6 matches and scoring a try in the tournament. Tamou started at prop in the Kangaroos 34–2 World Cup Final victory over New Zealand at
Old Trafford in
Manchester.
2014 In February, Tamou was a member of North Queensland's victorious
Auckland Nines side and was named in the Team of the Tournament. On 2 May, Tamou played in the
2014 Anzac Test against New Zealand, playing off the interchange bench in the 30–18 win. For the
2014 State of Origin series, Tamou played in all 3 matches in the Blues 2–1 series win, resulting in New South Wales winning its first series win since the
2005. In round 20, against the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Tamou injured his neck, resulting with him being sidelined for a month. He returned in round 24. Tamou finished the
season with him playing in 21 matches and scoring one try. He underwent neck surgery at the end of the season, ruling him out of Australia's
Four Nations campaign.
2015 Early into the
season, rumours were floating around about Tamou was going to offloaded from North Queensland to the
Canberra Raiders after his bad performances in the Cowboys first 3 losses off the season, but later on Tamou returned to his best form when North Queensland went on their 11 match winning streak. On 3 May, Tamou played in the
Anzac Test, playing off the interchange bench in the 12–26 loss. In the
2015 State of Origin series, Tamou played in all three matches, starting at prop for the Blues in their 2–1 series loss. On 4 October, Tamou was a member of North Queensland's
2015 NRL Grand Final winning side, starting at prop and scoring a try in the side's 17–16 victory over the
Brisbane Broncos. Tamou finished his successful
year with him playing in 24 matches and scoring two tries.
2016 On 2 February, Tamou played for North Queensland in the
Auckland Nines. On 21 February 2016, Tamou was a member of the Cowboys'
World Club Challenge winning side, starting at prop in the side's 38–4 victory over the
Leeds Rhinos at
Headingley Stadium. On 6 May 2016, Tamou played for
Australia against
New Zealand, playing off the interchange bench in the 16–0 win at
Hunter Stadium. On 16 June 2016, it was announced that Tamou had signed a four-year deal with the
Penrith Panthers. In the
2016 State of Origin series, Tamou played in all 3 matches for
New South Wales in their 2–1 series loss. Tamou finished his last year with the
North Queensland Cowboys with him playing in 25 matches and scoring two tries in the
2016 NRL season.
2017 In February 2017, Tamou was named in Penrith's
2017 NRL Auckland Nines squad. In round 1 of the
2017 NRL season, Tamou made his club debut for the
Penrith Panthers against the
St George Illawarra Dragons, where he started at prop in the 10–42 loss at
Jubilee Oval.
2018 In 2018, Tamou was not selected in the NSW Blues
State of Origin squad for the second year in a row despite Penrith being on top of the table after 13 rounds and the player showing good form. Tamou played a total of 25 games for Penrith in 2018 as the club qualified for the finals but were eliminated by Cronulla in week two of the finals series.
2019 Tamou made a total of 24 appearances for Penrith in the
2019 NRL season as the club finished a disappointing 10th place and missed out on the finals for the first time since 2015.
2020 Tamou played 22 games for Penrith in the
2020 NRL season as the club won the
Minor Premiership and went on a 17-game unbeaten run to reach the
2020 NRL Grand Final. Tamou captained Penrith in the final where they lost to Melbourne 26–20. This would be Tamou's final game for the side as he had signed a contract to join the
Wests Tigers in 2021.
2021 In round 1 of the
2021 NRL season, he made his debut for Wests Tigers in a 30–12 loss against Canberra. Tamou played a total of 19 games for the
Wests Tigers in the
2021 NRL season as the club finished 13th and missed the finals.
2022 In round 23 of the
2022 NRL season, Tamou was sent off for dissent in Wests Tigers record 72–6 loss against the
Sydney Roosters at the
Sydney Cricket Ground. in the
2022 NRL season as the club finished bottom of the table and claimed the
Wooden Spoon for the first time.
2023 Tamou signed a one-year deal to return to the
North Queensland Cowboys for the
2023 NRL season, playing his first game off the bench in the side's round 1 win over the
Canberra Raiders. Tamou's next appearance came in North Queensland's round 4 win over the
Gold Coast Titans, where he scored a try but sustained a lisfranc injury and was sidelined for 21 weeks. On 17 August, Tamou announced he had played his final game for the North Queensland club and would retire effective immediately. Tamou later signed with the
Townsville Blackhawks for the 2024
Queensland Cup Season. ==Achievements and accolades==