Early years Talau attended
Spotswood College. Talau played for the
Taranaki Rockets in the
Lion Red Cup. At 21, his father gave him a one-way ticket to Australia to try his luck playing league. While playing in the metropolitan Cup he was spotted by
Canterbury, who signed him to play in the
National Rugby League. In the
1994 Lion Red Cup Talau played in nine matches, scoring one try. He then played in all 22 matches for the Rockets in the
1995 season.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Talau made his debut for Canterbury in round 17 of the
1998 NRL season against
South Sydney. Talau scored a try in Canterbury's famous 1998 preliminary final victory over arch-rivals
Parramatta. Canterbury were down 18–2 with less than ten minutes of the match remaining but won the game in extra-time 32–20. He played in 101
National Rugby League games for the Canterbury club, scoring 38 tries, including one in the
1998 NRL Grand Final defeat against the
Brisbane Broncos.
St Helens He signed for St. Helens in late 2003. He made his Super League début on 24 August 2003 against
Hull F.C. Talau scored two tries in the
2004 Challenge Cup Final, and participated in St Helens' 2006 treble, scoring in both the
2006 Challenge Cup Final and the
2006 Super League Grand Final. Talau scored 11 tries in 29 games during the 2006 season. As 2006 Super League champions, St Helens faced 2006 NRL Premiers the Brisbane Broncos in the
2007 World Club Challenge. Talau played at centre in the Saints' 18–14 victory. He played in 2008's
Super League XIII Grand Final defeat by the
Leeds Rhinos.
Salford Talau joined the
Super League side the
Salford City Reds for the start of the 2009 season. He retired from the sport at the end of the 2010 season. ==International career==