Early career Tonumaipea played for Melbourne's
S. G. Ball Cup team in 2009 and their
NYC team in 2011 and 2012. At the end of 2012, Tonumaipea won Melbourne's NYC player of the year award. in 2013 In 2013, Tonumaipea played for the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks NSW Cup team, and was in Cronulla's NSW Cup grand final winning side that defeated the
Windsor Wolves 36–8.
2014 - 2018: Melbourne Storm In February 2014, Tonumaipea was included in Melbourne's inaugural
2014 Auckland Nines squad. In round 1 of the
2014 NRL season, Tonumaipea made his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm against the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles on the wing in Melbourne's 23–22 golden point win. In round 3, against the
Newcastle Knights, Tonumaipea scored his first NRL career try in Melbourne's 28–20 win at
AAMI Park. In round 6, in a match against the
St George Illawarra Dragons, Tonumaipea scored a try after the full-time siren to win to the game for Melbourne 28–24 after they had been behind 24–10 in the second half. Tonumaipea was selected to play for
Samoa in the 3 May
2014 Pacific Rugby League International against
Fiji. Tonumaipea played on the wing in the 32–16 win at
Penrith Stadium; Tonumaipea had a try disallowed in the match. On 28 May 2014, Tonumaipea re-signed with the Melbourne club for a further two years, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2016 season. Tonumaipea finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 14 matches and scoring three tries for Melbourne. On 23 January 2015, Tonumaipea was named in Melbourne's
2015 Auckland Nines squad. Tonumaipea was named in Melbourne's
2016 Auckland Nines squad. He did not appear in the
2016 NRL Grand Final against the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He played 12 matches and scored two tries. Tonumaipea was named in Melbourne's
2017 Auckland Nines squad and he was co-captain for the Storm with
Kenny Bromwich. On 5 February at
2017 Auckland Nines against the
Newcastle Knights, he scored a try in the 20–10 win, a try in Melbourne's 25–12 win at the quarter-finals against the
North Queensland Cowboys and a try in Melbourne's 16–21 loss over the
Sydney Roosters in the semi-final at
Eden Park. He played five matches and scored three tries in the Nines tournament, while in the NRL, he played seven matches scoring two tries. On 6 October, Tonumaipea was selected the
Samoa squad for the
2017 Rugby League World Cup tournament. On 11 November in the
2017 Rugby League World Cup match against
Scotland, playing at Tonumaipea scored his first international try in the 14-all draw at
Barlow Park in
Cairns. He played in all four of Samoa's matches in the World Cup tournament. In May 2018 Tonumaipea announced he would be leaving his club in July, after the
State of Origin series, to complete a mission for the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over in Germany for two years.
2020: Gold Coast Titans Tonumaipea signed a train and trial deal with the
Gold Coast Titans. He made his debut for the Gold Coast in their 28–23 win against the
Wests Tigers, playing in the s.
2022- 24: Melbourne Storm In June 2022, Tonumaipea rejoined
Melbourne Storm, signing a train and trial contract following the completion of the
2022 Super Rugby Pacific season where he played for
Melbourne Rebels. Following a four-year absence, Tonumaipea featured twice for Melbourne during the
2022 season scoring two tries. Tonumaipea played nine games for Melbourne in the
2023 NRL season as they finished third on the table. He played in the club's 26-0 qualifying final loss to Brisbane which caused him to be demoted from the team and replaced by
Justin Olam for the semi-final against the Sydney Roosters. == Post NRL ==