The insane amount of money Felise Kaufusi paid for THAT haircut – and what Wayne Bennett thought about it
He has won premierships, State of Origin series and is part of a Tongan side that will contest an historic Pacific Championships final against Australia, but the biggest talking point about Felise Kaufusi this year has been his hair.
The hard-running Dolphins forward will line up for Tonga on Sunday as the island nation looks to claim its first major international trophy against the might of Australia at CommBank Stadium.
He will be easy to spot as well, with the bizarre haircut he has become known for in 2024, which has become known as the ‘reverse Jonah Lomu’ and “Kaufusi fade’.
Recognising he was going bald, Kaufusi took the same step many blokes in their 30s do, shaving his head.
However he then started growing hair at the base of his skull, fading it up to the bald part of his head – much to the amusement of NRL fans.
Kaufusi rocking his trademark hairstyle during State of Origin camp earlier this year
The Dolphins star grows his hair at the base of his skull and fades it up, instead of down
Kaufusi with his wife Rebecca and their children including new addition Zendaya
‘I swear Kaufusi went to the barber and said, can you give me a receding hairline on the back of my neck? He got a barber to literally fade that IN,’ one fan posted.
‘Kaufusi’s backwards fade has to be top 3 all time #Origin lids,’ another said.
‘Kaufusi for Dally M haircut of the year,’ declared another.
And it all started as a dare from Dolphins teammate Jack Bostock after watching a video on social media.
‘It started as a joke – and it still is a joke – when Jack showed me this TikTok video of this bald fella who had started growing out his hair at the back,’ Kaufusi told SMH.
‘He dared me to do it, and because I don’t take myself seriously, I did it, copped a lot of crap, then kept it, only to still cop a lot of crap.
‘The hair was already gone, but it continued to grow around the back. In the video they had called it an ‘eclipse fade’. I’m calling it the Kaufusi fade.
Since that moment in April, Kaufusi has spent a whopping $1000 maintaining his trademark fade and earning bemused looks from barbers.
‘The most embarrassing part was when I walked into the barber in Nudgee [Roman Kellys], showed them the TikTok video, then they asked if it was a joke,’ he said.
‘I still have to get a fresh fade once a week. It costs me $40. I try to do it sometimes at home, just to save money.
‘My wife [Rebecca] thought it was funny at first, but now she’s like, ‘what are you actually doing?’
‘I’ll keep growing it for now, then I want to try and plait it at the back when it gets long enough. I’ll have some fun.’
But what did former Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett think about the whole thing?
‘For some reason Wayne let this one slide,’ Kaufusi said.
‘I cheekily told Wayne he should try and follow suit.’
