David Fifita joins the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2026 with one simple goal: to rebuild his once-blockbuster career. 

AT his best, David Fifita is among the most dangerous weapons in the National Rugby League.

The problem is, over the last couple of years, we haven’t seen much of his best. 

Last August, Gold Coast director of rugby Scott Sattler said what everyone was thinking: “He’s at a crossroads at the moment and he’s still only 25 years of age. Sometimes some people get to parts of their career where they think a change is really good for your career.” 

And a change is precisely what Fifita has made. 

In 2026, the destructive forward reunites with Wayne Bennett — the man who handed him his first-grade bow as an 18-year-old — at South Sydney. 

If anyone can get the best out of rugby league’s most mercurial talents, it’s the ultra-experienced master coach. 

Fifita stormed onto the scene under Bennett at the Broncos in 2018, becoming the first player born in the new millennium to appear in the NRL. 

He’d forced his way into the starting line-up by that year’s finals series, then went from strength to strength in 2019. 

By June, Fifita had earned a place in Kevin Walters’ Queensland side with just 22 first-grade games under his belt. 

But as the pandemic disrupted everyone in 2020, Fifita’s burgeoning career similarly stuttered. 

A knee injury limited him to just nine matches as Brisbane slumped to their first ever wooden spoon. Fifita’s first game back was maligned coach Anthony Seibold’s last in charge. 

Mid-year, Fifita announced a three-year, $3million move to the Titans from 2021 — and he justified that price tag throughout his first campaign down the Pacific Motorway. 

By round seven, he already had nine tries to his name. By season’s end, only five players — all outside backs — tallied more than his 17. Add to that 22 line breaks (seventh in the comp) and 155 tackle breaks (first). 

Led from the front by Fifita and fellow big-money recruit Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, former St Helens coach Justin Holbrook steered the Titans back into the top eight for the first time in five years, knocking premiership fancies the Roosters out of the playoffs. 

2022 was a mediocre year for both club and player, hampered by another knee complaint. 

But despite his team’s continued struggles in 2023 — which led to Holbrook’s sacking — Fifita returned to top form. 

The back-row wrecking ball forced his way back into a victorious Maroons side, earned the Dally M Second-Rower of the Year gong and inked an extension at the Titans until the end of 2026. 

Early the following year, though, came an Olympic-calibre backflip. Fifita refused to take up his contractual option to stay on the Gold Coast and announced a move to the Roosters. 

But less than a week later, he scratched that idea to remain at the Titans, befuddling the Sydney powerhouse and the wider rugby league world. 

While he rode a rollercoaster on the field, off-field controversies weren’t far away either. 

He was arrested in Bali on an end-of-year trip in 2019, then again on the Gold Coast 12 months later. A nightclub tangle with Reece Walsh followed in 2022. 

Discipline and consistency has been similarly elusive on the park. 

Since he made his name as a teenager, Fifita’s form has run hot and cold. One week, he’ll look like Mal Meninga reincarnate. The next, you’ll hardly notice he’s out there. 

Standout years in 2019, 2021 and 2023 have been offset by middling and injury-ravaged seasons like a worker operating with a ‘one on, one off’ roster. 

Last season was one of the down seasons, with no shortage of drama. Fifita made just eight NRL appearances due to fitness and falling out of favour with coach Des Hasler, who dumped him to reserve grade at times. 

After months of speculation about his future, Fifita joined Hasler on the way out the Gold Coast’s revolving door. 

In October, the 25-year-old finally signed with the Rabbitohs on a two-year deal, with the Titans covering a big chunk of his salary to grant the exit. 

The length of the contact and who’s paying it tells you everything you need to know about where his career is at. 

If Fifita’s body or work ethic lets him down again, he’ll be looking for a fourth club before his 28th birthday. 

For Souths, it’s a gamble — but one worth taking. The move looks like a good fit for both the player and his new club. 

Fifita is hardly the first player to struggle on the Gold Coast then want his way out. He’s still only 25. The upside is enormous. And his old employers are footing half the bill. 

If you’re Bennett, what’s the downside? 

Fifita gets a fresh start at a revered club in a new city with a familiar coach that’s made the most of plenty of players whose careers have stalled. 

The hulking second-rower strengthens a forward pack that lacked grunt in 2025, thanks in no small part to a chronic casualty ward. 

Fifita is their only major roster change this year, but with some big names fit again, the Rabbitohs will look like a new side. 

Last year, injury limited Cameron Murray (Achilles) to just one game, Brandon Smith (knee) to five, Latrell Mitchell (hamstring, quad, back) to 11, Cody Walker (calf) to 11 and Jack Wighton (calf) to 15. 

And the clock is ticking on this squad. 

Bennett — now 76 — can’t work forever. Key men Walker (36), Wighton (32), Alex Johnston (31), Jai Arrow (30), Smith (29), Murray (28) and Mitchell (28) are all closer to the end of their careers than the beginning. Plus, forward leader Keaon Koloamatangi is reportedly moving to the Dragons from 2027. 

A lot depends on how Jye Gary, Jayden Sullivan and Peter Mamouzelos cement themselves in the spine. If they flourish, then this side should be shooting to return to the preliminary final phase, where they were permanent features between 2018 and 2022. 

And if Bennett’s Bunnies are going to make serious inroads in the 2026 season, a rejuvenated David Fifita has a major role to play. 

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 517 (February 2026)