One of the many talented playmakers coming through the South Sydney Rabbitohs system, Payton Tarau has opened up on his rugby league journey and future aspirations after a stellar past 12 months in both league and union.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs may be sitting near the bottom of the NRL ladder, but the club have some of the best emerging and young playmakers on their books, making a name for themselves from the NSW Cup down to the Harold Matthews Cup.
In 2025, the Rabbitohs have handed club debuts to Ashton Ward, Jamie Humphreys, Jayden Sullivan, and Lewis Dodd as they seek to find the right halves combination, similar to the success achieved by the combination of Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds.
As this contingent of players continues to fight for a regular spot in first-grade and cement a spot in the halves, a new breed of young playmakers is slowly making for themselves in the junior representative competitions, such as Matthew Humphries and Taj Alvarez.
Another one of these players is Payton Tarau, who is coming off his first season in the Harold Matthews Cup and won the Player of the Match in the Under-16s City vs Country match earlier this year.
"I just want to make my family proud and I know they always will be, but the main goal for me is trying to reach that NRL dream one day," Tarau told Zero Tackle.
"It's good (wearing the Rabbitohs jersey). I've been a junior coming through and always wear it with pride whenever I run out onto the field and give it my all.
"Playing for City just showed that all the hard work pays off and it was a pretty good experience going to camp and it means a lot."
Only at the beginning of his career, Tarau began his rugby league journey at Mascot, before making the move to the Newtown Jets and, most recently, the Maroubra Lions.
A talented cross-code prospect, he represented the Under-15s Samoa team in the 2024 Pasifika Youth Cup.
He was also named in the 2025 NSW Waratahs Under-15s Academy squad and played for NSW 2 at the recent Under-18s Australian Schools Rugby Championships in the 15-man code.
Currently in the Black Rabbits Program, Tarau spoke on the importance of his family, who have been with him since the start of his journey.
"My whole family means so much to me. Mum's always driving me places and dad always picks me up
"Whenever I'm down, they always help me up, especially during the tough games and tough losses. They're always there for me and I love them a lot.
"Dad's always helped me out since I was young and my mum and little brothers are always there for me
Idolising retired NRL halfback Shaun Johnson, he hopes to go one step further in the Harold Matthews Cup with the Rabbitohs in 2025 after the eventual winners, the New Zealand Warriors, eliminated them in the Preliminary Final this year.
"Hopefully, we can pick up from where we left off in the Harold Matts competition. Having got to that prelim, just to try and get that one step further and try to get the premiership," he added.
