The insane amount of money Felise Kaufusi paid for THAT haircut – and what Wayne Bennett thought about it

He has won premierships, the State of Origin series and is part of a Tongan side that will contest a historic Pacific Championships final against Australia, but the biggest talking point about Felise Kaufusi this year is his hair.

The Dolphins running forward will line up for Tonga on Sunday as the island looks to claim its first major international trophy against the power of Australia at CommBank Stadium.

He will also be easy to recognize, with the bizarre hairstyle he became known for in 2024, which has become known as the ‘reverse Jonah Lomu’ and ‘Kaufusi fade’.

Kaufusi realized he was going bald and took the same step as many people in their thirties: shaving his head.

However, he then started growing hair at the base of his skull, causing it to fade down to the bald part of his head – much to the amusement of NRL fans.

The Dolphin Star grows its hair at the base of its skull and fades it upwards instead of downwards

Kaufusi with his wife Rebecca and their children, including new addition Zendaya

“I swear Kaufusi went to the hairdresser and said, can you give me a receding hairline on my neck? He hired a hairdresser to literally make that disappear IN,” one fan wrote.

“Kaufusi’s back fade has to be in the top 3 #Origin lids of all time,” said another.

“Kaufusi for Dally M haircut of the year,” declared another.

And it all started as a challenge from Dolphins teammate Jack Bostock after watching a video on social media.

“It started as a joke – and it’s still a joke – when Jack showed me this TikTok video of this bald guy who started growing his hair in the back,” Kaufusi said. SMH.

“He challenged me to do it, and because I don’t take myself seriously, I did it, did a bunch of shit and then saved it, only to deal with a bunch of shit still.

‘The hair was already gone, but it kept growing at the back. In the video they had called it an ‘eclipse fade’. I call it the Kaufusi fade.

Since that moment in April, Kaufusi has spent a whopping $1,000 maintaining his signature fade and earning bemused looks from hairdressers.

‘The most embarrassing thing was when I walked into the hairdressers in Nudgee [Roman Kellys]showed them the TikTok video and then 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 at home sometimes, just to save money.

‘My wife [Rebecca] thought it was funny at first, but now she says, “What are you even doing?”

‘I’ll let it grow for a while, and when it’s long enough I want to try braiding it at the back. I’ll have some fun.’

But what did former Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett think of the whole thing?

“For some reason Wayne left this one behind,” Kaufusi said.

“I rudely told Wayne to try and follow suit.”