 In round 23 of the 2009 season, Tuiaki scored three tries, taking him to the top of the try-scoring table for the season with a total of 21.A broken ankle in round 24 while playing against the Parramatta Eels sidelined Tuiaki for the remainder of the season.At the time he was leading or well-ranked in many NRL stats, including line-breaks and tackle busts.