Anthony Tupou

Anthony Tupou (born 1 March 1983) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a second-row and lockin the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative, he played for the Sydney Roosters, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League, while also having a stint in the Super League with the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

Anthony Tupou
Tupou at the Roosters in 2008
Personal information
Born (1983-03-01) 1 March 1983
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight102 kg (16 st 1 lb)
PositionSecond-row, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2004–08 Sydney Roosters 111 19 0 0 76
2009–15 Cronulla Sharks 125 10 0 0 40
2016 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 25 5 0 0 20
2017 Newcastle Knights 4 0 0 0 0
Total 265 34 0 0 136
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005–09 NSW Country 2 0 0 0 0
2005–07 Prime Minister's XIII 3 0 0 0 0
2006–08 Australia 11 2 0 0 8
2007–08 New South Wales 4 0 0 0 0
2010 NRL All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
2013 Tonga 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2][3]

Background

Tupou was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He attended school at St Francis Xavier College, a well-known rugby league nursery in Newcastle.

Professional career

Sydney Roosters

Tupou made his first-grade début in 2004 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[4] In the September 2004 issue of Big League magazine, after making his début with the Roosters, Tupou claimed that growing up his favourite player to watch was Queensland legend Mal Meninga. He also claimed that the biggest influence on his football was his father and his club coach Ricky Stuart.[5] At the end of that season he played for the Roosters from the interchange bench in their 2004 NRL grand final loss to cross-Sydney rivals, the Bulldogs.

Tupou playing for the Roosters in 2008

In 2005, Tupou made his representative début in the City vs Country Origin for the Country NSW team.[6]

At the end of the 2006 season, Tupou was selected for the Australian team,[7] as a replacement for Reni Maitua. He played four matches, scoring one try.

Tupou retained his Test spot in 2007 for the Anzac Test against New Zealand. Tupou made his début for New South Wales in Game 1 of the 2007 State of Origin series. His Test début came before his Origin debut. However, he was dropped for Game 2.

On 22 April 2008, Tupou announced that he had accepted a 4-year deal with the Cronulla Sharks worth 1.5 million dollars.[8]

In August 2008, Tupou was named in the Australia training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[9] He was named in the Australia squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, replacing Michael Crocker who withdrew through injury.[10] Although also named in the Tonga training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, Tupou played for Australia.[10][11]

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Tupou played for the Sharks mainly at second-row forward. Tupou was named in NSW's preliminary 40-man squad for the 2009 State of Origin series. He was selected for Country in the City vs Country match on 8 May 2009.[12]

In 2013, Tupou played for the Tonga national rugby league team in their Pacific Rugby League International clash with fierce rivals Samoa.

On 22 August 2014, Tupou became one of the current Sharks players to accept reduced bans from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority for his role in the club's 2011 supplements scandal.[13]

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

On 2 November 2015, Tupou signed a 2-year contract with Super League side Wakefield Trinity Wildcats starting in 2016.[14]

Newcastle Knights

In 2017, Tupou returned to his hometown to play for the Newcastle Knights on a 1-year contract.[15] He made his Knights début in round 5 of the 2017 season against his former club Cronulla.[16] With a hip injury limiting his time at the Knights to only 4 games, he announced his retirement in September 2017.[17]

References
  1. loverugbyleague
  2. "Anthony Tupou - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  3. NRL Stats
  4. "www.nrl.com/Clubs/Roosters/RoostersPlayerProfile/tabid/221/playerid/148/Default.aspx". Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  5. "Player Profile, Anthony Tupou". Sydney Roosters. 26 March 2006. Archived from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
  6. "Country boy chips away and gets a jersey to diet for - League - Sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 May 2005. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  7. "Injury to Maitua opens door for Tupou - League - Sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  8. "$1.5m makes Tupou a Shark". Herald Sun. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  9. "Veteran Lockyer named in Australian squad". International Herald Tribune. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
  10. "Australia recall Tupou from Tonga". BBC. 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  11. "Tug-of-war over Mason". Sky Sports. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  12. Balym, Todd (3 May 2009). "Blues halfback duel in two as Mitchell Pearce misses selection". Fox Sports. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  13. "Cronulla Sharks players accept doping bans". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  14. "Anthony Tupou joins Wildcats | NRL". Zero Tackle. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  15. James Gardiner8 Feb 2017, 11:04 a.m. "Knights to give Tupou NRL lifeline | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  16. "Updated team lists: Sharks v Knights". NRL.com. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  17. "Anthony Tupou announces retirement - Zero Tackle". 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
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