Anthony Tupou
Birth date1 March 1983 (age 43)
Birth placeNewcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight102 kg (16 st 1 lb)
Club 1Sydney Roosters
Year1start2004
Year1end08
Appearances 1111
Tries 119
Goals 10
Fieldgoals 10
Points 176
Club 2Cronulla Sharks
Year2start2009
Year2end15
Appearances 2125
Tries 210
Goals 20
Fieldgoals 20
Points 240
Club 3Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Year3start2016
Appearances 325
Tries 35
Goals 30
Fieldgoals 30
Points 320
Club 4Newcastle Knights
Year4start2017
Appearances 44
Tries 40
Goals 40
Fieldgoals 40
Points 40
TeamaNSW Country
Yearastart2005
Yearaend09
Appearancesa2
Triesa0
Goalsa0
Fieldgoalsa0
Pointsa0
TeambPrime Minister's XIII
Yearbstart2005
Yearbend07
Appearancesb3
Triesb0
Goalsb0
Fieldgoalsb0
Pointsb0
TeamcAustralia
Yearcstart2006
Yearcend08
Appearancesc11
Triesc2
Goalsc0
Fieldgoalsc0
Pointsc8
TeamdNew South Wales
Yeardstart2007
Yeardend08
Appearancesd4
Triesd0
Goalsd0
Fieldgoalsd0
Pointsd0
TeameNRL All Stars
Yearestart2010
Appearancese1
Triese0
Goalse0
Fieldgoalse0
Pointse0
TeamfTonga
Yearfstart2013
Appearancesf1
Triesf0
Goalsf0
Fieldgoalsf0
Pointsf0

Anthony Tupou (born 1 March 1983) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in 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.

Background

Tupou was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He attended school at St Francis Xavier's College, Hamilton.

Professional career

Sydney Roosters

Tupou made his first-grade début in 2004 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[1] 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.[2] 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.

In 2005, Tupou made his representative début in the City vs Country Origin for the Country NSW team.[3]

At the end of the 2006 season, Tupou was selected for the Australian team,[4] 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.[5]

In August 2008, Tupou was named in the Australia training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[6] He was named in the Australia squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, replacing Michael Crocker who withdrew through injury.[7] Although also named in the Tonga training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, Tupou played for Australia.[7][8]

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.[9]

In 2013, Tupou played for the Tonga national rugby league team in their 2013 Polynesian Cup 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.[10]

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

On 2 November 2015, Tupou signed a 2-year contract with Super League side Wakefield Trinity Wildcats starting in 2016.[11]

Newcastle Knights

In 2017, Tupou returned to his hometown to play for the Newcastle Knights on a 1-year contract.[12] He made his Knights début in round 5 of the 2017 season against his former club Cronulla.[13] With a hip injury limiting his time at the Knights to only four games, he announced his retirement in September 2017.[14]

References

  1. ^ "www.nrl.com/Clubs/Roosters/RoostersPlayerProfile/tabid/221/playerid/148/Default.aspx". Retrieved 1 July 2007.[dead link]
  2. ^ "Player Profile, Anthony Tupou". Sydney Roosters. 2006-03-26. Archived 29 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  3. ^ "Country boy chips away and gets a jersey to diet for - League - Sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-05-03. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  4. ^ "Injury to Maitua opens door for Tupou - League - Sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  5. ^ "$1.5m makes Tupou a Shark". Herald Sun. 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  6. ^ "Veteran Lockyer named in Australian squad". International Herald Tribune. 2008-08-01. Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
  7. ^ "Australia recall Tupou from Tonga". BBC. 2008-10-09. Archived 10 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  8. ^ "Tug-of-war over Mason". Sky Sports. 2008-08-05. Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  9. ^ Balym, Todd (2009-05-03). "Blues halfback duel in two as Mitchell Pearce misses selection". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  10. ^ "Cronulla Sharks players accept doping bans". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  11. ^ "Anthony Tupou joins Wildcats | NRL". Zero Tackle. 2015-03-08. Archived from the original on 4 November 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  12. ^ James Gardiner8 Feb 2017, 11:04 a.m. "Knights to give Tupou NRL lifeline | Newcastle Herald". Theherald.com.au. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  13. ^ "Updated team lists: Sharks v Knights". NRL.com. 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
  14. ^ "Anthony Tupou announces retirement - Zero Tackle". 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.