# Sitili Tupouniua

Sitili Tupouniua (born 30 May 1997) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL).

## Background

Tupouniua was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Tongan descent.
Tupouniua played his junior rugby league for the Marist Saints. He played in the Sydney Roosters’ Holden Cup side from 2016-2017, including in the Sydney Roosters’ 2016 Holden Cup premiership winning team.

## Playing career
### 2018

Tupouniua made his first grade debut for the Sydney Roosters in round 16 of the 2018 NRL season against the Melbourne Storm at Adelaide Oval.

### 2019

Tupouniua scored his first try in the top grade against Canterbury-Bankstown in round 14 of the 2019 NRL season at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Tupouniua featured for North Sydney, the Sydney Roosters feeder club in the 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW finals series. Tupouniua scored 2 tries in North Sydney's elimination final defeat by Newtown at Leichhardt Oval.

### 2020

Tupouniua scored his first try of the 2020 NRL season in round 9 as the Sydney Roosters defeated North Queensland 42–16 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
In round 16 of the 2020 NRL season, he scored two tries for the Roosters in a 58–12 victory over Brisbane at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
He made a total of 20 appearances in the 2020 NRL season as the Sydney Roosters reached the finals but were eliminated by Canberra ending their quest for a third straight premiership.
In December 2020, he signed a contract extension keeping him with the Sydney Roosters until the end of the 2024 season.

### 2021

In round 10 of the 2021 NRL season, he was sent to the sin bin for an illegal high tackle during the club's 30-16 victory over North Queensland.
In round 12 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 44-16 victory over Canberra.
In round 19, he scored two tries during the club's victory over Newcastle.
In round 24, he was sent to the sin bin during the club's 54-12 loss against arch-rivals South Sydney.
He played a total of 24 games for the Sydney Roosters in the 2021 NRL season including the club's two finals matches. The Sydney Roosters were eliminated from the second week of the finals losing to Manly 42-6.

### 2022

In round 18 of the 2022 NRL season, Tupouniua was taken from the field during the Sydney Roosters 54-26 victory over St. George Illawarra with a knee injury. It was later announced that Tupounia would miss the remainder of the 2022 NRL season with an ACL injury.

### 2023

He played eight matches for the Sydney Roosters in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 7th on the table and qualified for the finals.

### 2024

On 1 July, Tupouniua would sign a four-year deal to join the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs from 2025 onwards. In round 22 of the 2024 NRL season, he scored two tries in the Sydney Roosters 40-34 victory over the Dolphins. He played a total of 21 matches for the Sydney Roosters in the 2024 NRL season including their preliminary final loss against Melbourne.

### 2025

In round 1 of the 2025 NRL season, he made his club debut for Canterbury in their 28-20 victory over St. George Illawarra scoring two tries.

## Statistics

| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
| 2018 | Sydney Roosters | 1 | | |
| 2019 | Sydney Roosters | 16 | 1 | 4 |
| 2020 | Sydney Roosters | 20 | 5 | 20 |
| 2021 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 12 | 48 |
| 2022 | Sydney Roosters | 16 | 7 | 28 |
| 2023 | Sydney Roosters | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| 2024 | Sydney Roosters | 21 | 7 | 28 |
| 2025 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| | Totals | 107 | 35 | 140 |