Daniel Tupou
Daniel Tupou (born 17 June 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and Australia at international level. Tupou has played for the City Origin, New South Wales in the State of Origin series and Prime Minister's XIII sides. He won the 2013, 2018 and 2019 NRL Grand Final with the Roosters. Background. Tupou was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Tongan descent. Playing career. Tupou played his junior rugby league for the Berala Bears and Guildford Owls  before being signed by the Parramatta Eels. Tupou played for the Eels' NYC team in 2010 and 2011, scoring 9 tries in 22 games, before being signed by the Sydney Roosters. 2012. In Round 24, Tupou made his NRL debut for the Sydney Roosters against the Canberra Raiders in the Roosters 24-20 loss at Canberra Stadium. In just his second game, Tupou scored 3 tries against the Wests Tigers in the Roosters 44-20 win at the SFS. Tupou played in 3 matches and scored 3 tries for the Roosters in his debut year. On 12 September, Tupou was  named at wing in the NSW Cup Team of the Year. On 30 September, he played for the Newtown Jets in their New South Wales Cup 22-16 Grand Final win over the Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers. 2013. On 26 February, Tupou extended his contract with the Roosters to the end of the 2015 season. He became a full-time first grader in 2013, scoring 14 tries from 26 games. His most impressive try came in the 2013 NRL Grand Final when he leapt over Manly's David Williams to level the game at 6-6. Roosters went on to  win the Grand Final 26-18 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. Tupou was named in the 24-man Tongan 2013 Rugby League World Cup squad. He made his Tongan international debut against Scotland on the wing in the 26-24 loss at Derwent Park. Tupou played in all of Tonga's 3 matches in the tournament. 2014. On 4 May, Tupou was selected played for NSW City in the City vs Country Origin match in Dubbo, New South Wales. He played on the wing and scored 2 tries in the 26-all draw. Tupou was selected to make his  debut for the New South Wales Blues in Game 1 of the 2014 State of Origin series on the wing in the 100th State of Origin match in the Blues 12-8 win at Suncorp Stadium. He also played in the next game as NSW won 6-4, resulting in the Blues breaking their 8-year losing streak, and in Game 3. Tupou scored 14 tries in 19 matches with the Roosters. On 12 October, Tupou played on the wing for Prime Minister's XIII in the 34-16 win over Papua New Guinea. He was selected in the Australia  Kangaroos 24-man squad for the 2014 Four Nations. Tupou made his international debut on the wing in the Kangaroos 30-12 loss against New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium, his only appearance in the tournament. 2015. Tupou was again selected for New South Wales City. He played for New South Wales in Game 1 of the 2015 State of Origin series, in a 10-11 loss, but was dropped for the rest of the series. On 27 July, he re-signed with the Roosters, keeping him at the club to the end of the 2017 season. He finished the season  having played in all of the Roosters' 27 matches and scoring 16 tries. 2016. In February, Tupou played for the Roosters in the Auckland Nines. He scored 10 tries from 21 games with the Roosters. 2017. In Round 4 against cross-city rivals the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Tupou played his 100th NRL match and scored a try in the Roosters 20-6 win at ANZ Stadium. In 2017 Tupou elected to represent the nation of his ancestral heritage, Tonga. He played wing in every game of their stunning charge to the 2017 Rugby League World Cup semi-finals. He scored  2 tries in their win over Scotland in the pool stage of the tournament. 2018. Tupou was part of the Eastern Suburbs side which won their 4th minor premiership in 6 years. On 30 September, Tupou played on the wing and scored the games first try in Easts 21-6 victory over Melbourne in the 2018 NRL Grand Final. 2019. In round 2 of the 2019 NRL season, Tupou scored 2 tries as the Sydney Roosters defeated Manly-Warringah 26-18 at Brookvale Oval. In round 21, Tupou scored 2 tries as his team defeated Canberra 22-18 at Canberra  Stadium. Tupou made a total of 26 appearances for the Sydney Roosters in the 2019 NRL season as the club won their second consecutive premiership defeating Canberra 14-8 in the 2019 NRL Grand Final with Tupou playing on the wing. Tupou was involved in the match winning play late in the second half when he passed the ball on the inside to James Tedesco who raced away to score the deciding try. The premiership victory was Tupou's third as a player. 2020. On 22 February, Tupou played for the Sydney Roosters in their 2020 World Club Challenge victory  defeating St Helens R.F.C. 20-12. In round 16 of the 2020 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 58-12 victory over Brisbane at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In round 18 of the 2020 NRL season against Newcastle, Tupou scored two tries to become the 4th Sydney Roosters player to score 100 tries. Tupou was later selected for the 2020 State of Origin series. He played in all three matches,scoring 2 tries,as New South Wales suffered a shock 2-1 series loss against Queensland. 2021. In round 10 of the 2021 NRL season, he scored two  tries in the club's 30-16 victory over North Queensland. In round 23, Tupou scored a hat-trick in the club's 40-22 victory over St. George Illawarra. Tupou played a total of 26 games for the Sydney Roosters in the 2021 NRL season including the club's two finals matches. The Sydney Roosters would be eliminated from the second week of the finals losing to Manly 42-6.