Junior Tupou (born 29 July 2002) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL).
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Junior Tupou | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 July 2002 Auckland, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (190 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 4 lb (97 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 6 September 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editTupou was born in New Zealand and raised in Canberra, playing both codes of rugby football.[2] He attended St. Edmund's College, where he represented the school's 1st XV at the age of 16.
Career
edit2022
editTupou made his debut in Round 10 of the 2022 NRL season (Magic Round) for the Tigers against the North Queensland Cowboys, scoring a try in the 13th minute.[3] Tupou played only four games for the Wests Tigers as the club finished bottom of the table and claimed the Wooden Spoon for the first time.[4]
2023
editIn round 21 of the 2023 NRL season, Tupou scored two tries for the Wests Tigers in their 18-14 loss against St. George Illawarra. Before the game, the match was dubbed the "Spoon Bowl" by some media outlets due to the Wests Tigers being bottom of the table and St. George Illawarra sitting in second last position.[5]
Tupou was the leader for line breaks at the Wests Tigers in 2023, with 17, ranking him 19th in the entire competition.[6] He was also 25th in the NRL for tackle breaks, again best for the Tigers.[7] Tupou played a total of 22 games for the Wests Tigers in the 2023 NRL season and scored six tries as the club finished with the wooden spoon for a second straight year.[8]
On 22 December 2023, it was announced that Tupou had signed a three-year deal with the Dolphins from the 2025 season.[9][10]
References
edit- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ "Tigers young gun Junior Tupou to push for first grade selection". 9 Wide World of Sports. 30 November 2021.
- ^ Walsh, Dan (15 May 2022). "Tigers cop Brooks blow, Hasting abused by crowd as Cowboys run rampant". The Age.
- ^ "Canberra Raiders hand out 56-10 NRL drubbing to Wests Tigers as Cronulla beats Newcastle Knights 38-16". www.abc.net.au.
- ^ "Tigers on cusp of wooden spoon after Dragons win battle of the desperates". www.smh.com.au.
- ^ "Line breaks". nrl.com.
- ^ "Tackle breaks". nrl.com.
- ^ "'Circus act' that summed up year from hell... and big call left for Benji: Wests Tigers Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Tupou to join Dolphins from 2025". www.dolphinsnrl.com.au. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ "2024 NRL Signings Tracker: Tupou to Dolphins; Sharks land Fonua-Blake". www.nrl.com. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.