Introduction
Anthony Tupou (born 1 March 1983 in Newcastle, New South Wales) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative, he plays at second-row, lock and prop and previously played for the Sydney Roosters and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League.
Professional career
Sydney Roosters
Tupou made his first-grade debut in 2004 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. In the September 2004 issue of Big League magazine, after making his debut 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. 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.
At the end of the 2006 season, Tupou was selected for the Australian team, 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. Interestingly, his Test debut 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.
In August 2008, Tupou was named in the Australia training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. He was named in the Australia squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, replacing Michael Crocker who withdrew through injury. Although also named in the Tonga training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, Tupou played for Australia.
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.
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.
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
On 2 November 2015, Tupou signed a 2-year contract with Super League side Wakefield Trinity Wildcats starting in 2016.