Daniel Tupou (born 17 June 1991) is a professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
footballer who plays on the for the
Sydney Roosters
Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...
in the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
(NRL). He has played for
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
at international level.
Tupou has played for the
City Origin,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
in the
State of Origin series
The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two States and territories of Australia, Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales Blues and the Queensland ru ...
and
Prime Minister's XIII
Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked ...
sides. He won the
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
,
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
and
2019 NRL Grand Final
The 2019 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2019 National Rugby League season and was played at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between defending premiers the Sydney Roosters and the Canberra ...
with the Sydney Roosters.
Background
Tupou was born in
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. 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
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL).
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...
. Tupou played for the Eels'
NYC team in 2010 and 2011, scoring 9 tries in 22 games, before being signed by the Roosters.
2012
In Round 24, Tupou made his
NRL
The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
debut for the Sydney Roosters against the
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...
in the Roosters 24–20 loss at
Canberra Stadium
Canberra Stadium, commercially known as GIO Stadium Canberra, is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sp ...
. In just his second game, Tupou scored 3 tries against the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...
in the Roosters 44–20 win at the
SFS. Tupou played in three matches and scored three tries for the Sydney Roosters in his debut year. On 12 September, Tupou was named at wing in the
NSW Cup
The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...
Team of the Year. On 30 September, he played for the
Newtown Jets
The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, New South Wales, Newtown, a suburb of Inner West (Sydney), Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after t ...
in their New South Wales Cup 22–16 Grand Final win over the
Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers
The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995 to 1996) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful ...
.
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
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...
.
Tupou was named in the 24-man
Tongan 2013 Rugby League World Cup
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams. It took place between the 26 October and 30 November and was hosted by England and Wales (although some games were played in France and Ire ...
squad. He made his Tongan international debut against
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
on the wing in the 26–24 loss at
Derwent Park
Derwent Park is a Rugby League Stadium and former motorcycle speedway in Workington, England situated beside the Cumbrian River Derwent. It is used mostly for rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Workington Town who play in Leagu ...
. Tupou played in all of Tonga's three matches in the tournament.
2014
On 4 May, Tupou was selected for
NSW City in the
City vs Country Origin
City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Syd ...
match in
Dubbo, New South Wales
Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.
The city is located at the intersection of the ...
. He played on the wing and scored two 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
Fourteen or 14 may refer to:
* 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15
* one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014
Music
* 14th (band), a British electronic music duo
* ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013
*''14'', an un ...
on the wing in the 100th State of Origin match in the Blues 12–8 win at
Suncorp Stadium
Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...
. 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 Sydney Roosters.
On 12 October, Tupou played on the wing for
Prime Minister's XIII
Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PM's XIII, a representative rugby league team, comprising Australian players from National Rugby League clubs that did not qualify for the NRL Finals, or whose teams were knocked ...
in the 34–16 win over
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. 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
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
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
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
having played in all of the Roosters' 27 matches and scoring 16 tries.
2016
In February, Tupou played for the Sydney 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
The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...
, Tupou played his 100th NRL match and scored a try in the Roosters 20–6 win at
ANZ Stadium
Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the suburb of Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Ol ...
.
In 2017 Tupou elected to represent the nation of his ancestral heritage,
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
. He played wing in every game of their stunning charge to the
2017 Rugby League World Cup
The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...
semi-finals. He scored 2 tries in their win over
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in the pool stage of the tournament.
2018
Tupou was part of the Eastern Suburbs side which won their 4th minor premiership in six years. On 30 September, Tupou played on the wing and scored the game's first try in Easts 21–6 victory over Melbourne in the
2018 NRL Grand Final
The 2018 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2018 National Rugby League season and was played on Sunday September 30 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between minor premiers the Sydney Roost ...
.
2019
In round 2 of the
2019 NRL season
The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...
, Tupou scored two tries as the
Sydney Roosters
Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...
defeated Manly-Warringah 26–18 at
Brookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval, currently known as 4 Pines Park for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Brookvale, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by the M ...
. In round 21, Tupou scored two tries as his team defeated Canberra 22–18 at
Canberra Stadium
Canberra Stadium, commercially known as GIO Stadium Canberra, is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sp ...
.
Tupou made a total of 26 appearances for the Sydney Roosters as the club won their second consecutive premiership defeating Canberra 14–8 in the
2019 NRL Grand Final
The 2019 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2019 National Rugby League season and was played at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between defending premiers the Sydney Roosters and the Canberra ...
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
James Tedesco (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Teddy", is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League, NRL. A former Australia national rugby league team, Australia a ...
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 Roosters in their 2020
World Club Challenge
The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australian National Rugby League and the British Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport.
Super League sides have won the c ...
victory defeating
St Helens 20–12.
In round 16 of the
2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-season
...
, he scored two tries in a 58–12 victory over Brisbane at the
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...
.

In round 18 of the
2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-season
...
against
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
, 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
The 2020 State of Origin series was the 39th State of Origin series, annual best-of-three series between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Q ...
. He played in all three matches, scoring two tries, as New South Wales suffered a shock 2–1 series loss against Queensland.
2021
In round 10 of the
2021 NRL season
The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year.
Regular season
Ladd ...
, he scored two tries in the club's 30–16 victory over North Queensland.
In round 23, Tupou scored a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
in the club's 40–22 victory over
St. George Illawarra.
Tupou played a total of 26 games for the Sydney Roosters including the club's two finals matches. The Roosters would be eliminated from the second week of the finals losing to Manly 42–6.
2022
On 29 May, Tupou was selected by New South Wales to play in game one of the
2022 State of Origin series
The 2022 State of Origin series was the 41st State of Origin series, annual best-of-three series between the Queensland rugby league team, Queensland and New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Q ...
. Tupou played in all three games as New South Wales lost the series 2–1.
In round 19 of the
2022 NRL season
The 2022 NRL season was the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest ...
, Tupou scored two tries in a 42–12 victory over Newcastle.
In round 23, Tupou scored two tries in a 72–6 victory over the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...
.
Tupou finished as the clubs top try scorer with 16 tries for the year. Tupou played a total of 22 games as the club finished sixth on the table and reached the finals. Tupou played in the Sydney Roosters elimination final loss to arch-rivals
South Sydney.
In the second round of group matches at the
2021 Rugby League World Cup
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022.
England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received � ...
, Tupou scored a hat-trick in Tonga's 32–6 victory over Wales. In the third group game, Tupou scored two tries in Tonga's 92–10 victory over the
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...
.
2023
In round 22 of the
2023 NRL season
The 2023 NRL season was the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, the longest in league history, followed by a finals series ...
, Tupou became the Sydney Roosters record try scorer after he crossed over in the 70th minute of the clubs 32–10 loss against Brisbane at
The Gabba
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...
.
The following week, he scored two tries for the club in their 26–16 victory over Manly.
Tupou signed a one-year extension with the club for the 2024 season.
Tupou played 18 matches for the Sydney Roosters in the
2023 NRL season
The 2023 NRL season was the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, the longest in league history, followed by a finals series ...
as the club finished 7th on the table and qualified for the finals.
2024
On 29 July, it was announced that Tupou had re-signed with the club until the end of the 2026 season.
Tupou played 24 games for the Sydney Roosters in the
2024 NRL season
The 2024 NRL season was the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The season consisted of 27 competition rounds, followed by a finals series contested by the top eight ...
scoring 21 tries. Tupou played in all three finals matches for the club as they were eliminated at the preliminary final stage by Melbourne.Tupou played his first pacific championship game against the Australian Kangaroos and lost 18-0.
2025
In round 12 of the
2025 NRL season
The 2025 NRL season is the 118th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 28th season run by the National Rugby League (NRL). The regular season will be followed by a finals series contested by the top eight teams on the competiti ...
, Tupou scored two tries for the Sydney Roosters in their 42-16 upset victory over Cronulla.
Statistics
References
External links
Sydney Roosters profile2017 RLWC profileRoosters 2019 stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tupou, Daniel
1991 births
Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent
Australia national rugby league team players
Tonga national rugby league team players
Tongan rugby league players
New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
Prime Minister's XIII players
Sydney Roosters players
Newtown Jets NSW Cup players
Rugby league players from Sydney
Rugby league wingers
Living people