Sitili Tupouniua (born 30 May 1997) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Sydney Roosters 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 The 2016 NRL Under-20s season (known commercially as the 2016 Holden Cup due to sponsorship from Holden) was the ninth season of the National Rugby League's NRL Under-20s, Under-20s competition. The draw and structure of the competition mirrored ...

premiership winning team.

Playing career

2018

Tupouniua made his first grade debut for the Sydney Roosters in round 16 of the

2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...

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 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 ...

at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

. Tupouniua featured for North Sydney, the Sydney Roosters feeder club in the

2019 Canterbury Cup NSW The 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW season was the eleventh season of the New South Wales Cup, the top rugby league competition administered by the New South Wales Rugby League. The competition acts as a second-tier league to the ten New South Wales-based ...

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 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 ...

in round 9 as the Sydney Roosters defeated North Queensland 42–16 at

Queensland Country Bank Stadium North Queensland Stadium, commercially known as Queensland Country Bank Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in South Townsville, Queensland, Australia, primarily used for rugby league. History As part of Australia's 2022 FIFA World Cup bid in ...

. In round 16 of the

, he scored two tries for the Roosters in a 58–12 victory over Brisbane at the

. He made a total of 20 appearances in the

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 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 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

, 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

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 The 2022 NRL season is 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 s ...

, Tupouniua was taken from the field during the Sydney Roosters 54-26 victory over

St. George Illawarra The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

with a knee injury. It was later announced that Tupounia would miss the remainder of the

with an ACL injury.

2023

He played eight matches for the Sydney Roosters in the

2023 NRL season The 2023 NRL season is the 116th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 26th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams For the 2023 season, the number of teams in the NRL has increased from sixteen to seventeen with the ...

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 The 2024 NRL season will be the 117th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 27th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams in the league remained unchanged after the admission of the Dolphins (NRL), Do ...

, he scored two tries in the Sydney Roosters 40-34 victory over the Dolphins.

References

External links

Roosters profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tupouniua, Sitili 1997 births Living people New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand rugby league players North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players Rugby league second-rows Sydney Roosters players Tonga national rugby league team players Tongan rugby league players Rugby league players from Auckland