Tamika Upton (born 17 March 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her position is . She previously played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRLW, and the Burleigh Bears in the

QRL Women's Premiership The QRL Women's Premiership, known as the BMD Premiership due to sponsorship from BMD Group, is the top level of women's rugby league football in Queensland, Australia. Run by the Queensland Rugby League, the competition is Queensland's first s ...

.Official Telstra Women's Premiership profile of Tamika Upton for Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos. Retrieved 9 October 2020.Newton, Alicia (9 October 2020
Upton won't say no to rep jerseys again with Maroons, Jillaroos calling
NRL.com. Retrieved 9 October 2020.Walsh, Sean (27 August 2020
A set of six with... Tamika Upton
Souths Logan Magpies. Retrieved 9 October 2020.Edwards, Colleen (31 January 2020
Tamika takes every opportunity in her stride

Queensland Rugby League The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...

. Retrieved 9 October 2020.

Background

Born in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

, Upton grew up in Central Queensland and first started playing rugby league as a child in

Blackwater Blackwater or Black Water may refer to: Health and ecology * Blackwater (coal), liquid waste from coal preparation * Blackwater (waste), wastewater containing feces, urine, and flushwater from flush toilets * Blackwater fever, an acute kidney disea ...

. She is of Indigenous Australian descent. Prior to her career as a rugby league player, Upton played touch football. She represented the Australian national side, the Emus, during the 2017 Trans Tasman series. She also served as co-captain of the Queensland Cowboys during the NRL Touch competition in 2017. Upton has also played netball for local Central Queensland team, the Capricorn Claws.

Playing career

In 2018, she joined the

Yeppoon Seagulls The Central Division of the Queensland Rugby League is responsible for the promotion, administration and facilitation of rugby league throughout most of regional Queensland. Regional areas include the Darling Downs, Wide Bay–Burnett, the ...

' women's side, where she played in five-eighth in the Rockhampton District competition.

2019

On 15 July, Upton signed with the Brisbane Broncos NRL Women's Premiership team. In Round 1 of the

2019 NRL Women's season The 2019 NRL Women's Premiership was the second season of professional women's rugby league in Australia. Teams Pre-season Regular season The season again operated under a round-robin format, with games played as curtain-raisers to the ...

, she made her debut for the Broncos, starting on the in a 14–4 win over the St George Illawarra Dragons. On 6 October, she started at in the Broncos' 30–6 Grand Final win over the Dragons. On 7 October, Upton was named in the Australian team for the 2019 World Cup 9s but withdrew and was replaced by

Tarryn Aiken Tarryn Aiken (born 14 July 1999) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the QRL Women's Premiership. She is an Australian 9s and Quee ...

2020

In February, Upton played for the Broncos at the NRL Nines, where she was named in the Team of the Tournament. In March, Upton joined the Central Queensland Capras in the

and later played for the Souths Logan Magpies in the Holcim Cup. In Round 1 of the

2020 NRL Women's season The 2020 NRL Women's Premiership was the third season of professional women's rugby league in Australia. Teams Pre-season Regular season The season operated under a round-robin format, with games played as curtain-raisers to the 2020 NR ...

, Upton scored a hat-trick in the first half for the Broncos in their win over the New Zealand Warriors at GIO Stadium. On 25 October, Upton started at and scored a try in the Broncos' 20–10 Grand Final win over the Sydney Roosters. On 13 November, Upton made her State of Origin debut for Queensland, scoring two tries in a 24–18 win over New South Wales.

2021

In 2021, Upton joined the Burleigh Bears in the

, starting at fullback and scoring two tries in their Grand Final win over the Valleys Diehards. On 25 June, she started at fullback for Queensland in their 8–6 win over New South Wales. On 29 June, Upton re-signed with the Broncos for the

2021 NRL Women's season The 2021 NRLW premiership was the fourth professional season of Women's rugby league in Australia. The season was planned to start in August 2021, postponed to October 2021 and further postponed to 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ...

2022

On 18 May 2022, the Newcastle Knights announced the signing of Upton and Millie Boyle ahead of the

2022 NRL Women's season The 2022 NRLW Premiership was the fifth professional season of Women's rugby league in Australia. The season started on Saturday, 20 August and ran for seven weekends. This comprised five rounds, semi-finals for the top four teams, and a Grand ...

. Upton made her club debut for the Knights in round 1 of the 2022 NRLW season against her former club the Brisbane Broncos. In the 2022 Semi Final against the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Upton became the first Knights player to score more than one try in a game, when she scored two tries in the Knights' 30-6 win to qualify them for the Grand Final. Upton would be awarded the

Karyn Murphy Medal The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is ...

when she was named player of the match in the 2022 NRL Women's Grand Final, scoring a try in the Knights' 32–12 victory over the Parramatta Eels. The victory was Upton's third premiership title. Upton was named in the Australian squad for the

2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the sixth staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup, and was be one of three major tournaments part of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in England from 1 November to 19 Novem ...

, but withdrew from the squad due to injury.

2023

In April, Upton re-signed with the Knights on a contract until the end of 2027.

References

External links

Newcastle Knights profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Tamika 1997 births Living people Indigenous Australian rugby league players Australian female rugby league players Brisbane Broncos (NRLW) players Newcastle Knights (NRLW) players Newcastle Knights (NRLW) captains Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Rockhampton, Queensland Sportswomen from Queensland