Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Central Auckland Healing With Sitili Tupouniua
Marist Saints junior Sitili Tupouniua was grinding through another Kiwi-NRL season with a starting edge forward spot for Tonga at the World Cup in his sights, before he suffered a major knee injury with Sydney Roosters. Perhaps there is a teeny-weeny chance that Tupouniua can bounce back in time for the World Cup but that's highly unlikely and this unfortunate circumstance provides space to take stock of Tupouniua's mahi.
Hopefully Tupouniua can return to Central Auckland at some stage during his rehab to catch the vibe and elevate his mana. Te Maire Martin entered the Waikato hyperbolic chamber to heal his noggin and return to Kiwi-NRL footy, connecting to his turangawaewae in his homeland. Tupouniua could also benefit from Central Auckland healing where connection to whanau and grassroots vibes are in abundance, especially in the Polynesian capital of the world.
Tupouniua came up through Marist and Mt Albert Grammar School, playing representative footy for Akarana before being recruited by Roosters. Roosters have been the best at investing in Kiwi-NRL recruitment over the past decade and while there is no confirmation that Tupouniua received the same fly in/fly out treatment as Joseph Manu, Tupouniua was in the same general recruitment class as Manu.
Tupouniua and Manu played in the 2016 Under 20s Final, which Roosters won. Tupouniua came off the bench in the final and then came off the bench for the 2017 Junior Kiwis, before making his Kiwi-NRL debut in 2018. Ever since then Tupouniua has been as steady as any other Roosters player and while he may not get the same buzz as Manu, Tupouniua is as good an example as Manu for Roosters Kiwi-NRL recruitment, then development.
Since the 2019 season, Tupouniua has played 16+ games in four consecutive years. Tupouniua hit exactly 16 games in 2019 and this year, playing 20 (2020) and 24 games (2021) during the peak pandemic years. Last season saw Tupuoniua score 12 tries with 14 linebreaks, 12 offloads and 69 running metres per game. Prior to his injury, Tupouniua was on track for his best season: 7 tries, 7 linebreaks, 9 offloads and 81m/game.
Tupouniua had already blown out his previous best of 69m/game and while his best role is an 80-minute edge forward, Tupouniua had again shown his utility value this season. In his 16 games, Tupuoniua started at edge forward in 13 games, with two games off the bench and one game at centre. This has been a staple of Tupouniua's footy with Roosters as he has plugged whatever holes the Roosters had and all signs suggest that Tupouniua is a lovely chap, a fine representative of Roosters culture.
All of which has resulted in Tupouniua playing four Tests for Tonga, playing 80mins on an edge in his return to Auckland for the Aotearoa Kiwis vs Tonga Test this year. My Kiwi-NRL bias leads me to view Tupouniua as Tonga's best edge forward as he has a wide range of skills and is as reliable as any of the headliners in the middle. Keaon Koloamatangi and Haumole Olakau'atu shared the minutes on the other edge vs Aotearoa and they will be now be hunting starting roles, with their mahi more based around power and physicality.
Tupouniua is more subtle and has provided plenty of Kiwi-NRL joy in tracking his mahi with Roosters. This is a credit to Marist and MAGS, two rugby league farms in Auckland that have always churned out Kiwi-NRL talent and continue to provide ample Kiwi-NRL talent to all NRL clubs. Central Auckland will roll out the healing vibes for Tupouniua and we can look forward to his return as an emerging Roosters leader, along with many more battles against the Tokoroa toko Joey Manu on the international stage.
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Peace and love.