Anthony Tupou to make Newcastle Knights debut against old NRL club Cronulla Sharks

ANTHONY Tupou has no regrets as he prepares to make his debut for junior club Newcastle at the age of 34 against the team that won a title without him.

ANTHONY Tupou doesn’t have regrets.

Not even leaving Cronulla after seven years for English club Wakefield only a season before the Sharks ended their 49-year premiership drought.

“There are a lot of things in hindsight you could change but my happiness now, I wouldn’t change for anything,” Tupou said.

Former Sharks forward Anthony Tupou will line up for Newcastle against Cronulla. Picture: Brett Costello

“The premiership last year was awesome. The club deserved it, the fans deserved it and those players that were in that side worked hard for years and years, most of them.

“But here I am here playing for the Knights and I’m not sure that would have happened if I had have stayed at Cronulla. I guess one door closes and another opens.

“I got to experience England and I try not to look back.”

Anthony Tupou scores a try for Cronulla during their playoff win over South Sydney in 2015. Picture: Brett Costello

As it happens, Tupou, who came through the junior ranks at the Knights before the Sydney Roosters swooped with a much fatter chequebook to entice him to Sydney when he was still a teenager, will finally make his Newcastle NRL debut against the Sharks on Saturday.

The 34-year-old says returning to Shark Park only makes it more special.

“It’s really exciting,” he says. “I always wanted to play for the Knights and I’m pretty pumped.

Anthony Tupou says he has no regrets despite leaving Cronulla a year before the Sharks broke their premiership duck. Picture: Gregg Porteous

“I grew up here and played all my juniors here — 16s, 18s, 20s — and then went off to the Roosters and didn’t get to get that first-grade debut here. I think it’s 14 or 15 years later and it’s finally happening.

“It feels like I’m actually debuting in the NRL. When Brownie (coach Nathan Brown) said I was going to play, that is the feeling I had. It took me back to when I first got the call-up for the Roosters.

“I never thought at this stage of my career, I’d have those feelings again. It’s good.”

Tupou will come off the bench at the expense of Jacob Saifiti and knows better than anyone the challenge the Knights face against the Sharks.

“They are an awesome side. They are strong and tough and they’ll be playing the whole 80 minutes,” he said.

“I’ve said that to the boys. We need to start strong and that’s what we’ll focus on.”

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Newcastle are looking to bounce back after their 40-0 thrashing at the hands of Penrith last weekend against a Sharks side that put 98 points on them in two games last season.

“We haven’t talked about it but are aware of what happened and it was embarrassing,” skipper Trent Hodkinson said.

“We obviously don’t want to go back down that path, especially after last week. First and foremost, our defence has got to be on this week and we can play off the back of that.”

Originally published as Anthony Tupou to make Newcastle Knights debut against old NRL club Cronulla Sharks