It takes a lot to bring Daniel Tupou down but that’s exactly how the Sydney Roosters star felt when his dream of teaming up with Israel Folau were seemingly dashed last week.
Folau’s attempt at a rugby league comeback have all but been extinguished after the Tonga national rugby league board in favour of his return was suspended by the RLIF last week.
Tupou, whose Roosters face Canberra in Sunday’s NRL grand final, was thrilled at the thought of running out alongside Folau for Mate Ma’a.
“Hearing about that was awesome. I’ve always looked up to him as a player because of the talent he brings to any team he plays in,” Tupou told AAP.
“I was pretty stoked to hear. It’d be a dream to play with him.
“I just don’t know where it’s at right now.”
Tupou made his NRL debut two years after Folau’s final game in the NRL but the Roosters winger always considered the code-hopping star as a role model.
Both players are over six-foot-three.
“We had the same strengths, similar height, so I tried to base my game around him because he could jump, man,” the 28-year-old Tupou said.
“Coming through, of course he was an idol growing up.
“All that stuff he could do on the field, even in union.
“Man, I’d love to put on the same jersey as him.”
For now, Tupou will have to make do with a Roosters jumper he almost lost.
In 2017, the one-time Kangaroos international inked a four-year contract extension with the club that tied him down in Bondi until the end of 2021.
However, the Roosters curiously signed veterans Brett Morris and Ryan Hall in July, instantly sparking speculation that Tupou was on the outer.
And while Tupou had been informed of some interest from rivals, the two-time premiership-winning player couldn’t imagine life under another coach.
“I love (Trent Robinson) as a coach and as a bloke,” Tupou said.
“He’s taught me so much, got me out of my shell. I’m pretty comfortable under my own skin when I’m around him.
“My manager was telling me about (the offers), but I just told him I didn’t want to go anywhere else.
“Being around the club, the culture that it’s built, I couldn’t see myself anywhere else at the moment.”
