The Sydney Roosters will head into one of the most anticipated home matches of their National Rugby League (NRL) season this Saturday significantly understrength, with three of their biggest State of Origin representative stars sidelined for the clash against the Parramatta Eels – a fixture dedicated entirely to celebrating legendary winger Daniel Tupou’s entry into the exclusive 300-game club.\n\nCaptain James Tedesco was ruled out of the contest days before kickoff after failing a mandatory head injury assessment during Queensland’s State of Origin decider on Wednesday night. Joining Tedesco on the sidelines are fellow Origin representatives Reece Robson and Sam Walker; while the pair were initially listed as emergency reserves when the Roosters released their first team sheet, head coach Trent Robinson confirmed pre-match that the decision to rest the young Walker was locked in before the final Origin fixture, to give the rookie playmaker adequate recovery time after his first senior representative series.\n\nRobinson has kept fans and opponents guessing over who will step into Tedesco’s starting fullback role, revealing only that either Cody Ramsey or Rex Bassingthwaighte will get the nod. Connor Watson will shift into the starting hooker position to cover Robson’s absence, while Hugo Savala will fill Walker’s spot in the halves. Wingers Mark Nawaqanitawase and Robert Toia are confirmed to start unless any last-minute fitness issues arise.\n\nDespite the disruption of losing three key stars, the entire club is focused on honoring Tupou, who will become just the fifth player in Roosters history to hit the 300-game milestone for the franchise. The 35-year-old winger, who made his NRL debut back in 2012 – one season before Robinson took over as head coach – has built one of the most storied careers in modern rugby league. A three-time NRL premiership winner, Tupou has already crossed for 191 first-grade tries, a total that only league legends Alex Johnston and Ken Irvine have surpassed in the history of the competition. Remarkably, he has scored a try in 145 of his 299 appearances to date, and is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous aerial finishers the game has ever seen.\n\nSpeaking ahead of the milestone match, Robinson paid tribute to Tupou’s career, highlighting the winger’s quiet humility, consistent toughness and selfless approach to his role that have defined his 12-year career in first grade. \n\n“For him to play 300 games is just so special. The humility at which he’s played those 300 games (is a standout), but there’s a hardness about him. There’s a consistent hardness about the way that he plays the game,” Robinson said. “Playing left wing is a tough position to play, and there’s a selfless nature to it as well. I have a whole mix of emotions with ‘Toops’, but I’m really proud of the player he is and the man that he is, and we’ll honour him [on Saturday].”\n\nTupou’s career is dotted with iconic match-defining plays that have secured premiership glory for the Roosters: his soaring, acrobatic try in the 2013 grand final decider remains one of the most replayed moments in recent NRL history, and his line break in the 2019 decider created the match-winning try for Tedesco. But Robinson says it is Tupou’s consistent willingness to do the unglamorous, high-effort work that few other players want that makes his achievement so remarkable.\n\n“There are moments like those that define who Toops is to everybody. But it’s the play-the-ball a metre off your own line and Toops comes around without hesitation and takes that carry,” Robinson said, noting that Tupou is consistently one of the first players at training every day despite living 45 minutes away from the club’s facility. “It’s the number of times that he’s done that, the number of try saves that he’s had in the corner, the number of supports that he’s had for all the really great centres that he’s played with that create a platform to have those moments.\n\n“That’s the story of a player – how do you do the hard stuff that I spoke about before on a consistent basis? The selfless stuff, the stuff that people overlook, to then play long enough to create those moments and finish those moments. Toops has been amazing at all the work that happens from your zero-metre line to your 20-metre line, both in attack and defence. He’s lived in that area, and then he’ll go down the other end and finish off those moments as well. That’s the mark of a man. I don’t like to rank players around what they do for 80 minutes. But Toops, in my time, is one of the most special people that I’ve ever got to coach.”
‘One of the most special’: Trent Robinson’s high praise for milestone man Daniel Tupou,
