Latest news with #Tupouniua
News.com.au
25-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
NRL shames Bunker with massive penalty handed down
The NRL Match Review Committee (MRC) has decimated the Bulldogs with three star players wiped out through suspension. The MRC on Friday morning announced Josh Curran, Matt Burton and Sitili Tupouniua are facing suspensions after several ugly moments in the team's 42-18 loss to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night. Canterbury had a night to forget with three players sent to the sin bin — but they were lucky Tupouniua wasn't sent from the field for a second time. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Tupouniua has been hit hardest, receiving a three match ban for his first half shoulder charge high tackle on Broncos defender Brendan Piakura. He has been hit with an additional two match ban for a second foul act where he raised his knees while running at Piakura in the second half. You can watch the incident in the video player above. It could get worse for the Dogs if they elect to challenge the suspensions instead of accepting the early guilty plea. Curran is also facing three weeks on the sidelines for his shoulder charge on Payne Haas in the 10th minute of the game. Matt Burton is also facing a one match ban for his high tackle on Billy Walters. It is Tupouniua's dangerous knee lift that got most people talking on Thursday night. Replays showed the Bulldogs' second-rower collected Piakura in the head with his knee and then followed up with another kicking motion that also collected Piakura again as he slumped in the tackle attempt. Referee Gerard Sutton spotted Tupouniua's act and immediately awarded the Broncos a penalty and put Tupouniua on report. After reviewing the incident the video match official in the Bunker informed Sutton that the incident warranted no further action. The NRL's much maligned video referee system is under fire again with the MRC's punishments showing just how wrong the call was that allowed Tupouniua to remain on the field. Leading rugby league journalist Phil Rothfield posted on X: 'How the f*** is Tupouniua not in the sin bin. Kneed a bloke in the head' He went on to write: 'This actually could have been a send off. Sin bin at very least. The NRL has completely lost the plot with the bunker.' Roosters legend Brad Fittler said on Nine: 'You can't have that'. Bulldogs cult hero Michael Ennis also said Tupouniua was 'lucky to stay on the field'. Sport journalist John Dean wrote: 'Tupouniua should be in the bin again'. Another fan posted: 'Tupouniua should be binned. That's garbage. Knee raised as high as possible. Hits a tackler in the head... what are we doing here?' The act of foul play came just eight minutes after the former Roosters forward had returned to the field after serving his 10-minute sentence in the sin bin for a high tackle. Marcelo Montoya was the third Bulldogs player to be sent to the bin on Thursday night made while Broncos flyer Deine Mariner was also binned in the 73rd minute when hitting Viliame Kikau high. Despite the big win, the Broncos have plenty of other concerns. Broncos star Adam Reynolds had the ball on a string throughout the match, but he left the field in the final minutes with a shoulder injury. With prop Haas on fire and Selwyn Cobbo impressing at fullback in Reece Walsh's absence, Brisbane looked near unstoppable. It was the first time the Bulldogs have lowered their colours this season after a red hot start to 2025. The Dogs remain one of the teams to beat this year, but the Broncos brought Canterbury fans back down to Earth on Thursday night.
News.com.au
25-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Lost the plot': Bulldog's foul act sparks outrage across the game
Everyone saw it except the Bunker. The NRL's much maligned video referee system is under fire again after Bulldogs star Sitili Tupouniua got away with an ugly act during his team's 42-18 loss to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night. Canterbury had a night to forget with three players sent to the sin bin — but they were lucky Tupouniua wasn't sent from the field for a second time. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. NRL commentators were almost universally gobsmacked that Tupouniua was able to stay on the field and did not receive at least a sin bin after he raised his knees while running at Broncos defender Brendan Piakura in the second half. You can watch the incident in the video player above. Replays showed the Bulldogs' second-rower collected Piakura in the head with his knee and then followed up with another kicking motion that also collected Piakura again as he slumped in the tackle attempt. Referee Gerard Sutton spotted Tupouniua's act and immediately awarded the Broncos a penalty and put Tupouniua on report. After reviewing the incident the video match official informed Sutton that the incident warranted no further action. The Bunker madness boggled the mind of some fans. Leading rugby league journalist Phil Rothfield posted on X: 'How the f*** is Tupouniua not in the sin bin. Kneed a bloke in the head' He went on to write: 'This actually could have been a send off. Sin bin at very least. The NRL has completely lost the plot with the bunker.' Roosters legend Brad Fittler said on Nine: 'You can't have that'. Bulldogs cult hero Michael Ennis also said Tupouniua was 'lucky to stay on the field'. Sport journalist John Dean wrote: 'Tupouniua should be in the bin again'. Another fan posted: 'Tupouniua should be binned. That's garbage. Knee raised as high as possible. Hits a tackler in the head... what are we doing here?' The act of foul play came just eight minutes after the former Roosters forward had returned to the field after serving his 10-minute sentence in the sin bin for a high tackle. Prop Josh Curran was the first Bulldogs player sent to the sin bin in the first half for another high tackle on Broncos forward Payne Haas. Tupouniua was the second and then Marcelo Montoya made it a triple binning when he was given his marching orders in the second half. Broncos flyer Deine Mariner was binned in the 73rd minute when hitting Viliame Kikau high. Despite the big win, the Broncos have plenty of other concerns. Broncos star Adam Reynolds had the ball on a string throughout the match, but he left the field in the final minutes with a shoulder injury. With prop Haas on fire and Selwyn Cobbo impressing at fullback in Reece Walsh's absence, Brisbane looked near unstoppable. It was the first time the Bulldogs have lowered their colours this season after a red hot start to 2025. The Dogs remain one of the teams to beat this year, but the Broncos brought Canterbury fans back down to Earth on Thursday night.
7NEWS
25-04-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Bulldogs star Sitili Tupouniua hit with monster ban for ugly incidents in loss to Broncos
The aftershocks of Canterbury's first defeat of the season could ripple for more than month as three players face bans following a performance that left Cameron Ciraldo with a 'ball-ache'. If they take early guilty pleas, Sitili Tupouniua will sit out five games for two separate offences from Thursday's 42-18 loss to Brisbane, Josh Curran will miss three and Matt Burton just one. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Tupouniua in hot water for high knee. Tupouniua went to the sin bin for a shoulder charge on Brendan Piakura and was lucky to avoid a second visit for lifting his leg into the same man while running the ball. For his grade-two shoulder charge, Tupouniua has been offered a three-game ban alongside two additional games for the subsequent dangerous contact. The in-form recruit risks missing seven matches by challenging the charges. After also being sin-binned, Curran has been offered a grade-two shoulder charge for a shot on Payne Haas and could miss four games by pleading his case at the judiciary. Influential five-eighth Burton, who only returned from a knee injury last week, could miss two games if he disputes his grade-two careless high tackle on hooker Billy Walters. Marcelo Montoya has escaped scrutiny for a high shot that made him the third Canterbury player sin-binned, prompting referee Gerard Sutton to caution captain Stephen Crichton over repeated instance of foul play. The busy charge sheet is the last thing the previously undefeated Bulldogs need as they look to regroup from a humbling loss, having been 34-0 down at halftime. Bailey Hayward looks set to replace Burton in the halves for the Bulldogs' Magic Round clash with mercurial Gold Coast, while Daniel Suluka-Fifita and Kurtis Morrin appear leading candidates to join the forward pack. Burton should return for the ensuing tough road trip to Canberra, while Curran is on track to return against the Sydney Roosters in round 11. Tupouniua will miss subsequent games against the Dolphins and Parramatta with an early plea. On Thursday night, coach Ciraldo was non-committal when asked whether the three sin-binnings were too harsh. 'I don't know. There was so much going on tonight and no flow to the game,' he said. 'It was one of those games that was hard to watch to be honest. It was a ball-ache to watch for me so I am sure everyone else felt the same. I put that down to us trying too hard.'We have been pretty disciplined for long periods so we can fix it.' Ciraldo said his side were 'humbled' in the first half at Suncorp Stadium, where errors, penalties, seven-tackle sets and binnings proved costly. 'It was a comedy of errors but we will walk away with plenty of lessons,' he said. 'Number one, we are not good enough to be beaten at the laws of the game like that. 'Number two, we are not good enough to play as individuals. We played as a team in the second half and started to look like the Bulldogs again. 'Number three, we never give up ... we attacked the second half and scored 18 points. 'I am really proud of the second half and filthy at the first half.'
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Watch as Bulldogs star lands in hot water over brutal knee collision - as concerns mount for star Broncos playmaker
Sitili Tupouniua has been placed on report following a brutal collission that saw the second-row raise his knee into the head of Broncos star Brendan Piakura, during Canterbury's 24-point loss on Thursday night. Tupouniua had been sent to the sin bin earlier in the match for a high tackle, but was lucky to avoid another sanction in the second half. Footy journalist Phil Rothfield took to X to criticised the NRL for their operation of the bunker review system. 'This actually could have been a send off,' Rothfield wrote. 'Sin bin at the very least. The NRL has completely lost the plot with the bunker.' He added: 'How the F**** is Tupouniua not in the sin bin. Kneed a bloke to the head.' This actually could have been a send off. Sin bin at very least. The NRL has completely lost the plot with the bunker — BUZZ ROTHFIELD (@BuzzRothfield) April 24, 2025 In one of his best-ever games, Adam Reynolds was the perfect puppeteer behind a Payne Haas-inspired Brisbane forward pack that dismantled competition leaders Canterbury in a stunning 42-18 win. Reynolds left the field in the 75th minute clutching his right shoulder which he injured when scoring a try in the first half. He appeared next to Michael Maguire for a post match press conference and opened up on the shoulder injury. 'It's a little sore,' he said. 'It sort of went dead on me when I scored the try. 'Pins and needles in it, got it pretty bad that last one. It's OK now but I'll see the medical staff when we get back.' Reynolds added that his aim is to play every week but refused to be drawn on whether he would play next week. In pouring rain the Broncos did a Bulldogs on the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night, pulverising them in the middle in a riotous first half but also dazzling them out wide to inflict the first loss of the season on the visitors. It was hardly believable that a Bulldogs side that had not conceded a point in the previous two matches trailed 34-0 at halftime. At that stage Brisbane had missed just three tackles to their opponents' 24. The visitors were ill-disciplined and had forward Josh Curran and Tupouniua sin-binned, for hits on Payne Haas and Brendan Piakura respectively. Broncos halfback and captain Reynolds, in his 295th game, wants to play on in 2026 and after this performance he will have no shortage of suitors. The Broncos will have to pull out all stops to re-sign the 34-year-old. By halftime he had scored a try and laid on three, two with pinpoint chip kicks for Deine Mariner to score. He put rampaging second-rower Xavier Willison in after two minutes and never looked back. Reynolds also conjured a 40/20, another of his box of tricks. In the next set his halves partner Ben Hunt fired a cutout pass and winger Jesse Arthars had his 10th try of the season. The performance of Haas was on another planet. He set Reynolds up for his try with a pass after rampaging into a hole. Haas's first 33-minute stint yielded 140m from 15 runs. Fullback Selwyn Cobbo, switching from wing to replace injured Reece Walsh, was accomplished at the back in just his third starting appearance in the role and played tough after injuring a shoulder. His left-side raid and silky pass put centre Gehamat Shibasaki over in the corner. Montoya, who was put on report twice in the match, got the Bulldogs on the board courtesy of a neat Viliame Kikau pass. Bulldogs second-rower Jacob Preston crossed after a Toby Sexton bomb and Bronson Xerri was recipient of another Kikau pass. Mariner was binned for hitting Kikau high to become the fourth sin-binning of the match. Bulldogs playmaker Matt Burton was also put on report for a high tackle on Billy Walters, who scored late to ice the win for Brisbane.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'No bad blood': New Bulldog shines as Roosters toil
Talk of the Sydney Roosters' demise is premature, says new Canterbury recruit Sitili Tupouniua, who claims his former club has more than enough firepower to overcome their horrendous start to the 2025 NRL season. After Trent Robinson's side were pumped 50-14 by Brisbane last Thursday, Tupouniua was lighting it up on his debut for the Bulldogs by clocking up 148m and five tackle busts to lead Cameron Ciraldo's side to Saturday's 28-20 win over St George Illawarra. The Tongan forward's impressive performance netted him three Dally M votes and in turn has prompted fresh questions over the Roosters' recruitment and retention. Tupouniua insists there is "no bad blood" after he was told he was free to leave the Tricolours midway through last season, seven months after he penned a three-year contract extension. Not a bad day to be Tupouniua 💪 #NRLDragonsBulldogs — NRL (@NRL) March 8, 2025 It was a similar story for prop Terrell May, who was also moved on by the Bondi club before Christmas despite agreeing to a new deal last April. May was a standout on his NRL debut for Wests Tigers. The exits of Tupouniua, May, Luke Keary, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Joey Manu and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii represented 953 games of NRL experience that left the club over the off-season. The Roosters say they are happy to back their next crop of talented juniors to fill the void over time but may face further growing pains as they blood their next generation. "Obviously it's in the past now and there's no bad blood there," Tupouniua said. "It was just meant to be and it (moving to Canterbury) was a fresh start for me. "They have a lot of young guys there and I feel like, give them time and they'll come good. "They've still got quality players, so I'm not writing them off at all." Life doesn't get any easier for the Roosters, who face four-time defending premiers Penrith on Friday - a side they haven't beaten since 2019. Canterbury, meanwhile, will be aiming to gun down Gold Coast on their return to Belmore. Tupouniua played as a prop against the Dragons and is happy to play as an edge forward. "I saw the direction that they were heading and talking to 'Ciro', with the culture that they had here it was something I wanted to be a part of," he said. "They just wanted me to come and bring energy, whether I am playing on an edge or coming off the bench. "If I can stay injury free and stay on the field, I know that my best footy is still ahead of me."
