Friday Focus: ANZAC Round vs Sea Eagles

Wests Tigers winger Junior Tupou will be hoping that his strong form carries into Sunday’s clash after the powerful young speedster cemented his place in the line-up with a strong performance on Easter Monday.

He’ll be up against the returning Reuben Garrick, whose imposing record against Wests Tigers will have the home fans sweating ahead of another classic battle between the ‘Fibros’ and the ‘Silvertails’.

Ahead of Sunday’s return to Campbelltown, we’re taking a closer look at the young gun and the seasoned professional set to do battle for supremacy on the left wing.

Junior Tupou enjoyed the finest performance of his young career in his last start against the Eels, chalking up one try, one try-assist and four line-breaks at Accor Stadium.

After accumulating 221 metres on Easter Monday, the Auckland-born winger sits second at the club for average running metres this season and is currently within the top fifty in the league.

While he will be up against aerial specialist Jason Saab on Sunday, Tupou is no stranger under the high ball and Wests Tigers fans will fondly remember the spectacular try he scored on debut against the Cowboys in Magic Round last year.

With the pace of Jahream Bula creating space on their inside, Tupou and his centre partner Asu Kepaoa will be hoping to combine for more points this weekend in front of the Campbelltown faithful.

However, Tupou’s opposite number Reuben Garrick has proven to be a tricky opponent for Wests Tigers, with the winger emerging victorious in his last five appearances against the joint-venture.

In those matches, Garrick has accumulated four tries and twenty-five conversions for an impressive individual tally of 66 points against the orange, black and white.

Garrick’s potent combination with superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic has paid dividends to start 2023, with the winger comfortably sitting first in the competition for line breaks per game.

Back in the line-up after a concussion suffered against Penrith in Round 6, Garrick will be hoping to rediscover his try scoring form as he attempts to return to the top of the league’s points scoring charts.