The Canterbury Bulldogs have landed the signature of prodigious young New Zealand talent Roy Tatupu.
Rated as one of the best round all-round sportsmen in New Zealand, Tatupu is the nephew of former New Zealand and Western Samoa international representative Tony Tatupu, who was part of the Warriors first ever team when they entered what was then the ARL in 1995 as the Auckland Warriors.
Tony went on to play 67 games for the Warriors across two stints, while he also spent time with the Warrington Wolves and Wakefield Trinity in England through to the end of his playing career in 2001.
Roy, who stands at 190 centimetres and weighs 94 kilograms, has been named in New Zealand's open men's volleyball squad for 2024, as well as showing promise in rugby union where he has been part of the Blues rugby academy in Auckland.
According to his management Ginnen Group Sports, he has also played representative softball for New Zealand, while he also took out the top sportsman at his school Mt Albert Grammar in 2023 and was named the best overall sports person of the year at the College Spot Auckland awards.
He has decided a career in rugby league is where he wants to go though, with Wide World of Sports reporting he has signed a two-year deal with the Bulldogs, where he has already started training.
Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould told the publication he is already impressing.
"Roy is going OK in the week or so he has been here - he has shown some really good signs at training," Gould said.
It's unclear at this stage exactly what his contract is with the Bulldogs, but given his age, it's likely he will be on a pathways deal with possible progression to a development deal in 2025.
