{"id":926919,"date":"2026-10-13T18:28:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T18:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/926919\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T18:28:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T18:28:20","slug":"nrl-2026-rex-bassingthwaighte-could-replace-daniel-tupou-at-the-roosters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/926919\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Rex Bassingthwaighte could replace Daniel Tupou at the Roosters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roosters skipper James Tedesco says no one will ever be able to properly replace legendary winger Daniel Tupou given everything he did for the club.<\/p>\n

But he is confident in the talent coming through including rising star Rex Bassingthwaighte, who got a taste of first grade this year and is in the mix to get a spot on the wing in 2027. <\/p>\n

Whoever comes in will have big boots to fill after Tupou retired following a decorated career where he scored 198 tries and won four premierships for the club.<\/p>\n

He had indicated that he would play on again in 2027, but leaving with another title was the perfect time to call it quits, with the veteran winger breaking the news to his teammates at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe most memorable (thing of the past week) was Tupou telling us he\u2019s retiring at the pub on Tuesday,\u201d Tedesco told the NewsWire. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just the players there and he hadn\u2019t really told many people apart from Robbo (coach Trent Robinson). <\/p>\n

\u201cThat was pretty emotional because I\u2019ve spent a lot of time with \u2018Toops\u2019. I think I knew it was coming, but just hearing it is always hard. But it was more happiness for him and his career, and sending him out on a high was pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson described Tupou as his \u201csafety blanket\u201d at the club\u2019s awards night last week, with few wingers able to be as consistent in yardage and as spectacular under the high ball for so long. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to think of ever replacing him. I don\u2019t think anyone can ever replace Toops as a player but also the person,\u201d Tedesco said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI agree with Robbo because I felt so comfortable knowing he\u2019s on the left wing in the back five with me. He\u2019s always going to take those catches, take those carries, and do his job consistently every game, so I don\u2019t think you can ever replace someone like him. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s shown how you be a rugby league player, how you be a humble man on and off the field, and I think that\u2019ll inspire a lot of young, not just Tongans, but young players coming through.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Roosters have also lost superstar winger Mark Nawaqanitawase to rugby after an extraordinary couple of seasons in rugby league, but they have signed Manly\u2019s Reuben Garrick and have retained Tommy Talau.<\/p>\n

Garrick will likely get one spot, with Bassingthwaighte, 19, another option who is regarded as a future fullback at the club.<\/p>\n

That young talent will be crucial for the Roosters who have lost a lot of established stars, but the premiers are confident they have future stars already in their system after their SG Ball team (under 19s) won the comp for the second year in a row. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s still developing, he\u2019s still got the build and the size to play anywhere in the outside backs,\u201d Tedesco said of the youngster who scored three tries in three NRL games last season. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think he\u2019s still growing into his body, so another year of pre-season will set him up nicely to have those backfield carries and own anywhere in the backline. <\/p>\n

\u201cWing can be a nice starting position for a young outside back and we\u2019ve had a really good connection over the last year or so \u2026 I\u2019m really enjoying the development of Rex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published as \u2018I don\u2019t think anyone can ever replace Toops\u2019: Teen sensation in the mix to fill the massive boots of retired Roosters star<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roosters skipper James Tedesco says no one will ever be able to properly replace legendary winger Daniel Tupou…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":926920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[406517,494250,10025,487109,494241,89838,493298,494244,398524,494265,376730,494234,379284,494264,482785,379486,494233,494259,404950,449302,494238,494268,450274,395159,394390,64,63,494262,401983,27931,68839,4581,494239,377206,494253,386063,421048,494267,494256,380045,379545,407982,377197,4415,36826,13307,494235,44450,28315,63111,494260,761,762,35062,377271,494254,158,494255,17594,494249,38720,7356,421664,494231,20424,9747,9120,155171,494232,462587,760,159,81452,85,494230,10020,81994,22810,82758,494242,471573,420661,494263,382205,494236,494251,457394,387190,377453,494269,423919,494266,494258,382332,494261,376754,380371,464172,390581,388803,377574,175806,402324,378286,174850,454927,377130,413318,494270,417005,379844,494257,494237,364611,494245,494246,494252,494243,6618,494248,494247,28333,487132,201844,494240,2969,19121],"class_list":["post-926919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-s-awards","tag-s-reuben-garrick","tag-10025","tag-198-tries","tag-19s","tag-89838","tag-a-decorated-career","tag-a-future-fullback","tag-a-high","tag-a-humble-man","tag-a-lot","tag-a-nice-starting-position","tag-a-player","tag-a-really-good-connection","tag-a-rising-star","tag-a-row","tag-a-rugby-league-player","tag-a-shock-start","tag-a-spot","tag-a-taste","tag-a-young-outside-back","tag-an-extraordinary-couple","tag-another-option","tag-another-title","tag-another-year","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bassingthwaighte","tag-big-boots","tag-bondi","tag-coach-trent-robinson","tag-daniel-tupou","tag-established-stars","tag-every-game","tag-few-wingers","tag-first-grade","tag-four-premierships","tag-future-stars","tag-his-safety-blanket","tag-his-body","tag-his-career","tag-his-job","tag-his-teammates","tag-james-tedesco","tag-last-season","tag-last-week","tag-legendary-winger-daniel-tupou","tag-manly","tag-many-people","tag-mix","tag-more-happiness","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-night","tag-no-one","tag-not-just-tongans","tag-nrl","tag-one-spot","tag-pre-season","tag-retired-roosters-star","tag-retirements","tag-rex","tag-rex-bassingthwaighte","tag-rising-star-rex-bassingthwaighte","tag-robbo","tag-robinson","tag-roosters","tag-roosters-legend","tag-roosters-players-and-officials","tag-roosters-skipper-james-tedesco","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-league","tag-seasons","tag-sports","tag-superstar-winger-mark-nawaqanitawase","tag-teams","tag-tedesco","tag-teen","tag-teen-sensation","tag-the-back-five","tag-the-backing","tag-the-backline","tag-the-beach-road-hotel","tag-the-club","tag-the-club-he","tag-the-club-that-young-talent","tag-the-comp","tag-the-development","tag-the-field","tag-the-high-ball","tag-the-last-year","tag-the-left-wing","tag-the-massive-boots","tag-the-mix","tag-the-most-memorable","tag-the-news","tag-the-newswire","tag-the-outside-backs","tag-the-past-week","tag-the-perfect-time","tag-the-person","tag-the-players","tag-the-premiers","tag-the-pub","tag-the-roosters","tag-the-second-year","tag-the-size","tag-the-talent","tag-the-veteran-winger","tag-the-wing","tag-the-youngster","tag-their-sg-ball-team","tag-their-system","tag-this-year","tag-those-backfield","tag-those-catches","tag-three-nrl-games","tag-three-tries","tag-time","tag-tommy-talau-garrick","tag-toops","tag-tuesday","tag-tupou","tag-wing","tag-yardage","tag-young","tag-young-players"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=926919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/926920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=926919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=926919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=926919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}