ANTHONY TUPOU loves the Sydney Roosters and they love him. But love may not be enough to keep the former Test forward at Bondi Junction next season.
Tupou is off contract at the end of the year and the Roosters, having signed Willie Mason and Mark O'Meley to lucrative contracts, are feeling the pinch of the salary cap.
Tupou desperately wants to stay. The 24-year-old has played his entire first-grade career at the Roosters, having joined the club as a teenager.
He was among the Roosters' best in their opening trial last Saturday night, scoring one try and creating another for Braith Anasta which decided the game.
It was typical Tupou. He had defenders d****d around his legs but somehow managed to keep the ball alive, flicking it out the back for Anasta to pounce.
No wonder rival clubs are closely watching what unfolds at the Roosters.
"I have been trying to put that in the back of my mind but it's hard when you're at a club you love so much," Tupou said of his contractual situation. "It's like a family club. I have thought about leaving and it's going to be hard if that happens.
I love the club, I really do. It would be hard to get mates like those I have here anywhere."
Newcastle and Gold Coast shape as potential suitors should Tupou test the market, where it is understood he could command up to $400,000 a season.
The Knights' interest comes as no surprise; Tupou hails from Newcastle and spent part of the off-season "chilling out" in the city. His Titans connection emanates from coach John Cartwright, who was Ricky Stuart's assistant at the Roosters.
Asked whether he had heard of interest from Newcastle, Tupou said: "I think that's because I am from there. I suppose the more interest the better.
"I haven't really been focusing on it that much so I don't really know what's going on.
"I can't really do much until we sit down and have a talk and think things out."
Roosters chief executive Brian Canavan said the club had begun informal talks with Tupou's manager Darryl Mather and wanted Tupou to stay.
"We would love to have him on board," Canavan said. "Brad Fittler has been very, very pleased with his performance and we're piecing through the salary cap issues as we speak for 2009."
Told Tupou wanted to re-sign, Canavan said: "It's a really good starting point."
While Mason and O'Meley are among a group of players tied to long-term deals at the club, the Roosters have some quality coming off contract.
Captain Craig Fitzgibbon, winger Amos Roberts and forwards Danny Nutley and David Shillington head the list.
Nutley is expected to retire while Fitzgibbon is still weighing up whether to make himself available for another year.
Tupou, selected in the second row for Saturday night's trial against Parramatta in Gosford, would prefer his future be sorted out as soon as possible.
"But I think I am a strong enough person that if it doesn't happen before the season, I am strong enough to put it in the back of my mind and focus on the year," he said.
His focus will be on cracking representative football again. Tupou, who prays for his team-mates before games, has played one State of Origin game for NSW and five Tests.
"I have smaller goals, little things on my game that I want to improve on," he said.
"Hopefully that helps me with my long-term goals."
