20-year-old New Zealander Tama Koopu is looking forward to the NSW Cup Grand Final this Sunday for more than one reason.
While plenty of other players in the squad have finals experience to draw from, this is the first time Koopu finds himself on the big stage.
“I’m very excited, it’s probably my first big grand final that I’ve played in at this level,” the utility forward told Knights TV.
“Other than that I’m just really keen to play and represent not only our Club, but the community and my family.”
Koopu has only played nine NSW Cup games this year but the former Knights NYC player has timed his run to perfection, making an appearance in every finals game to date.
“It’s been awesome. Matt Lantry has pretty much laid down the challenge for all the blokes who are not full-time to step up and take a leading role,” Koopu said.
"For myself, and I know it’s the same for a lot of the other boys, we enjoy playing alongside all the full-time players.”
Koopu has been one of the Club’s more effective part-timers over the last few months, but this week he has looked to change his routine in order to be fully prepared.
"I’ve taken the last two days off work so I’m just trying to keep myself nice and ready,” he said.
"I had a bit of a cold the last few days so I took time off to get ready for the grand final.”
When Sunday does come around, fans will get to see a fully committed performance from the uncompromising forward.
"I love the physical challenge, it’s something that I look forward to every week," he said.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for us, but an even bigger challenge for them.”
See the team train:
The NSW Cup Knights are training on Saturday from 9.30am at Wests Mayfield, the session is open for Members and fans to attend.
Game details:
Gates open at Pirtek Stadium at 11.20am with the NSW Cup grand final kicking off at 4.15pm following the Sydney Shield and Ron Massey Cup. Adult tickets are just $10, with kids under 12 free. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets now.
