She may be Newcastle’s golden girl, but Tamika Upton isn’t expecting a welcoming fanfare when she runs out onto McDonald Jones Stadium in maroon on Thursday night.
A pivotal cog in the Knights’ back-to-back title success over the past two seasons, all that goes out the window when the 27-year-old returns home as the enemy with an extreme desire of upsetting the Blues to level up the Origin series.
“They’re very passionate supporters and the atmosphere will be unreal… we just need to be ready for the occasion,” Upton told NRL.com
“In Newcastle, the crowd is going to similar to Suncorp, but obviously this time, there’s going to be a lot of blue there.
“I just love that people are turning up to the women’s games and it makes for a good atmosphere, whether you’re at home or whether you’re not."
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com
With Game II officially a sell-out and another record crowd expected in the Hunter after 25,492 fans witnessed history in the series opener to kickstart Magic Round, the Queensland X-factor feels the situation couldn’t be any better for her teammates to level the series on her home ground.
Upton has remarkably never lost a fixture at McDonald Jones Stadium, winning her first game there in 2021 with the Broncos before winning eight straight at home as part of an intimidating Knights outfit.
Should that streak continue on Thursday night, it then potentially sets up the dream run for Upton, with the Rockhampton product returning back to Townsville for Game III and a great opportunity ahead to lift the shield in Queensland rugby league heartland.
Tamika Upton's 2023 Dally M reel
“The three games and where they’ve put them is unreal,” Upton said.
“We’ve seen previously in Townsville how many they’ve got, so I’m really excited to hopefully get the job in Newcastle and then head up there for the decider.
“For me, the situation doesn’t change [despite it being a three-match series],” she said. “Origin is do or die no matter what.
“We’ve got some learning to do. We can’t phase in and out of games like we did in Game I. Sometimes you go away from your game plan and get caught playing their game. They did a very good job of squeezing us up and we didn’t play our game plan in that first half.
“It’s about our tempo and control and not getting flustered. We’ve got our plays and we’ve got our points. We just need to get to them and execute them.”
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com