IT took just two weeks of last season's NRLW campaign for Tamika Upton to decide Newcastle was going to be her new home.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Already a two-time premiership winner with the Brisbane Broncos, Upton won a third title last year in her first season at the Knights, who went from wooden-spooners in their inaugural campaign to premiers in their second.
But with the league's expansion from six to 10 teams in 2023, and every NRLW player on the market, the star fullback was always set to be one of the most sought after signatures in the game.
A Central Queensland product, Upton was one of multiple Queensland players from last year's premiership-winning squad considered a chance to not return this year, particularly with the addition of the North Queensland Cowboys.
But the 26-year-old has signed with the Knights for the next five years, inking the longest NRLW deal to date to remain in Newcastle until the end of the 2027 season.
"I came here last year with the intention of staying and it's all worked out really well," Upton said on Wednesday.
"I fell in love with the town and fell in love with the club.
"To sign a five-year [deal] is honestly amazing.
"I'm going to settle here and I know I'm staying here for the rest of my career."
Upton, who grew up in Blackwater to the west of Rockhampton, said joining a Queensland club was a genuine option but she had known since early last season that Newcastle was where she wanted to be.
"I reckon it was about two weeks into our pre-season last year I called my mum and said: 'I'm probably not coming home'," she said.
"There was obviously interest from home and Queensland.
"It's always hard to knock back home, but this does feel like home for me now.
"[Newcastle] does remind me of home a little bit; it's slow, it's a bit industrial, but has beautiful beaches.
"The town itself sold me, but it's even better that I get along so well with the girls and the club."
Upton is the first NRLW recruit the Knights have unveiled for the 2023 season, but more announcements are expected in coming days. The bulk of last season's squad is expected to remain at the club, but Queenslanders Romy Teitzel (Broncos) and Emma Manzelmann (Cowboys) have already signed elsewhere and Millie Boyle has confirmed she won't be back.
Knights football director Peter Parr said the retention of Upton was a major coup for the club. The three-time Queensland Origin representative scored five tries in as many NRLW games last season and won the Karyn Murphy Medal for her grand-final performance.
"We believe Tamika is arguably the best player in the game and we are thrilled that she is the first to sign on with the club for the long term," he said. "She will not be the last.
"Tamika brings supreme athletic ability and football smarts to our team. But she is far more than that - she is a leader, a great community contributor and a wonderful role model for our club and those who follow the game."
He added: "There is great optimism around the place for what we can achieve as a team and as a club in upcoming NRLW seasons and Tamika's signing for five years should be seen as the first of many votes of confidence in what we are building here."
Upton played her first game for Newcastle's NSW Women's Premiership side last weekend and has been named to start at fullback against Cronulla on Saturday in the last game of the regular season.
The side, which features fellow NRLW stars Jesse Southwell and Yasmin Clydsdale, needs to secure a big victory to be a chance of making the finals.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Join the discussion in the comment section below.
Find out how to register or become a subscriber here.
