Origin 2021: Explosive twist in Ronaldo Mulitalo saga exposes farcical NRL
Shattered and saddened by his Origin ousting, Ronaldo Mulitalo has called out the NRL’s double standard on flexibility for some players but not others.
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Ronaldo Mulitalo will “do everything” to prove his Queensland Origin legitimacy and has pleaded with the NRL to step-in and ultimately overturn his representative exile.
In the wake of a disastrous 24-hours for Queensland, Mulitalo has doubled-down on his determination to help save the Maroons from a series whitewash by playing in Origin III on July 14.
The shattered 21-year-old has asked the NRL to show the same level of flexibility as what they afforded Roosters teen Joseph Suaalii, who was granted an exemption to play before his 18th birthday.
“I’m not having a go at the kid (Joseph Suaalii), but they bend the rules for him,’’ Mulitalo said.
“The morning of a State of Origin game and I’m watching my dream slip through my fingers because of something that should’ve been checked not this week, but ages ago.
“One minute it’s the best moment of my life and the next my whole world has come crashing down.’’
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Mulitalo is the face of the most dramatic and farcical chapters in 42-years of State of Origin.
He went from receiving his debut Maroons jersey 24-hours earlier to watching Queensland hand over the Origin shield to NSW from the Suncorp Stadium sideline last night.
Sympathetic to the convoluted nature of Mulitalo’s Maroons omission, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo and chairman Peter V’landys extended the QRL every opportunity to prove the winger’s eligibility before Sunday’s match - and they will continue to do so.
“We’ve (NRL) given them (Mulitalo and the QRL) the next couple of weeks to see if they can provide the documentation,’’ ARLC chairman Peter V’landys said on Triple M radio.
“If they can’t, we do have flexibility within our rules which would be used in extreme circumstances and we’ll have to adjudicate if this is one of those.’’
“I feel very sorry for Ronaldo, he shouldn’t have been put in this situation - the system should’ve been better.’’
Mulitalo will return to Cronulla on Monday, bewildered as to how he was allowed to represent Queensland’s under-15s, 18’s and 20’s - but be deemed ineligible for Origin after he was a late call-up for an injured Reece Walsh.
Under Origin’s eligibility rules, a player must have lived in Australia before the age of 13 to be eligible for NSW or Queensland.
Mulitalo arrived in Australia from New Zealand at the age of 13 and 10-months, living and playing for Ipswich.
“Yes, I played my part in being at some fault,’’ Mulitalo said.
“But let’s be serious, at what point after representing Queensland in the 15’s, 18’s and 20’s would anyone think I’m not eligible?
“I represented every grade coming through at Ipswich and in Queensland from the day I arrived at 13 and 10 months.
“If they (NRL) ask me, I’ll be telling them, I still want to represent Queensland and Australia.
“But what if I can’t? What do I do now? Since I was 13, I wanted to play for Queensland and Australia.
“Now suddenly, that’s gone? If I can’t do this, my only option is to go and represent New Zealand or Samoa.
“But within me, I can’t do that, I’ve already chosen (on my contract to play for) Queensland and Australia.
“There’s a knock-on effect too, I’ve probably taken someone else’s opportunity in the past.
“It’s just so upsetting and shouldn’t have come to this.’’
Mulitalo relayed how his Origin nightmare unfolded.
“I saw a little bit of news about it (on Saturday night) and I thought it was just hype, so I turned all my social media off to get ready for the game,’’ he said.
“I didn’t think anything of it, but then I got a call to come to a meeting.
“I was given a chance to try and come up with paperwork.
“I don’t have all the paperwork that Queensland gave me as a teenager coming through.
“Where am I supposed to pull that from the day of a game?
“If I went on and played and we won, and then the NRL investigated it and it was deemed I was ineligible, then the series would be taken off us.
“The team is bigger than me, so we decided it’s not best for the team.
“Ultimately, I had to rule myself out.
“They had the whole week to ask the question (of eligibility)- and not once was it asked.
“All I can do now is make sure this never happens again.’’
EXPLOSIVE TWIST IN RONALDO SAGA EXPOSES FARCICAL NRL
The Ronaldo Mulitalo Origin eligibility saga has taken an explosive twist with his former manager sensationally claiming the NRL had approved his application to play for Queensland.
Brisbane-based player agent Paul Hogan was Mulitalo’s first manager, signing him as a 14-year-old, and insists the NRL has never previously raised issues when the Cronulla winger has lodged contracts pledging his allegiance to Queensland.
But it is understood that Mulitalo has been inconsistent in declaring his Origin eligibility with NRL authorities.
In his first ever NRL contract, lodged on March 4, 2015, Mulitalo, then aged 15, ticked ‘NO’ when asked if he is eligible for State of Origin.
He subsequently made himself available for Queensland when lodging more recent NRL contracts.
The revelations from Hogan - and Mulitalo’s backflipping - underlines rugby league’s murky eligibility laws in the wake of the Sharks flyer’s shock withdrawal by the Queensland Rugby League just hours before Origin II tonight at Suncorp Stadium.
Mulitalo was left shattered after his Origin debut went up in flames when the QRL pulled him out of the team because they could not provide evidence he is eligible for Queensland, but Hogan is adamant the 21-year-old qualifies for the Maroons.
“This is an absolute disgrace. The NRL approved Ronaldo’s eligibility,” Hogan said.
“I cannot believe what has happened. We went through all the right channels, we supplied the relevant forms and the NRL approved his contract.
“I was Ronaldo’s manager when he signed his first NRL contract - it was the 4th of March, 2015, that was the day the contract was printed out on the NRL system.
“The NRL let his contract go through and let Ronaldo play Queensland junior reps all the way through.
“Somebody at the NRL has approved Ronaldo’s Origin eligibility.
“If there was an issue, they should have brought it up then, not all these years later.”
THE BLAME GAME STARTS
ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys and the QRL will further investigate Mulitalo’s case to play for Queensland after Origin II and Hogan believes the Sharks young gun has grounds to be classified a Maroon.
“Whoever has ruled Ronaldo ineligible needs to go back and look at the NRL’s records,” Hogan said.
“He can argue the NRL said he was eligible back then, so why isn’t he eligible now?
“He played Queensland under-18s and Origin 20s and they never kicked up a stink.”
Under Origin’s eligibility rules, a player must have lived in Australia before the age of 13 to be eligible for NSW or Queensland.
A News Corp probe discovered Mulitalo, who was born in Auckland on November 17, 1999, moved to Brisbane around October 2013, just before his 14th birthday.
Asked if Mulitalo moved to Australia at age 13 years and 11 months, Hogan said: “That’s correct ... well probably 13 years and 10 months, because his birthday is at the end of November.
“It’s disgraceful for this to come out now. It’s just wrong. The kid has lived here eight years.
“It’s not Ronaldo’s fault, he filled out his application and we submitted it to the NRL.”
HOW DID THE NRL GET IT THIS WRONG?
Speaking on Channel 9’s The Footy Show, V’landys on Sunday said he wasn’t sure who was to blame for the eligibility bungle after the NSW Rugby League asked the NRL to investigate Mulitalo’s status.
“I feel so very sorry for Ronaldo. It shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have happened just before the game,” he said.
“Naturally, we had to investigate it (his eligibility). We investigated it and we sought information from the Queensland Rugby League to provide evidence that he does qualify.
“They couldn’t provide that evidence and wanted more time so they withdrew Ronaldo from tonight’s match, hoping they can prove that he is eligible later in the week.”
“I don’t know who’s to blame to be quite frank.
“I found out about it late last night and we immediately put in an action plan to see if he was eligible ... I don’t think anyone is to blame at the moment.
“I think the very first thing we need to do is look after Ronaldo and then look at if he’s eligible. I’m hoping that he is eligible and can come back for game three.”
Originally published as Origin 2021: Explosive twist in Ronaldo Mulitalo saga exposes farcical NRL
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