South Sydney to sign teenager Joseph Suaalii on $2 million contract
If Latrell Mitchell has any concerns about his position at South Sydney, the Rabbitoh’s plan to make a rookie fullback the first $2 million teenager in rugby league history should make things interesting. IT’S SAINT, SINNER, SHOOSH.
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SAINT
Finally a powerful figure in rugby union has conceded their game is boring. The highly respected England rugby coach Eddie Jones, inspired by the NRL rule changes, wants the rah-rahs to do reboot on their rule book. He pointed out that rugby games can now drag out for 100 minutes, with the ball in actual play for only 35 minutes.
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SINNER
Somebody needs to tell our greedy cricketers that COVID-19 has ripped the heart out of corporate Australia and one million Aussies have lost their jobs. The cricketers are putting on a stink about possible pay cuts despite the fact players in all the footy codes have had to accept times are tough and the country in a recession.
SHOOSH
Which NRL star celebrated the return to football last weekend by winning more than $100,000 in a massive Saturday on the punt, including a long-priced winner on a horse? It’s a true story.
SHOOSH
There is talk Wests Tigers star Josh Reynolds was paid close to $100,000 for his 60 Minutes interview about the disastrous relationship with Arabella Del Busso. The interview ran for the entire program to justify the costs. Channel 9 news and current affairs boss Darren Wick declined to return our calls. Reynolds’s manager George Mimis told us the agreement with Channel 9 was confidential and he could not reveal any details.
SHOOSH
Which assistant coach at a struggling NRL club has rung both St George-Illawarra and the Canterbury Bulldogs to inquire about their head coaching roles.
SHOOSH
Which NRL club is quietly checking out the position of Gold Coast Titans coach Justin Holbrook, despite the fact he’s under contract until the end of 2021.
SPOTTED
South Sydney Rabbitohs centre James Roberts shopping at Harvey Norman in Taren Point on Wednesday.
SPOTTED
Fox Sports commentator Sammy Burgess picking up a takeaway Italian meal from La Spiaggia restaurant in Coogee.
SPOTTED
A slow horse called Redhead Ritchie, presumably named after colleague Dean “Bulldog” Ritchie, ran last in a field of nine at Belmont last Saturday, beaten 18.1 lengths at $151.
SPOTTED
Injured Broncos’ $900,000-a-year centre Jack Bird shopping in the Adidas outlet store at DFO in Brisbane.
SPOTTED
We received this text from retired champion front-rower Steve Roach on Friday night when Kyle Flanagan packed into a scrum at prop: “How dare Trent Robinson embarrass our game by putting a halfback in the front-row.”
THE 16-YEAR-OLD WORTH $2 MILLION
This is the freakish 16-year-old footballer who is about to become the first $2 million teenager in rugby league history.
In August, Joseph Suaalii will sign a four-year contract with the South Sydney Rabbitohs worth almost $500,000 per season, such is the demand from rugby union and rival NRL clubs.
Check out his video highlights package (attack and defence) on our website and you’ll see for yourself.
It seriously shows that Latrell Mitchell will be a short-term fullback at Redfern because this rookie is already being compared with Greg Inglis and Israel Folau as youngsters at Melbourne Storm.
Suaalii cannot play first grade until he turns 18 in August next year but Wayne Bennett thinks so highly of the 197cm giant that he trained him with the first-grade squad in the off-season at just 16.
Sam Burgess is reluctant to put too much pressure on the youngster but admits he’s impressed.
“In the pre-season we tested him out with a bit of physical stuff and he responded,” Burgess said.
“He was ripping in with all the contact drills with the big boys. He’s got courage you don’t normally see in kids until they grow up.”
Under NRL rules, South boss Blake Solly has to wait until August before looking at a long-term NRL contract.
“We’re just waiting for our opportunity to talk to him,” Solly said, “He’s not just a very good player, he’s a great kid from a beautiful family. He’s just the sort of young person you want at your club.”
MORRIS UNDER THE PUMP AT SHARKS
PAUL McGregor and Dean Pay are not the only two NRL coaches under extreme pressure.
The word out of the Shire is that John Morris desperately needed Saturday night’s vastly improved effort to ease pressure.
It hasn’t helped losing Bronson Xerri and Josh Morris, but their terrible performance against the Wests Tigers last week raised questions about the coach’s future.
Your columnist keeps hearing that Cronulla wants Shane Flanagan back once he’s cleared by the NRL.
That could be as early as next season now that Todd Greenberg is out of the game and with Peter V’landys prepared to revisit his case.
Whoever is in charge, the Sharks are facing a couple of years of pain until their inconsistent big names come off contract and they can bring in fresh faces.
LISTEN! This week on The Daily Telegraph podcast Mobbsy, Mick and Buzz talk through financial irresponsibility of clubs after just one round, Paul McGregor’s St George Illawarra future, Dean Pay being under pressure at Canterbury PLUS John Bateman’s injury and what it means for the Canberra Raiders’ premiership hopes.
COSTLY MOVE TO FULLBACK
Latrell Mitchell is in danger of costing himself $90,000 by playing fullback at the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
That’s his match payments for playing for NSW against the Maroons in State of Origin, which has been pushed back this year because of COVID-19 to November 4, 11 and 18.
Latrell is no hope of playing fullback ahead of James Tedesco or Tom Trbojevic. However, it’s a different story if he is playing his best football in the centres.
Trbojevic and Jack Wighton played centre last year after Latrell was dropped, but Wighton could easily be switched to five-eighth if necessary.
The money is important to Latrell in a season that he has already lost $100,000 by rejecting the Roosters’ $800,000 offer to take $700,000 at the Rabbitohs.
BENNETT BLAME GAME
It’s interesting Anthony Seibold is copping all the blame for the disarray at the Brisbane Broncos. This is not entirely fair.
People seem to have forgotten who actually assembled this team and put Anthony Milford on $1 million, Jack Bird on $900,000 and Darius Boyd on $800,000. His name is Wayne Bennett.
The Broncos have slumped to their two worst losses in history in their past five games. The scoreline has been against them 93-6 in the past two weeks.
This is not the first time Bennett has left a club on its knees. Think Newcastle and his departure in 2014 and the wooden spoons in 2015 and 2016 and 2017.
DOGS ARE DOWN
The Canterbury Bulldogs are on the verge of imploding.
The team’s winless start to the year, no major sponsor, no home ground, uncertainty over the future of coach Dean Pay, the standing down of club legend Steve Price and unexplained return of Chris Anderson in an unofficial recruitment role has upset long-time fans.
Anderson was forced to stand stood down from the Bulldogs board last year when The Sunday Telegraph revealed his recruitment business had gone into liquidation, owing millions. He was replaced on the club retention committee by his wife Lynne Anderson, but player agents have revealed he’s still unofficially involved behind the scenes — although the club denies this.
Meanwhile. Pay feels he’s being sidelined from roster planning.
The Dogs have a $3 million war chest to spend on new players for 2021. There is one major problem … potential recruits want to know who will be coaching the team.
This will force the club into making an early call on Pay, possibly even next week.
The other big issue concerns football club general manager Price who was stood down when COVID-19 shutdown the premiership, but has yet to return from Queensland.
The club surprisingly left him out of their 50-person bubble.
Many blame the fact club legend Terry Lamb got caught at training last week shaking hands with players and breaking bio-security protocols on the fact Price wasn’t around to police the rules.
NEW DOG KENNEL
There’s now talk of the NRL pushing the state government for a boutique stadium at Liverpool on the site owned by Canterbury. It could be used for Bulldogs and Wests Tigers games. The Dogs’ Belmore HQ is unlikely to get funding and their deal is up at ANZ Stadium.
RISING ROOSTER
We’ve been pushing the case for Roosters forward Lindsay Collins to play Origin this year, not that we should be helping out Kevvy Walters with his Maroons selections.
On Friday night against the Broncos, Collins made an extraordinary 240m from just 55 minutes.
NRL BOSSES HIT THE ROAD
Most of the NRL’s senior executives are about to go car hunting. The closure of Holden and their long-term sponsorship of the game means vehicles have to be handed back over the next few weeks. We’re sure Roosters boss and automotive tycoon Nick Politis would love to help them out.
MORE NEWS
Ash Barty is still yet to watch a replay of her breakthrough grand slam win at Roland Garros
CA tells players financial forecasts will be reviewed after broadcasters show them the money
MARRIED MITCH
Mitchell Pearce is aiming to jam a wedding into the busiest year of his life.
With the finals and Origin pushed back until late November, the Knights skipper and fiancé Kristin Scott have chosen a date in the week between Christmas and the New Year.
They will tie the knot at Byron Bay and hope to invite 150 guests but it will depend on the COVID-19 restrictions.
Blocker Roach’s son Liam will be best man and the guest list will include the likes of Todd Carney, Boyd Cordner, Kalyn Ponga, Anthony Minichiello, David Gyngell and Nick Politis plus his closest mates at Knights.