What do Joseph Suaalii’s Wallabies teammates think of his $9 million rugby contract?

Code-hopping superstar Joseph Suaalii’s rugby union mega deal has been the talk of the town – but what do his Wallabies teammates think of their high-profile recruit’s epic salary?

IT is the inevitable conundrum for every Australian rugby player.

How do they feel about Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s record-breaking deal worth nearly $9 million, when many of them have been forced to take pay cuts over recent years?

It is no fault of Suaalii’s. He was offered a once-in-a-lifetime deal and had to take it.

But there is no doubt that because of the exorbitant money Rugby Australia is paying the 21-year-old former NRL star, other players in the system will leave to join overseas clubs as cash dries up.

Wallabies playmaking bolter Tane Edmed delivered it best by saying no other player will have hard feelings towards Suaalii.

Waratahs playmaker Tane Edmed with new teammate Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (background) during Wallabies training camp in Canberra. Picture: Rugby Australia

That is true, mostly because Suaalii is a likeable, respectful person who is merely taking up a deal any of them would also have jumped at.

They won’t hold the same views of the administrators who made the offer – $5.35 million over three years, with an additional two years in Suaalii’s favour worth nearly $2 million a year – but that is a different matter.

Right now, Suaalii is the new kid on the block in Wallabies training camp, and his salary will be a constant topic of conversation among commentators and spectators.

“I think he’s earned it, to be honest with you,“ Edmed said of his new NSW Waratahs teammate.

“No one’s going to hold any hard feelings against him for it.

Suaalii getting his first of taste of rugby after his multimillion-dollar code switch. Picture: Supplied

“If he came in here and he wasn’t a good bloke and probably didn’t work that hard you’d probably be like (he’s not worth it). But he’s a great man, super mature.

“You can tell why he’s gotten to this level that he has, because he’s not just a talent. You can see he wants to work hard.

“We’re all happy to have him, I think he’s going to be a massive asset to the Waratahs, and then hopefully for the Wallabies in future.”

Edmed expects the former schoolboys rugby star to adjust quickly to the XV man code after three seasons in the NRL with Sydney Roosters straight out of high school.

“It probably won’t take him too long, he is a natural athlete, he’s got his head on his shoulders,” Edmed said.

“He is intuitive, he’s looking to learn every session. At the end of the day he’s a great footballer so I don’t think it’ll take him too long, and being an outside back I don’t think there’s a whole lot different.”

Edmed during the 2024 Super Rugby season for the Waratahs. Picture: Grant Down / AFP

Like Suaalii, Edmed is a newcomer to the Wallabies squad, earning a spot in this week’s training camp in Canberra after a successful stint with North Harbour in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship competition following the Super season with NSW.

“It’s pretty crazy what a new environment can do, a fresh start and a new perspective,“ 24-year-old Edmed said.

“I think it definitely helped me confidence-wise, to see that I could do that.

“But at the same time I’m very aware that NPC is not Super [Rugby], it’s not Test rugby.

“Obviously there will be challenges still ahead but it made more confident in my own abilities.”

It’s likely that Edmed and Suaalii will play for the Australian XV side against Bristol on November 8 as part of the Wallabies’ spring tour.

Originally published as What do Joseph Suaalii’s Wallabies teammates think of his $9 million rugby contract?