‘It’s not rugby league’: Suaalii urged to take roaming role against Lions

Wallabies centre Len Ikitau says he and midfield partner Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii need to go hunting for the ball more, as stats revealed Suaalii is around half as productive playing centre for the Wallabies as he was playing fullback for NSW in Super Rugby.

Despite calls for Ikitau to be returned to the No.13 jersey and for Suaalii to play in the back three, the pair are set to remain midfield partners in the second Test, with Joe Schmidt expected to largely keep faith in thesidethat lost 27-19 in Brisbane.

Having players returning from injury may see changes among the forwards, but a day after he said he was ready to return from a calf injury, Rob Valetini’s availability remains clouded, after vice-captain Allan Alaalatoa gave a less-than-confident progress report on Tuesday.

“He has to tick his boxes throughout this week, so we’ve got our fingers crossed,” Alaalatoa said. “That would be awesome for him to be here in Melbourne in front of his family ... to hopefully get the opportunity to play the Lions.”

Will Skelton and Langi Gleeson are also expected to return from injury, but Valetini’s power will be particularly crucial given wet weather is expected at the MCG, which is on track for a crowd of more than 90,000.

More strong returns from the scrum could be crucial for the Wallabies’ quest to level the series.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii of the Wallabies is tackled by Tom Curry.Credit: Getty Images

But also important to the Wallabies’ chances will be more involvement from star recruit Suaalii, who has struggled to find space in two Tests this year.

Suaalii played fullback for the Waratahs in all but one of his seven games in 2025, but he was moved back to No.13 for the Wallabies, where he debuted on last year’s spring tour. That also meant a reshuffle to No.12 for Ikitau, after the star centre played No.13 for the Brumbies all year.

Suaalii’s struggle to find open space while playing centre, and be best utilised as an aerial threat, has reopened debate about where he is best deployed, and by extension, if Ikitau is shackled at No.12, too.

Ikitau said playing at inside centre doesn’t change his game, and he also plays an important outside rookie five-eighth Tom Lynagh.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii of the Wallabies is brought down by a pack of Lions.Credit: Getty Images

But asked where Suaalii is best deployed, Ikitau said: “To be honest, if he’s on the field, that’s the best thing for us. Just somewhere on the field, and if he’s playing 13, if he’s playing on the wing, fullback, I know that he’s just a freak of an athlete, and he can step up to the occasion, and just play his footy.

“At the end of the day, it’s a footy game and he’s a footballer, so I don’t think it’ll faze him.”

The numbers show Suaalii is far more impactful at fullback than centre, albeit with the major caveat that Super Rugby’s standard is well below Test rugby.

On average, in a per-game measurement, Suaalii carried almost 40 per cent more at fullback than centre while playing for the Waratahs, and crossed the gain line 35 per cent more. He had almost twice as many post-contact metres and four times the number of defenders beaten. Average running metres (96m to 13m) are understandably skewed, given the different positional roles.

Suaalii’s 10 runs in Brisbane were nearly all into heavy red-shirt traffic.

Ikitau said he and Suaalii need to be more proactive at the MCG.

Len Ikitau tries to charge through the Lions defence.Credit: Getty Images

“We need to go looking for the ball. We can’t sit on the edge and expect the ball will come because sometimes the way the game’s played, it doesn’t really get to an edge. So just being able to roam around, it’s not rugby league,” Ikitau said. “He doesn’t have to stay on the left side; he can roam around and get into the ruck or close to the ruck if he has to get a touch and be in the game.”

The Lions’ fast line speed in the midfield was a big reason why Suaalii was well contained, and Ikitau ended up crashing a lot of ball up. Ikitau said they have ideas on how to respond.

“We knew there were opportunities with their line speed and how they want to attack us in defence, but its just being able to pull the trigger when the opportunity comes,” Ikitau said. “A few times I think we were just conservative.”

All nine matches of The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia are live & on demand on Stan Sport, with Wallabies Tests in 4K. All Test matches live and free on Channel 9 & 9Now.