By Emma Kemp
Joseph Suaalii did not watch the Wallabies’ swift demise in Santa Fe. “I know they went well in the first half,” he says of Saturday’s 67-27 flogging by Argentina. “But I think the second half wasn’t the best.”
Suaalii is broadly correct, in that Australia held a 20-3 lead before conceding 64 points over the following 50 minutes. It is hard to tell if it’s a good or a bad thing that he did not see the capitulation for himself, given the 21-year-old will actually be in Wallabies camp within six weeks.
But from where he stands at Allianz Stadium right now, he genuinely seems neither here nor there about his now-imminent $5 million, three-year code switch. The nonchalance does not appear performative, either, regarding the fact this Friday night’s NRL qualifying final against Penrith begins his rugby league swansong after an eventful few years developing his game under Trent Robinson.
“Obviously it’s going to come through your mind, but it’s not going to be everything,” Suaalii says. “You’re just going to focus in on what you can do today. I feel like I’m just focusing on the session today, and we’re focusing on the game on Friday against Penrith. That’s it.
“I’m going on that [Wallabies] spring tour at end of the year, I know that, but I’m not sure when my first game will be.”
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has not confirmed this last bit, but Suaalii is very much under the impression that, if fit, he will be on the plane when the team leave for the UK at the end of October to play England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Joseph Suaalii has learned a lot after an eventful final year with the Roosters.Credit: Getty Images
While there is no guarantee the young man given Australian rugby’s most lucrative contract to date will play in any of those Tests, it does make sense to give the face of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour a chance to acquire valuable knowledge and experience regarding the players he will likely face and his own team’s style of play.
But like he already said, Suaalii is not thinking about any of that – even if he has made a point of trading cross-code intel with new Roosters teammate and rugby convert Mark Nawaqanitawase.
Nawaqanitawase is already the subject of high praise after scoring a banging try on debut against South Sydney, little more than a month after representing Australia in sevens at the Olympics, and Suaalii believes it proves that “footy is footy … it’s just about playing”.
“You saw Mark, what he did: he come across and he looks natural, so hopefully I can do the same,” he says. “Marky is a great guy. He’s come in, fitted in straight away. He’s a good human, which everyone is at the Sydney Roosters.
“I’ve asked him a little bit of questions. He’s asked me a little bit of questions too. I feel like it’s a natural conversation. It’s just been about what’s the travel [like] or what’s the training [like], but nothing really in depth.
“I feel like the travel is something I’m looking forward to as a 21-year-old kid,” he says, before correcting himself. “Not kid – man. I call myself a kid still.”
The slip of the tongue is understandable for a schoolboy rugby product who technically made his first code switch at 17 when he signed with the Roosters and was granted an exemption to play in the NRL before he turned 18.
A lot has been learned in a short space of time, not least what it means to be heavily pursued from all angles when you are not yet old enough to have a beer. He had at least come of age by the time Rugby Australia lured him back on that mammoth contract announced early in 2023.
Suaalii is given his marching orders during his Origin debut.Credit: Getty Images
Even so, 2024 has arguably been the most eventful, with a point to prove he was still committed to the Roosters despite also being committed to leaving and joining the Waratahs. And a State of Origin debut that went down as heavily as Reece Walsh under the high tackle that got Suaalii sent off seven minutes into game one.
“Coming into pre-season, I just wanted to put my head down and work hard,” he says. “Then playing a lot of games, and then having that Origin game – I feel like I’ve learned a lot from that game as well, just learned a lot about myself. I’ve grown a lot throughout the year, and I feel ready and peaking to go on Friday night.”
The obvious question, of course, is when will he be returning to league and the Roosters? And are there any other sports in his long-term thinking? He is vague about both. Or maybe it just that he likes to keep himself open to every possibility.
“I love to dream about doing different things … but it’s a bit different when you’re a professional,” Suaalii says.
“I played a little bit of [Aussie rules] growing up, and a bit of basketball. At the start it was just about getting days off school, but then found out I was actually pretty good, and I’d get more days off school. My mum used to always blow up every time I would make a sport [representative team].
“I always love a challenge. I never want to be comfortable in my life. I feel like every year I’m just trying to challenge myself. If that’s a new position or it’s a new role on a team, [or] a sport.
“That’s the person I’ve been. I think just growing up, life hasn’t always been easy. I’ve always had my parents there, but I’ve always pushed myself, and my old man’s always been in my back corner trying to challenge me. That’s where I get it from.
“I’ll be 24, 25 by the time my [rugby] contract ends, and I’m not sure what’s my life’s going to be like. Who knows what’s going to happen in four years’ time?”
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