Rabbitohs to cough up for young gun Joseph Suaalii

South Sydney will look to upgrade gun 16-year-old Joseph Suaalii to fend off approaches from rival code rugby union.

Joseph Suaalii with Wayne Bennett and John Sutton after signing with South Sydney

South Sydney will look to upgrade gun 16-year-old Joseph Suaalii to fend off approaches from rival code rugby union.

The Rabbitohs’ firm stance comes as new Wallabies coach Dave Rennie met with Suaalii during a recent visit to Australia.

The Year 11 student at The King’s School is signed at Souths until the end of 2021 but Rennie went out of his way to meet with him in Penrith. In a bid to deny rugby, the Rabbitohs want to extend Suaalii’s contract to ensure he remains in league long-term.

Souths have a history when it comes to securing rugby union talent. The Rabbitohs picked up star lock Cameron Murray, who excelled in the rugby ranks as a junior with Newington College.

Murray captained Newington’s GPS Championship winning 1st XV rugby team in 2015 before re-signing with Souths on a four-year deal later that year.

The Rabbitohs hope history repeats itself with Suaalii, who rugby has in their sights for the next World Cup in 2023. By that stage the Sydney-born back would be 19 and more than capable of starring on union’s biggest stage.

Wallabies and Queensland Reds back Jordan Petaia was the same age when he made his Australian Test debut on the wing at last year’s World Cup.

Petaia also played outside centre in Australia’s quarter-final loss to eventual runners-up England.

Following Petaia’s success on the World Cup stage, the Wallabies wouldn’t hesitate giving another rising talent an opport­unity to excel in the tournament.

Some rugby experts believe the budding Bunny has the ability to surpass Brian Ford as the youngest Wallaby ever.

Ford was 18 years and three months when he played a Test against the All Blacks in Brisbane in 1957.

It remains unclear if the international schedule would allow Suaalii to play Test football before reaching the approved age, but this doesn’t diminish Rugby Australia’s genuine interest in him as a future prospect.

The Souths back played on the wing for the Australian Schoolboys and Under-18s side which defeated New Zealand for the first time in seven years last year.

Suaalii will line up for the Rabbitohs in the Harold Matthews competition, which kicks off this weekend.

Souths have the bye in the opening round before taking on the Canterbury Bulldogs in round 2 at Belmore Sportsground on Saturday, February 15.

The Daily Telegraph