Joseph Suaalii to be offered Olympic and World Cup carrot

Rugby Australia’s boss has compared Joseph Suaalii to Ian Thorpe as he prepares to offer the teen star a deal the NRL can’t match.

Joseph Suaalii has starred for Sydney Roosters in his second NRL season Picture: NRL Photos

Rugby Australia chief Hamish McLennan has ramped up his bid to poach Sydney Roosters young gun Joseph Suaalii as NRL boss Peter V’landys has hit out at the rival code, dismissing the bid as a “sugar hit” and the teen star would be “bored” if he made the switch.

As revealed to The Australian last month, McLennan said Suaalii remained a priority target and hoped to formally begin talks. The RA boss said he wanted to see the 19-year-old in 2024 playing sevens at the Paris Olympics and in the Wallabies jersey.

When asked if he had directly approached Suaalii, McLennan was coy but said he respected what the Roosters have to offer, but said his code was “the next level”.

“The Roosters are one of the best-run clubs in the country of any code, and whilst I don’t know (Roosters chairman) Nick Politis, I have the greatest respect for his achievements,” McLennan said.

“I understand rugby league; my family grew up with rugby union and rugby league.

“My father created the Amco Cup back in the day, which ran for years, and my first jersey was given to me by (Roosters legend) Mark Harris in the early 1970s.

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“Why would Joseph want to be the king of one club and one code, when he could be a legend of two codes, and go into the pantheon of sporting greats; in fact, he could be the Ian Thorpe of two codes. “Truth be told, league can’t give him a Lions tour in Australia, a home World Cup in 2027, the potential to win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics and Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. If he doesn’t play both codes, he’d be selling himself short.

“At the end of the day, I’m in no doubt he’ll make far more money out of rugby union.

“The international side of our game is in a different stratosphere, I have just come from Mendoza, Argentina, which was incredible and the contacts you make are lifelong.

“I think Joseph will be mesmerised by wearing the Wallaby gold jersey, which very few people get to do. This year we are playing France in Paris, and Italy in Florence, just to name a few.”

ARLC chairman V’landys said Suaalii would see less ball in the 15-a-side game.

“I don’t think Suaalii would go to rugby because he would be bored,” V’landys said. “At the moment in rugby union, the ball is in play for 33 minutes a game where in rugby league it’s in play for 55 minutes. They (Rugby Australia) will get a short-term sugar hit but long-term, what’s it going to achieve? Nothing. Offering that kind of money to Suaalii, there is no long-term benefit.”

McLennan dismissed a suggestion that Rugby Australia would be willing to offer $2 million a year.

“It is pure and utter fantasy and that figure did not come from Rugby Australia,” he said.

Suaalii, who has been outstanding on the right wing for the Roosters in just his second NRL season, is contracted to the club for the next two seasons but has get-out clauses that enable him to switch teams or codes.

Under coach Trent Robinson’s leadership, the young player has thrived and Suaalii has said how much he enjoys being part of the eastern suburbs club’s famed culture.

Wresting the teen from the Roosters will be a challenge.

The Wallabies have a history of successfully poaching league talent such as representative stars ­Timana Tahu, Israel Folau, Karmichael Hunt and Suliasi Vunivalu.

Australian rugby union raided the NRL’s ranks before the 2003 World Cup tilt on home soil, with stars Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri joining the Wallabies. Sailor, a dual international, said Rugby Australia setting its sights on Suaalii was a “no-brainer” for the code.

Wallabies backrower Jed Holloway said he would welcome Suaalii to rugby with open arms.

“He came through the rugby pathways, first XV at Kings (high school) for all that time,” he said.

“If it is going to make our team better, I think it could be great.

“He’s quite a talented person; obviously he’s killing it in rugby league and he’s quite young.

“We do have really good guys here in the team that we’ve got.

“You see Marika (Koroibete) on the weekend and Tommy Wright, Andrew Kellaway and Jordan Petaia all coming through slowly as well, so we’ve got a huge amount of depth, but if it’s going to make us be better and win a World Cup, why not?”

Additional reporting: Dean Ritchie, Julian Linden