By Dan Walsh
Joseph Suaalii was back-page news long before he could get his L-plates, and on the front page before he’d even stepped onto a field in the NRL.
Last year, while still in his teens, he was made a chief in two Samoan villages and now, still five months short of turning 20, he has signed a $4.8 million, three-year deal with Rugby Australia from 2025.
As far as hype, headlines, clicks and stoushes go, Suaalii generates all of them in a manner reserved for few in Australian sport.
As far back as the first rugby-NRL squabble for his signature between Rugby Australia and South Sydney in 2016, the spats have been unsavoury and the figures eye-watering.
Joseph Suaalii as front-page news after making his North Sydney Bears debut in February, 2021.Credit: Fairfax Media
At the root of it all, a talent, complemented by a temperament, that is generational.
Asked in 2020 for an insight into the clamour for a then-16-year-old Suaalii, World Cup-winning Wallaby Rod Kafer recalled a miserable afternoon of under-14s rugby in the wet.
In his words, Suaalii launched a kick 60 metres on the fly, Kafer thinking to himself that given the conditions, “This kid has kicked the ball further than any current Wallaby could”.
Suaalii was 12 years old. He has stood at his current height of 196 centimetres since the age of 16, and added only a few kilograms to now tip the scales at 98kg.
Code-hopping predecessor Sonny Bill Williams told the Herald on Thursday that Suaalii’s physical and mental attributes would take him a long way in any sport, even the NFL, if he turned his hand to it.
“He’s blessed with Pacific Islander attributes that not many youngsters have,” Williams said. “Clean cut. Speaks well. Good academic background. He’s a very good look for any club”.
Joseph Suaalii and James Tedesco at Roosters training.Credit: James Brickwood
Suaalii will be just 24 – with three full NRL seasons, another three in rugby and, potentially, a British and Irish Lions tour and Rugby World Cup on his resume – when that contract finishes. That might be the most stunning facet of all in this slightly uncomfortable, increasingly tiresome, circus.
Williams knows this dance better than almost anyone. His advice for the rising Rooster he has mentored previously speaks to Suaalii’s greatest selling point – the way none of this seems to faze him.
The back page of The Sun-Herald from February 28, 2021.Credit:
“Keep outside noise to a minimum, concentrate on the present, which is the Roosters – and help bring them a title,” Williams said. “The public can be very unforgiving in regards to performance, but you have to understand that you will never please everyone. The more successful you are, the louder the detractors.
In terms of announcing a big-money move so far in advance, Brandon Smith reflected on a final year with Melbourne that still doesn’t sit right with him.
“It’s tough,” he said. “You do have to think about it throughout the year.”
Between taking potshots at rugby, marvelling at Suaalii’s millions and dreaming of free feeds courtesy of his teammate, Smith gave a fair insight into why those most invested in Suaalii believe the dollars and demand are worth it.
“But we’re two different people, me and Joey,” he said. “He doesn’t leave any stone unturned. If he wants to get better, he’ll find a way to do it. Meditation, mindfulness, journaling, those things that have really nothing to do with rugby league.
“It’s all about working on yourself. He does all of that stuff. He comes in first; he leaves last. He’s stretching, he’s doing those things you learn over time in rugby league. And he’s already doing it. It’s pretty impressive for a young kid. He already owns a house in Double Bay. Don’t worry, I’m jealous, too.”
It’s a theme long evidenced by junior coaches at South Sydney, who recall him running four kilometres from Redfern Station to ensure a missed train didn’t make him late for Harold Matthews training.
So, too, Suaalii’s demanding first year in the NRL system, when his juggling of full-time rugby league and year 12 meant tutoring started at 5am before a day of schooling under Roosters coach Trent Robinson, followed by more studies at night.
Robinson has seen Suaalii’s growth closer than anyone. And he’s planning plenty more in the next 18 months while he still has him, to ensure the Roosters are first in the queue again in 2027.
Suaalii’s ability to land a shot and desire for contact has been a highlight of his shift to the centres this season. The nuances of three-quarter play, the hardest position to defend in league, are what Robinson wants to see next.
The front and back pages, dollar signs and hot takes simply fall on Suaalii’s broad shoulders as well.
“It’s a weight that you’ve got to carry,” Robinson said. “As a young guy and as a 19-year-old, you’re not expected to. But if you want to be the best possible player and up in lights, you’re going to have to carry some weight along the way.
“That’s come in bucket loads in the last few months and it’s all a part of his learning as well. I don’t see it as a negative [that] he has to learn to carry it if he wants to be the best player in this game.”
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