Former Roosters star Suaalii ready for rugby
NEWS: Fresh off his NRL season with the Sydney Roosters, big-money rugby recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is putting his hand up for game time on the Wallabies’ upcoming UK tour.
The 21-year-old, who signed a multi-million dollar deal to play with the NSW Waratahs and Wallabies, has joined a “training hub” in Canberra this week under the guidance of Test coach Joe Schmidt.
Rugby Australia (RA) will announce two squads next week to send overseas in November, with the Wallabies facing England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
An Australian XV will play English club Bristol Bears and England A.
Suaalii said he had recovered from the NRL season, in which the Roosters progressed to the preliminary finals in late September, and was ready for action.
“If they throw me in, I’m ready to go,” Suaalii said on Monday.
“I played the game at school, so it’s just fine-tuning and getting the skills back that I had in rugby.
“I’ve always backed myself going against anyone so I’m very confident in my ability to play.
“I needed rest from that NRL season, it’s a long, brutal season.
“Now, it’s about learning each day, and sitting down and going through film and little things. I’ve played the game before, and I’m very confident in my ability.”
Suaalii’s monster deal, under the previous RA regime, attracted plenty of scrutiny and that spotlight is expected to intensify.
But as a former schoolboy star long courted by both rugby codes, he said he wasn’t bothered by it.
The last code-hopper to attract such interest was Israel Folau, who switched to rugby ahead of the British and Irish Lions series in 2013.
“I’m ready for that. I feel like as a young kid coming to NRL, I had a lot of eyes on me coming through, so it’s no different,” Suaalii said.
“I’m just keeping everything simple, just sticking to the process of training every day, getting better every day, and just learning from my teammates and just trying to be as best player I can be.
“It’s just my life and my dreams and all I want to do with my life.
“Obviously, everyone’s going to have an opinion on it, which is respected but at the end of the day, what I want to do is come play for the Waratahs and the Wallabies.”
Suaalii started in the centres in his last NRL outing but has also played fullback and on the wing
He said he was open to playing anywhere in the backline, with Schmidt not providing any hints at training.
“I met Joe yesterday,” Suaalii said.
“Honestly, we just spoke about family. We’re just getting to know each other basically, I haven’t really spoken about footy.
“If the coach puts me anywhere, I feel like I’m just a footy player at the end of the day – any position, I’m ready to play.”
Suaalii felt his stint in the NRL, training and playing alongside senior Roosters would make him a better rugby player.
“I’ve learned from a lot of players like Joey Manu, Daniel Tupou, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Luke Keary,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve taken their strengths and seen how I can implement it into this team.”
