Currently in the spotlight following his debut with the Wallabies against England, let's take stock of Joseph Suaalii's thirteenth episode.
Quickly propelled to the forefront
Joseph Suaalii is one of these young people gifted in all sports practiced. Comfortable in basketball, athletics, Australian football, Rugby union and also league, everything he touches turns to gold. At only 16 years old, and with an adult physique (1.93 m – 93 kg), many federations have launched into the battle to recover the jewel. But the player decides to integrate the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the XIII, the only sport capable of offering him a big contract at only 16 years old.
We are talking about a three-year contract and 1.7 million Australian dollars. Contract reviewed by the NRL and for which he will have to wait until he is 17. He then discovers the Harold Matthew Cup (U16) with the South Sydney club, even becoming captain. He scored fifteen tries in just nine matches, and was named player of the year. Everything was written for him to become number 1 in the NRL with the Rabbitohs.
However, the prodigy took everyone wrong, starting with his own club. After this impressive 2020 season, he obtained the release of his contract, having it paid for by his new club, the Roosters, who are nothing more and nothing less than the enemies of the Rabbitohs.
Rules are exempt for him
While the rules of NRL no longer allow players under the age of 18 to play in the league, the president of the ARL, Peter V'landysand his committee, approved an exemption for the young player who was only 17 and a half years old at the time. This action would not have taken place on the part of the President of the Australian Rugby League, without medical and psychological assessments, complemented by a welfare and education management plan provided by the Sydney Roosters.
Question wore the jersey for the first time Roosters facing the Brisbane Broncos at the center position, on May 22, 2021, at 17 years and 294 days. He will only wait one more week before crossing the opposing goal line for the first time against the Canberra Raiders. But his first season ended suddenly, after only five games, following a foot injury that required surgery.
Joseph Suaalii will come back stronger the following season, scoring 15 tries in 19 matches. However, the Roosters who were off to a bad start for a large part of the year, had to step up a gear with a series of eight victories to end the regular season. This burned their wings, and the prodigy's second season at the highest level ended in the first round of the playoffs, losing to the Rabbitohs. For his real first year in NRL, he was voted best winger in the championship.
With Australian and Samoan origins, Question is then authorized to represent one of the two countries during the 2021 World Cup. Matt Parish, the coach of the Samoa, will call on him to take the jersey flanked by number 1. He will be one of the key players of the team during this magnificent epic which led them to face theAustralia in the final, after having achieved the feat of eliminating theEnglandthe host country of the competition, on the golden point, on a drop of Stephen Crichton.
During his third season with the Roosters, he adds a new string to his bow, becoming a very reliable scorer, averaging 78% with 48 conversions. This time he passes a round of qualifying phases, but the Storm is far too strong for the Sydney club.
In 2024, Question is selected with the Blues of New South Wales for the State Of Originbut everything did not go as planned. After just seven minutes of play, he made a spectacular dangerous tackle and received a red card. This will end his series. He received a four-match suspension. With his club, he will fail at the gates of the final once again against Melbourne.
The change
2024 will be his last year in the best league in rugby at XIII. For what ? Because in 2023, Australian rugby union is in agony, and is chasing away stars from NRL in order to restore its image. Joseph Suaalii then sign with the Waratahs of New South Wales on a three-year contract, worth more than 5 million Australian dollars, with an option for a further two years at 2 million per year for the player.
A few weeks after the end of the 2024 season NRL, it is selected with the Wallabies by Joe Schmidt. Many questions then arise, given that he had not played in the other code since high school. Only, the coach takes the bet, and aligns the same holder against theEngland. It thus becomes, after Matt Giteau et Wash Polota-Nauthe third player wore the Australian jersey, without having yet played in Super Rugby.
And for his first selection, Joseph Suaalii is elected man of the match, thanks to some brilliant actions which helped the Wallabies to beat the English at Twickenham, something that had not happened since the 2015 Rugby League World Cup. After this match, he put the media in his pocket, it was up to him to continue his great adventure.
Thirteen World Cup
