Roosters could lose young gun Sua’ali’i to rugby, and soon too

It’s the move rugby league wants to avoid at all costs—out-and-out star Joseph Sua’ali’i, already blooming into a true NRL game-changer, could walk away from the Sydney Roosters early to take up a lucrative Australian Rugby Union offer before the end of the year.

The biggest problem the Roosters are facing is that Sua’ali’i has yet to take up his option for the 2024 NRL season. That means he can field offers from rival clubs—and Rugby Australia—right now.

Even worse, the Sydney club is strapped for cash in their vital positions. They’re already paying Joey Manu, who just re-signed, Angus Chrichton, Luke Keary, Sam Walker, and fullback James Tedesco solid coin to play in the tricolours. This is a major problem when NRL clubs and Rugby Australia are already packaging up $1 million deals.

On top of that, Sua’ali’i wants to play fullback. He’s willing to sacrifice that dream if he pivots into rugby again (he played the code as a youngster) but if he sticks to rugby league he wants the number one jumper. The Roosters already have Tedesco in that role.

While Sua’ali’i, 19, is great, there’s not many you’d replace Tedesco with.

That gives the Wallabies a leg-up in negotiations. It also opens up options for several interested NRL parties, including the Newcastle Knights, Redcliffe Dolphins, and St George Illawarra Dragons.

The Sporting Base understands the Knights, Dolphins, and Dragons aren’t much of a sniff though. If Sua’ali’i stays in the NRL he still wants to live in Sydney full-time, an option none of the three interested clubs can truly offer.

That basically leaves it at the Roosters vs. Wallabies.

Sua’ali’i, already a Samoan representative, played rugby league in his early years with the Glenmore Park Brumbies before joining the South Sydney Rabbitohs juniors program. He played fullback for The King’s School’s 1st XV at 14 and has been involved in NSW Schoolboys and Australian Schoolboys lineups in rugby too.

In 2021, he signed with the Roosters. Controversially (and now creating the modern-day problem) the Sydney club allowed Sua’ali’i to boil “get out” clauses into his contract for if rugby union came knocking.

Since his debut in Round 12 against the Raiders, the 19-year-old has played 24 games for the Roosters. He’s scored 16 tries in those two dozen appearances and ran out six times for Samoa at the 2022 World Cup. He played fullback in those international matches.

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