Everyone wants a piece of the next big thing. Yet few have gone to the same lengths as the photographers that crawled through the school bushes just to get a single snap of a teenage superstar named Joseph Suaalii.

Such was the esteem with which the Penrith-born prodigy was held that Suaalii didn’t even have to be playing. His mere presence at the side of the pitch was enough to summon the press to a rugby union game at The King’s School, Parramatta amid the pandemic.

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“You’ve got to understand these kids don’t come around often,” explains Stuart Woodhouse, the director of rugby at Suaalii’s alma mater. “There’s a lot of external pressure and I think the school handled it really well to give him a normal life. They were crazy times.

“Press creeping into the school and all that kind of stuff. That’s how silly it was. Covid played a big part. He’d be at games watching when he was injured and they were trying to get photos of him and he had to deal with that.”

Why all the fuss? Well, Sua’ali’i excelled at the 15-a-side game from the day he joined on a character scholarship aged 13. “He was over 6ft and it was a man playing against children,” Woodhouse says, of the first time he saw him play.

“It was not a mismatch necessarily by size as he wasn’t a big man at around 70kg back then. But just his skill level and his thinking was way above other boys. His training age would have been at least ten years above his cohort.”

You could be forgiven for thinking that a boy so supremely talented might have become disengaged among his far less capable peers. Not Suaalii. “He didn’t get bored, he just loved playing with his mates,” surmises Woodhouse.

“And the team never lost when he played.” That helps. Of course, even if he was the type to get frustrated, it wouldn’t have required much patience as he shot through the age groups. In fact, King’s had to request special dispensation for the 15-year-old to play 1st XV rugby. Something the Roosters would later do to ensure he could make his NRL debut before his 18th birthday.

Suaalii captained the South Sydney Rabbitohs in league and made a name for himself as the best U16 in New South Wales by winning the Harold Matthews Cup Player of the Year award. His booming pedigree in both codes made him the subject of an almighty tug of war.

Rugby Australia and the NRL’s top clubs circled like vultures to secure his signature. Hence the fanfare. In the end, Sydney Roosters won the race but not before agreeing to a ‘get out’ clause. Which explains why we are where we are today: Suaalii is with the Wallabies after signing for Rugby Australia in March 2023, beginning late 2024.

It also hints at the character of the man. Smart, mature beyond his years and not afraid to make big decisions. “One of the things that strikes you with Joey is that he is very measured in all these decisions,” adds Woodhouse.

“He had some really big decisions to make in the last few years of school. But he never came out and made statements and never made a quick decision. Everything was well thought through.

“When he was 13, his maturity struck you. He had his own vision of where he was going to go with things. I’m not sure whether that was a learned behaviour, but he was very intelligent in that way.

“When you’re a generational player at 16 or 17, people notice. He took a lot of weight on his shoulders in pressure.” A 6ft 5in teenage star with significant aerial prowess who attracted interest from multiple codes. Where have you heard that before?

The similarities between Suaalii and Israel Folau are striking. One just hopes that the former’s time with Australia finishes on a far more savoury note.

Folau may have been sacked by the Wallabies for homophobic social media posts, but he reached out to Suaalii before he’d committed to the Roosters to offer his counsel, familiar with the conundrums brought on by having so much on the table so soon.

While later Folau had no choice but to switch to Tonga to further his international ambitions, Suaalii turned down Mal Meninga’s Kangaroos and opted to represent his father’s nation of Samoa at the Rugby League World Cup in 2022.

It caught many by surprise, with the youngster already pencilled in on the wing for Australia. However, he was not alone. His move came amid a wider trend that saw NRL stars pledge their allegiance to their Pacific Island heritage. Typically, Suaalii took his time to make the decision and is said to have made the call very late on.

Not that Samoa were complaining. Captain Junior Paulo was thrilled to have him in the squad. “He is massive (for us), I think the progression that he has shown in rugby league and just how mature he is for his age is great. He certainly carries himself quite well,” the Parramatta Eels prop said at the competition’s launch.

Samoa made the final for the first time before succumbing to Australia, and it was in no small part down to Suaalii’s contributions. He was particularly influential in the 20-18 quarter-final win over Tonga in Warrington, getting one over his old school pal Will Penisini.

Suaalii in action against England at the Rugby League World Cup (Getty Images)

Half-back Anthony Milford said it was just the beginning for his team-mate. “He’s building. He’s only going to get better, so the sky is the limit for him.” Coach Matt Parish was singing from the same hymn sheet. “He’s got a remarkable career ahead of him if he can stay injury-free. He’s got all the tools. He’s certainly got the drive and he’s certainly got his head screwed on.”

While Suaalii’s on-field exploits were plain for all to see, Roosters colleague Victor Radley labelled him “a freak”. It was the daily dedication to all aspects of his craft that impressed Parish’s Samoa assistant Lee Radford the most.

“He was the last off the field at training and then he was meditating and reviewing through his mind what had gone on in that session,” the former Castleford coach tells Rugby World.

“That’s something I found really unique, for a young player to have that mental preparation and to be that diligent. To have that much talent and apply yourself that well to your job, then you are only going to be world class.”

Up until Suaalii turned his back on rugby league, you could hardly find anyone that had a bad word to say about him. That changed when he signed a deal worth a reported $1.6m per season and put pen to paper on a move to the Waratahs.

At the time, Phil Gould, Canterbury Bulldogs’ general manager and rugby league personality, told Channel Nine: “Every time he scores a try, every time he does something in our game, people are going to refer to the fact that he’s going.Why do we need that? Go now.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the arse on the way out. Go. Go now. Gone. He’s made his decision.”

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in action for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL (Getty Images)

Radford couldn’t have disagreed more. “He’s a young bloke making a name for himself, why would he go now? He’s contributing massively to what Sydney Roosters are doing at the moment. I don’t understand that criticism.”

League’s loss was meant to be Eddie Jones’s gain but is now Joe Schmidt’s as he looks to transform the Wallabies from no-hopers to contenders against the British & Irish Lions in 2025 and in the 2027 World Cup on home soil.

The last World Cup staged down under in 2003 featured league converts Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri. So, was what’s in store for the Wallabies a big pull? “He’s always had a love of rugby (union), there’s no doubt about that,” says Woodhouse, who has coached the Philippines’ XVs side for ten years.

“But there’s no doubt Eddie, the Lions and the World Cup will have played a part in him coming back. Presenting that to Joey would have been a big plus.”

The biggest question remains: where will Sua’ali’i play? He made no secret of his desire to play full-back at the Roosters while also starring at centre and wing. He played all three in union at school and in reality, would likely excel anywhere from 11-15.

He’s been named at 13 by Schmidt, with Hunter Paisami out and Samu Kerevi not quite ready, to take on England in the Autumn Nations Series, but there appear to be two schools of thought: full-back or centre.

Ability in the air v potentially more ball in hand. One of the Wallabies’ greatest full-backs, Matt Burke, doesn’t think he should wear No 15. “I reckon he would be a massive body at 13,” he says. “A good runner of the ball with a good step. He would get his hands on the ball there, more so, and complement the people who are around him.”

Radford, whose stint as Dallas Jackals’ defence coach was thwarted by Covid, agrees and even favours a move further infield. “I think centre, probably inside, would be my go-to. To play full-back, kicking out of hand is a really high priority and I’ve not seen him do much.”

Whatever number is on Suaallii’s back from now on, you can expect him to make an immediate impact. Unlike Folau and other league converts like Sam Burgess, Suaalii is well versed in the sport and just needs to adjust to the rigours of a new professional code.

He had represented his state in no fewer than six sports by age 13, so that ought not to faze him. Woodhouse thinks his proficiency as a basketballer helped mould his offloading. And he still holds the Australian U12 high jump record (1.78m). But it’s this new leap of faith that will shape Suaalli’s legacy.

This article appeared in its original form in the June 2023 edition of Rugby World magazine

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