Andrew Abdo says that the NRL have gone through a rigorous process in order to grant 17-year-old wunderkind Joseph Suaalii an exemption to play NRL first grade before his 18th birthday.
“Our decision is based on the independent advice of experts and information gathered from discussing Joseph’s school performance and discussions with the club and Joseph’s family,” Abdo said.
“Given Joseph turns 18 in just four months’ time, the conservative approach the Roosters are taking in managing Joseph’s career, and the comprehensive education and wellbeing plans that are being implemented, the Commission decided to grant the club permission for Joseph’s contract to be registered prior to him turning 18.”
There has been an outcry among some fans that this decision is just another demonstration that the Roosters are the darlings of the NRL administrators and get whatever they ask for, whenever they ask for it.
To paraphrase George Orwell’s classic Animal Farm, a common sentiment is that ‘All clubs are equal, but the Roosters are more equal than others.’
Whether that is the case or not, I am in favour of Suaalii being allowed to play for two key reasons:
1. There is a history of great players debuting before their 18th birthday, and
2. There is no way that Trent Robinson would play someone who wasn’t ready both mentally and physically.
Make no mistake, Suaalii is a long term investment for the Tricolours and Robinson would not be willing to risk that investment for a short term gain.
Off the top of my head I can name Andrew Ettingshausen, Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley, Tim Brasher, Israel Folau and Jason Taumalolo who debuted before they were 18.
All of these guys are superstars.
Brad Fittler debuted young and lived to tell the tale. (Photo by Getty Images)
However, I became somewhat more reserved in my view after last month Jordan Rankin, who himself debuted for the Titans at the age of just 16, argued against Suaalii being granted an exemption.
“A blanket rule keeps kids safe,” Rankin told AAP.
“It doesn’t make them have to try and be better than what they are at a certain point in their career.
“I’m not worried about [Suaalii] physically at all. He’s quite a physical, kid … It’s the mental side of it. It’s the papers; it’s everything else in between.”
He continued, “It [debuting at 16] was the greatest thing that happened in my career to date, but it wasn’t the right thing.
“If I had my time again and had the chance to say no or someone could have for me, that would have been the best thing for me.
“It stunted my career; it took me two, three years to get over.
“I expected myself to be somewhere where everyone else thought I was going to be.”
When Shane Richardson announced in 2015 that players couldn’t debut until the year they would turn 19, it was based on the experiences of the likes of Rankin.
“The information we’ve gathered about player welfare is that decisions should be made about their future when they turn 18, [and not before]. People will give you anecdotal evidence of Brad Fittler playing etc, but it’s a small minority compared to the welfare issues of the greater majority.”
And while there is no question that Fittler and Daley were ready for the football field, it didn’t mean that the dressing rooms that they were included in were appropriate places where their emotional and behavioural development were a primary concern.
Joseph Suaalii (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
I believe Trent Robinson will be doing his utmost to ensure that the type of behaviour that Fittler, Daley, Brasher and Ettingshausen experienced in the 1980s dressing sheds isn’t experienced by young Joseph.
However, even the most recent evidence suggests that behaviour and attitudes of the type that aren’t appropriate for minors – which Suaalii is still classified as until 31 July 2021 – still exists in those very sheds.
Case in point is the statement by Sharks lock forward Toby Rudolf following his side’s win over the Dragons in Round 1. When asked by Fox presenter Bryan Fletcher just how he was planning to celebrate the win Rudolf replied, “I’ll probably have about a thousand beers, then head to Northies and probably try and pull something. Anything’ll do.”
Now, from the outset it was clear that Rudolf was joking and his subsequent rejoinder that, “Nah, Honestly it’s all about recovery these days” reinforced that. However, the NRL has issued a formal warning to Rudolf over the remarks.
Abdo was clear in his reasoning.
“I was very disappointed with Toby’s comments, they were inappropriate and should not have been said,” Abdo said.
“We are going to issue Toby with a formal warning and I know the club are going to counsel him so there is not a repeat. Respect for women is one of the foundations of our society and our players, as role models, need to be leaders in this area.”
The truth is that we do have to be more sensitive in regards to what offends others. A few years ago I was soundly upbraided for using the “R” word (it refers to a person with impaired cognitive function).
I loved using it but I now understand that it genuinely upset people. So I’ve stopped using it. It was the right thing to do.
Just last year I pointed out that the world has moved on from where it was when I started watching rugby league 40 years ago and some things that were acceptable back then are rightly not acceptable now.
A few years ago I also railed against Kevin Proctor’s assault on Jordan Rapana’s testicles being treated as no more than a misdemeanour. Lots of people thought the disgusting act was hilarious.
So while I – and many others – found Rudolf’s remarks amusing, they did indicate that there is a culture of enjoying the excess consumption of alcohol and randomly seeking sexual congress within the NRL fans, player groups and the media.
Further, Abdo’s own comments display an innate heterosexual assumption in that he extrapolated Rudolph’s intent to “pull” as relating solely to women, when that was not specified.
So it is clear that, while the game has come a long way, we still have a ways to go if we are to achieve – as much as is possible – political correctness.
And it is into this world that Joseph Suaalii is going now with the NRL’s blessing.
I’m sure the Roosters will be keeping a keen eye on the situations that the lad is exposed to so that he is kept away from alcohol and from any risk of an adult engaging in coitus with him – a minor in the sight of the law until 1 August 2021 – while under their care.
Because you can be assured that there will be those who will be very interested in exposing any such instances for their own interests.
As I said, I support him being allowed to play right now. However, my perspective as merely a spectator in the Coliseum watching the gladiators fight, is only in regard to his footballing ability. I’m trusting that Trent Robinson is the high-grade human and mentor I believe him to be and that he will look after Suaalii.
However, if Suaalii ends up as a sexist, drunk with an overactive sense of entitlement who ends up involved in scandals, or simply fades away and never reaches his perceived potential, will we again reflect on the propriety of letting kids play a man’s game too early?
Here’s hoping those scenarios don’t eventuate and Suaalii goes on to have a blemish-free and successful career – just like Fittler and Daley before him.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
If they had HIA's back in the day it would've been 2 on 2 by full-time!
Matt B
Guest
Tim, this fact has been lost in the whole argument about whether or not he should play. A majority of people have blinkers on and just see this as the Roosters getting their way. If he was at the Rabbitohs still, they would have been asking for clarification for the question they asked last year about him being available to play NRL before his 18th birthday. I was not bothered either way regarding the decision. If they said wait until he is 18, fine move on. Yes, he can play now, great, but first you have to take a jersey off Tedesco, Tupou, Morris, Manu or Morris. Good luck. The main reason this rule was brought in from memory is that there were some kids that when the finished playing NYC and weren't given another contract unfortunately committed suicide because they thought they were a failure. This coupled with the huge expectation to support their family, some of which were quite large, was the seen as a way to take the pressure off the kids so they would be better off mentally.
Paul
Roar Guru
I'm very much old school Rossi. Rugby League is supposedly a 13 on 13 game, well it was originally, but over time, it's become a (now) 17 on 17 game and the suggestion is we can make it an 18 on 18 game. I know we won't go back to having 13 blokes run out and two blokes sit through a game, waiting to come on when someone's injured. That said, coaches these days plan for 17 fit blokes, when the original intention was to use these 4 extras to cover things like injuries. You probably guessed I'm not a fan. If anything, I'd drop one of the 4 blokes used as interchanges and have the 18th position available for injury replacement of any kind, with the "injured" player not being allowed back for the duration of that game. It would certainly create more fatigue, with 3 interchange instead of 4.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Fair call mate, I took it in the wrong context. I was referring to HIA's but you meant penalising offenders, which I wholeheartedly agree with. At the moment all they are doing is punishing teams who lose a player to foul play regarding the head; meanwhile the offender doesn't get punished til later weeks and even then the suspensions are far too lenient, particularly if they play for a "more equal than others" club. Does anyone think a like for like concussion replacement ala test cricket would be a good idea? As long as the victims of concussion keep getting punished, they'll keep trying to hide it
Paul
Roar Guru
Not sure where you thought I was suggesting that. Geoff Parkes made the observation that the NRL has done virtually nothing to stem illegal hits to head. The example from the weekend was Jesse Ramien, who clearly did enough to warrant a 3 week holiday from the judiciary and was sin binned, but not sent off. I'm all for players staying on the field as long as they're fit and capable of playing. I've also no issue with accidental injuries; they're part & parcel of the game and to tame it down would make it NOT rugby league. What needs to stop are illegal plays that result in head injuries and the best way to do that IMO is send guys off and give them a month or more to think about it.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
That's right. And surely my grandfather was fibbing when he used to tell me stories of the great players and their scallywag antics in the 60's and 70's!
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Making players come off at the slightest head knock seems overkill to me, not the opposite
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Good article Tim, and you are the first to write the question of how do we know that Rudolph was referring to women? I must say though I don’t think political correctness is an “achievement” but a regression. I believe the sanctioning of poor ol’ Toby is sl*t shaming! It’s his choice if he wants to plough any field that’ll open the gate for him.
egbert
Guest
This article offers an interesting and original angle: I hadn't seen any other coverage that made the point of a minor being exposed to the crassness and distinctly adult-oriented nature of typical 'locker-room talk', to coin the overused terminology of a certain ex-president. However, you would imagine that the culture of teams full of 16-18 year olds would not be particularly cultured either so he's probably used to it. And you wonder how widespread the attitude displayed by Rudolf is in today's game given the higher standards expected, scrutiny, social media etc. I would say that it's up to the club to tone down the vulgarity, more than exposure to vulgarity is a reason not to let him play.
Nat
Roar Guru
I'd say Best v Suaalii is more about the administrations of the time. Greenberg and Beattie wouldn't consider anything with the potential for public backlash. V'landys knows his inclusion will generate interest now and in the future and the backlash will die off.
Woody
Guest
I was actually referring to Abdo and V'landes. They had an opportunity to support a player who was advocating ice baths, post match recovery and his own health, by being facetious. These two shallow reactionaries blew it.
Mungo Joe
Guest
Perhaps someone could research a list of all the players who debuted before they were 18, Isn't that how the NRL came up with their policy in the first place ?
Davico
Roar Pro
Am with you on the transparency.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Exactly,. If they’re going to say some people can play at 17, why have the rule in the first place A bit more transparency would be good. They knocked Bradman Best back a couple of years ago... are they saying he’s less physically capable than Suaalii? Less mature? Less mentally or emotionally developed?
Davico
Roar Pro
Only thing I have a problem with is why they need an exemption. Why is 18 years old the number that people have decided is the point when someone is mature enough?
The Barry
Roar Guru
No, I agree with you. I think you’ve got this back to front. I’m not the one projecting NRL coaches as being benevolent, considerate, loving father figures taking lil urchins under their wings out of the goodness of the hearts and promising to love and nurture them :silly: Robinson blew sunshine up Flanagan too, but cut him loose as soon as he felt he wasn’t useful. Thats exactly what will happen with Suaalii. He’ll be ‘looked after’ as long and as much as there’s something in it for the Roosters and when there’s not he’ll be moved on, cut, dropped etc That’s the way it is. It’s not me pretending otherwise If the Roosters really cared about Suaalii’s well-being why would they seek an exemption from a rule that’s only purpose is to look after his well-being? The runs are already on the board
Davico
Roar Pro
Why does there need to be a rule over some magic age? There are plenty of 25 year olds out there who would not be ready to play NRL. Everyone is different and each case should be judged on its merits.
Davico
Roar Pro
So looking after someone now requires you to keep them at your club and resign them to a lucrative contract???? Last time I checked Flanagan is still employed at an NRL club. Is Robinson supposed to hold the blokes hand for the rest of his life? Perhaps the blokes dad could spend more time being his dad and teaching him about the real world rather than coddling him and having a crack at other coaches!!
Davico
Roar Pro
What would you rather him say? What if he is sensitive to what other identify as and did not want to cause offence? He maybe quite liberal and open to many options?! I think you are going a bit OTT to be completely honest and it is a long bow to draw from what he said and the Hayne and De Belin situations!
Davico
Roar Pro
Only thing I am confused about is when did 18 become some magic number when people are matured physically, emotionally and mentally?? I am pretty sure the science on the fact that we are all different and mature at different points is pretty clear. Why not just judge each case on its merits. I am against the Roosters getting any more good players as much as the next fan, but in this case I don't see where the issue is.