On the eve of what was due to be Joseph Suaalii’s first game against South Sydney, Trent Robinson claims the teenager can fulfil his immense talent and become a superstar of the NRL by staying with the Sydney Roosters.
He has since been ruled out of the clash with a shoulder problem to ensure he is right for the finals next week.
Before his NRL career had begun, Suaalii had already written himself a chapter in the storied rivalry between Souths and the Roosters.
The 19-year-old came through the junior ranks at the Rabbitohs but snubbed their offer, then left Rugby Australia at the altar before joining the Roosters in 2021.
Friday’s game features two teams desperate to guarantee themselves a home elimination final by winning the opening game at Allianz Stadium.
As if the new stadium, the oldest rivalry in the game in Australia and the winger’s divisive switch wasn’t enough to draw attention to the game, Suaalii is once again attracting interest from RA.
His hot run of form, which includes six tries in his last seven games, has RA executives sitting up and dangling the carrot of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour and the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027 in front of him.
“I’ve seen there’s been a bit of back and forth but Joey is here next year. It’s not a concern for us,” Robinson said on Thursday.
“Not because it (the interest) is not real, but because you create an environment that he loves walking into and wants to be a part of.
“We want him to want to be here and he definitely wants to be here. He’s rare, I know that and that’s why we are talking about him.
“Joey is always going to have a choice but we think we can provide a good life and footy career (for him).
“We love him and we think he can be the great player and the star he will become in these colours.”
Robinson said he admired how Suaalii had learnt to do the tough stuff first, crediting his willingness to take ugly carries to get the Roosters on the front foot.
Apart from Suaalii’s withdrawal, winger Daniel Tupou (groin) and Victor Radley were not named to play after the lock was convulsing following a concussion in last week’s win over Melbourne, while prop Lindsay Collins has been suspended for four weeks due to a hip drop tackle.
“He (Victor) has been really good right from after the game,” Robinson said. “Based on symptoms he could have played this week, but we were never going to play him after what (the convulsions) we saw.”
Radley is expected to return for week one of the finals.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Demetriou sidelined for Roosters rumble
South Sydney head coach Jason Demetriou will miss the Rabbitohs’ NRL derby game with the Sydney Roosters after contracting COVID-19.
Souths said that Demetriou received a positive PCR finding after he underwent a RAT test on Tuesday.
Demetriou will be unable to take his place in the box for Friday’s sold-out opening game at Allianz Stadium to finish the regular season.
Assistant coach Ben Hornby is expected to take charge of the side.
“Most of our stuff is done during the week and then it’s over to the players,” he said. “I’d rather have me missing than a player.”
The Bunnies are already without star hooker Damien Cook after he contracted COVID-19 prior to last week’s game against North Queensland.
The seventh-placed Rabbitohs can lock up a home finals game if they beat the Roosters and leapfrog their bitter rivals into sixth spot.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Bellamy marvels at Marika
Facing a crunch NRL match against Parramatta on Thursday night, Craig Bellamy wouldn’t mind having game-breaking Wallabies winger Marika Koroibete back in the Storm ranks.
Melbourne take on the Eels at CommBank Stadium with a top four-double chance finals berth on the line.
Koroibete spent three seasons with Melbourne between 2014 and 2016, playing 58 games, although never lifting the premiership trophy. He switched codes and after making his Test rugby debut in 2017 has grown in the new code to become one of the world’s best wingers.
Against South Africa last Saturday, Koroibete set Adelaide Oval and international rugby alight when, with the Wallabies a man down, he charged like a missile 40m across field and tackled Springboks winger Makazole Mapimpi at full tilt.
He sent Mapimpi flying over the sideline, saving a certain try.
Hailed the “Flying Fijian Bullet” by another cross-code star Sonny Bill Williams after the match, Bellamy said he wasn’t surprised by Koroibete’s tackle.
“That was pretty much Marika – he doesn’t do anything unless it’s flat out,” Bellamy said.
The coach said Koroibete’s charge could hold up in any code as an example of what a player could achieve through pure effort. “It was a great example to any young footy player on how you can change a game with an effort,” he said.
“Just putting effort in – he didn’t have to know too much about the rules, he didn’t have to know too much about tactics and technical – it was just about effort and then a bit of aggression at the end.
“That’s what turns footy games – you put the effort in in your games and you’ll come up with some big plays.”
Melbourne suffered a massive blow on match eve with star halfback Jahrome Hughes ruled out with calf tightness.
They will start with Cooper Johns partnering Cameron Munster in the halves.
Johns’s last appearance was in the 19-0 win against Penrith in round 22 which was his fourth game of the year. Alec MacDonald and Jack Howarth dropped out of the squad of 22 named on Tuesday.
Woolf on way to Dolphins after quitting Saints
Wayne Bennett will be joined by St Helens coach Kristian Woolf for the Dolphins’ inaugural NRL season in 2023 in what has been described as the “dream team”.
Dolphins CEO Terry Reader confirmed the appointment of the 47-year-old Australian on Thursday at a press conference in front of Suncorp Stadium where the new franchise will play their games.
Head coach Bennett is contracted at the Dolphins until the end of 2024 and Reader said the plan was for Woolf to succeed him at the end of his tenure.
“It is another big day for the club and the key part we have talked about since day one is making sure we are building the blocks around not just 2023, but the future,” Reader said.
“I think it is a wonderful coup for the club to secure Kristian as our assistant coach and our long-term successor to Wayne.
“Kristian is very detailed, exactly like Wayne in how he goes about things. He wanted to know what we had in the building blocks underneath with our academies and pathways … and he was very impressed with that.
(Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)
“He has already achieved a lot as a head coach and wanted the opportunity to work under Wayne until he takes over.”
It is Woolf’s experience and success as a head coach at St Helens, and earlier in charge of the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup and North Queensland Cowboys NYC head coach, which impressed the Dolphins board.
Throw in his role as Tonga head coach where he took the side to the 2017 Rugby League World Cup semi-finals and to wins over Great Britain and Australia in 2019.
“Wayne was very big on that and our board wanted someone who had the runs on the board,” Reader said.
“Kristian is looking at (winning) three Super League premierships in a row and he has turned Tonga into a powerhouse of international rugby league.
“He has been there and done that as a head coach. It is a wonderful appointment that he will come in and form a dream team of coaching. Wayne and Kristian will kick us off in 2023.”
Reader said Woolf’s impending arrival sent a message to prospective players that the club would be in strong hands into the future.
Woolf, a Queenslander, has already guided St Helens to back-to-back grand final triumphs and is on course to achieve a unique coaching hat-trick of three successive victories, having wrapped up the league leaders’ shield earlier this week.
Woolf announced on Wednesday that he’d be leaving the all-conquering Saints at the end of the season to take up a new opportunity back home.
He has also won a Challenge Cup victory during his three-season spell to enhance his reputation as one of the most successful coaches in the Super League era.
“This has not been an easy decision for myself or my family, but it’s time for us to return home,” he said on Wednesday.
“We made a decision a little while ago due to personal factors that have played their part in our decision. The timing has also combined with an opportunity that has arisen in Australia.
“I have been here for three years and I have loved every minute of it. I love the club and what it has provided for both me and my family.”
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Tim Carter
Roar Pro
Your statements are false, but rather than break them down individually, I will ask yet again what sources you trust.
Redcap
Roar Guru
I am. Are you familiar with the work of Noam Chomsky?
Where are the Clowns
Guest
Pfizzers own documents , the WEF , the UN , they all state pretty clearly that they plan to use these scams to destroy democracies throughout the world, and implement totalitarian control over the population. Joseph Stalin would be sitting up in his grave applauding them . I dont trust any of them, its like saying "Ive got an honest crack dealer". But ya just wont see any of it on the Sheepy channels, because they control all of them also. Keep ya eyes wide shut, but eventually , when there is no cash and you are micro chipped ( and its too late, or your actually gone due to food shortages etc ) you will come to realise you have been imprisoned by your own actions.
Where are the Clowns
Guest
Are you familiar with the works of Joseph Stalin ?
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
I'll ask again. Who are the sources you trust?
Where are the Clowns
Guest
Forcing people to take an unapproved and poorly tested vaccine under the threat of losing your job , and much more is anything but ethical , so to insinuate that it is in some way a moral obligation to do so is testimony to the effectiveness of the brainwashing you have been subjected to . Pfizzers ( habitual criminals) own documents revealed they were responsible for the deaths of over 1200 people in their original clinical trials , and the list of post jab injuries is like an encyclopaedia of medical conditions. You wanna be thankful if you got saline.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
Drink driving is irresponsible and dangerous to the individual and those they encounter. Rejecting an effective vaccine during a global pandemic is irresponsible and dangerous to the individual and those they encounter. You knew what I meant already, though, and chose to be disingenuous. Waivers cover for unanticipated consequences where the provider has taken reasonable steps to mitigate adverse outcomes. They are standard in the medical world and the business world. It would be troubling if they weren't in place. Serious question: you don't trust corporations, governments, or mainstream media. So who do you trust?
Heyou
Roar Rookie
To needle or not to needle? That is the stupid question - its now a personal choice so …we can argue ‘til the cattle dog sleeps, but it will change no one’s mind on the matter. Let sleeping cattle dogs lie is my preference these days. Yawn zzzzz
Where are the Clowns
Guest
Great analogy yeah no it is, it makes no sense at all. But signing a waiver before getting jabbed makes sense to you , so I shouldn't really expect too much from you.
Redcap
Roar Guru
What’s coming, oh wise one?
Where are the Clowns
Guest
You dumb sheep are all the same , you respond with tin foil hats, 5g, you tube , Jones Bolt, and the occasional Trump reference, so what's the point of treating you with anything other than contempt. Tell me why , why didn't myself and all the people ( millions ) that didn't get jabbed get very ill ? Why ,we must be superhuman or something ?No its because it's a con and you won't admit you've been conned. And it's only the beginning , so belt up bucko, because you ain't gunna enjoy what's coming.
Where are the Clowns
Guest
Did I say that you muuppet. No I didn't, but don't let that get in the way of you putting words in my mouth . In the beginning of the jab roll out these concoctions were claimed to be 95% effective in giving you immunity and stopping transmission. They are 0% effective at both . It's a con , and you've been conned. There's an old expression that goes something like this. It's easy to fool a man , but it extremely hard to have him admit he was fooled. Admit it , you've been conned.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Tim, I know. This guy is such a loon that the mind boggles. I know it isn't necessarily wise, and that said loon won't engage if you delve too deep, but I'd love to know a bit more. I'm guessing unhappy childhood, lack of positive role models, self-made and proud of it - and therein lies the id - the kid who didn't see education as a priority because he was already smarter than everybody. And then he entered the real world... He's still smarter than everybody, just not in the way he imagined.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
It's easier to make animal noises than to justify a flawed position. Mind you, it's a rather bold approach to use when you're presenting yourself as the only intelligent person in the argument.
Where are the Clowns
Guest
The only difference between labor and Libs is the spelling ya dumb sheep :laughing: Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Redcap
Roar Guru
Is “Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” all you’ve got? __ Really, that’s it? You were showing such promise, but animal noises are your only reply. __ Ok.
Where are the Clowns
Guest
Confirmation bias , ya dumb sheep Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa An extra Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa for you because ya extra dumb Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Where are the Clowns
Guest
And you are as i have stated on many an occasion, just a dumb sheep ...Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Where are the Clowns
Guest
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Turn off the TV sheepy
Redcap
Roar Guru
“its not like they all implemented the exact same strategies at the same time in tandem with Pfizzzer and co” __ You’re right, they didn’t. Perhaps you should pay a bit more attention to what’s actually going on, rather than what your tube gurus tell you. I do love it that you have the gall to call others sheep. __ By the way, what happened to your ground-breaking research in cognitive biases? You were doing a great job there in completely misunderstanding core concepts, and personifying what you were describing.