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Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson is confident their decision to re-sign James Tedesco through to 2025 won’t discourage Joseph Suaali’i from staying at the club.
Already one of the NRL’s stars, the 19-year-old Suaalii has designs on playing fullback but will now have to postpone any long-term shift until at least 2026.
Earlier this month Suaali’i signed a contract extension of his own to keep him at the Roosters until the end of 2024, the same year when the club’s third potential fullback, Joey Manu, comes off contract.
But Suaali’i and Manu may need to wait even longer than 2026 to make a long-term switch from the outside backs to the back of the park.
Tedesco will be 32 when his next contract expires and Robinson is intent on keeping him at the Roosters until retirement, which could be a few years after that.
Joseph Suaali’i and Joseph Manu. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“Ted’s our captain, he’s been our best player for five years and we want to make sure he finishes his career here,” Robinson said.
Suaali’i was an elite rugby prospect at the Kings School and has already attracted interest from Rugby Australia as a potential cross-code convert, never mind the attention he would command from NRL rivals on the open market.
But Robinson has been in close contact with Suaali’i and he doesn’t need convincing the young gun is committed to the Roosters despite the blockage in his path to fullback.
“I’ve definitely talked to Joe and it’ll definitely stay between Joe and I,” Robinson said. “He’s in a really good spot and he’s obviously agreed for next year again so it’s all positive there.
“There’s absolutely no concern from my end about how that relationship plays out, how the signings have played out.”
Speculation as to Suaali’i and Tedesco’s ability to exist on the same roster has dominated headlines ahead of Friday’s grudge match with South Sydney. Robinson has shrugged off the commentary, saying Tedesco’s timely re-signing hadn’t been influenced by outside noise.
“These conversations don’t happen this week because of any external noise. They happen weeks and weeks ago, before the noise even starts,” he said.
“It’s created a lot of noise which is always quite funny because people build into something that is much more than what it is.
“It’s quite simple, you have simple conversations between a couple of people and you play your footy. It’s not that hard.”
The NRL will wait until after the NSW state election before seriously considering whether to buck 115 years of history and take the grand final out of Sydney.
The league’s showpiece event remains open for bidding for this season, after crisis talks between the NSW government and the NRL resulted in a one-year deal for the 2022 grand final being signed at the death.
The NRL had initially planned on Sydney hosting every grand final until 2046, before a change in stadium policy from the state government resulted in that deal being ripped up.
At the time, the NRL confirmed it was open to moving the event to Queensland in some years, or introducing a Super Bowl-style system where the decider becomes a travelling roadshow to different states.
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NSW has hosted every grand final but one since the league’s inception in 1908, with the exception being 2021 when it was held in Brisbane during Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdown.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys confirmed on Wednesday the showpiece game was some chance of returning to Queensland, particularly given there are now four NRL teams in the state.
“We are absolutely open to it,” V’landys told Nine’s Today Show. “The Queensland government came to our rescue during COVID. We’ll never forget the loyalty they showed us and assistance they gave us.
“We always reward loyalty in spades. So if we can take a grand final up there and reward the Queensland government we will.
“But we have to look at our commercial options and what is best for the game. We will do that in the next few weeks.”
Last year’s deal to keep the grand final in Sydney included a reported offer of $8 million from the NSW government.
“We are waiting for the NSW election (on March 25) to be over and know who is in,” V’landys said.
“Once we know we can start the negotiations between NSW and Queensland, and possibly other states if we have a Super Bowl-style negotiation.”
Broncos coach Kevin Walters. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Brisbane are close to formalising a coaching extension for Kevin Walters which will extend his stay until the end of 2025.
The Broncos have charged out of the gates with wins over Penrith and the Cowboys and are eyeing off a return to the finals for the first time since 2019.
Walters is in the third year of his rebuild after the Anthony Seibold experiment lasted less than two years and despite the team finishing 14th and ninth, the club is reportedly close to sealing a new deal.
Club chairman Karl Morris told NewsCorp said there had been positive signs under Walters as the Broncos try to end their premiership drought which stretches back to 2006.
They will start heavy favourites on Saturday night when they host St George Illawarra art Suncorp Stadium.
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