Joseph Manu is to leave the Sydney Roosters at the end of the 2024 NRL season after the club confirmed his move to Japanese rugby union.
As first revealed by The Roar, the former Golden Boot winner will link up with Toyota Verblitz from next season, with coach Trent Robinson admitting that the draw of a move away from Australia was too much to ignore for Manu.
“Joey has been open about his desire to experience the challenge of living overseas with his young family, and of playing in a different environment, so while we are sad to see him go, we fully support him,” he said.
“Joey will always be a Rooster. He is very clear on what he wants to achieve this season and we look forward to sharing the year ahead.”
Manu will join respected All Blacks coaches Steve Hansen and Ian Foster at the club, with the latter putting pen to paper to link back with his long-time New Zealand colleague.
Should Manu one day want to have a tilt at playing for the All Blacks, the NRL superstar back won’t get a better schooling than being mentored by the two most recent New Zealand coaches.
After all, both mentors played a role in Sonny Bill Williams’ transition to the XV-player game, where he finished as a two-time World Cup winner.
Ian Foster has joined Steve Hansen in Japan, with the former All Blacks coaches signing Joey Manu from the Sydney Roosters. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Manu is the second key member of the Easts backline to swap codes following Joseph Suaalii’s decision to depart for the NSW Waratahs, also at the end of this year.
Mark Nawaqanitawase will come in the other direction, turning down a deal from the Tahs and the Wallabies to try his hand in rugby league.
“I have cherished my time playing rugby league for the Roosters, so it’s been a tough decision to leave the club and NRL,” said Manu.
“I will always be grateful to wear the Roosters jersey and to everyone who has supported me and provided me with some incredible opportunities.
“While I’m excited to embrace the challenge of playing rugby in Japan, right now I am focused on finishing this year strongly and performing at my very best for the Roosters.”
It leaves three of the Roosters back five spots open for next year, as Daniel Tupou, the club’s all-time record tryscorer, is also off contract and may not be extended given his age.
James Tedesco will wear the 1 jumper and continue to captain the club, while Dominic Young, last year’s NRL leading tryscorer, is a long-term option on the wing despite a mixed start to his career at Bondi in 2024.
Billy Smith is the obvious choice to take over from Manu in the centres, but the other spots are very much up for grabs and it would not be surprising if the Roosters chose to go to market to find a ready-made replacement.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Yeah thats why there best cant transition to rugby unless its for the Wallabies 20 years ago. Name 1 union back that has failed to transition to League? Its a game of no talent.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
A great grandfather would have been wiser and stayed in league.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
TBH Thorn was always a forward!
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Sure he wasn’t a great grandfather?
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Toulon were his first games in rugby. He walked out on the Bulldogs and started straight away for the Toulon at 12 and didn't change position afterwards.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
I think the main difference here is that Thorn became a forward and forwards last longer, while backs need speed much more. So Benji was on his way out when he tried to convert.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Jacko alas for rugby this isn't the case. I don't say this from a pro-league place. But league has staggering talent. Probably not a single rugby player in the world would have got into the Kangaroos backline 10 years ago.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
RTS was virtually a grandfather when he moved across. It was never going to be a success.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
It's true you're not-I was merely interested in your opinion on it, but don't worry.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Well I’ve always maintained that Uncle Nick had some sort of deal with Sualli’i, we know he did with SBW, so yeah, maybe.
Good Grief
Roar Rookie
Is it a salary cap management move by Politis and the Roosters money men? Could it be as simple as wanting to retain Manu as Teddy’s successor but not being in a position to pay both of them “fullback money” within the salary cap for 2025… so they maybe help to fund Joey to scratch his itch for a season or two off-the-books overseas before returning to the Roosters to coincide with Teddy’s retirement? It’s very clever. It’s not Sualii money, but maybe Manu is matching his NRL market value.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
RL is a weak comp. Its talent constantly strugles to succeed in rugby and NZ players make up around 35% of the NRL so way more than 2 SR teams. You are making that up as you have zero idea around how good they would be. Look at RTS. Best player in the NRL and failed to cement a SR spot. Even had a playing positional change to play NPC.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Have you ever thought that there were far better players in place around the franchise’s than what RTS was? At the time, there were!
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
The weakness of the coach wasn’t the only thing that was the cause, as many players that should’ve been selected weren’t there!
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
After being coached as a back! To which at the time he was just another cross coder!
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
I am not talking about how much he cares about it...
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
They were playing him at centre in Toulon straight away. He was a success from his first match when he ripped apart the opposition-still on YouTube I think. And he was 22. Not like Manu, 28.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Wrong as Benji originally came from Rugby. He played in the BOP as a young fella before he went to League, & it's a very similar case to Brad Thorn who played Rugby in his youth in Mosgiel before they emigrated to Brisbane. That's one reason Thorn had no trouble from coming back from League as a forward to playing Rugby again, in the forwards.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Well, I think anyone who understand the rules can play in the backline for the British Lions. I would say yes I think older converts don't convert well, but I'd admit freely if some bucked the trend. A counter-example might be Brad Thorn who was 26 when he crossed over and did become a very successful international. I would suggest though, that forwards can often have more longevity as they depend less on high end speed than backs, and so forwards who become forwards (which should be tried more often anyway) could well succeed later. In fact it strikes me more and more how quickly backs decline, especially outside backs, in the professional era.