Following weeks of headlines about his switch to rugby union, Joseph Suaalii is focused on the Sydney Roosters’ NRL campaign.
Suaalii’s teammate Joey Manu said on Monday that his teammate’s multi-million decision to switch codes was his alone, but that he acted as a sounding board along the way.
“He’s good, I think he’s just focussed on what’s now, really trying to improve,” Manu said.
“I didn’t really give him advice, I just said the choice is up to him, do what makes you happy, obviously a lot of talks, just making sure he’s alright really … Just checking in on him.”
Asked if he thought Suaalii would make a return to league once his rugby contract is up at the end of 2027, Manu said it was possible, but he wasn’t sure.
“Yeah probably, I don’t know. He can do whatever he wants really, he’ll still be young by then, so yeah the decisions up to him, and I’ll be always there to support him and if he ever needs to talk I’ll be there, but he’s got some big decisions,” Manu said.
Roosters players Joseph Manu and Joseph Suaalii.Credit: James Brickwood/SMH
When asked whether he intended to switch to the 15-man code, Manu, who has previously said it was a childhood dream to play for the All Blacks one day, said his feet were planted in league soil for now.
“I don’t think too deep into the future,” Manu said. “I am just trying to do my job each week, so I’m not really thinking about that at all, so I’m just happy to be at the Roosters and still trying to get better as a Roosters player, and I’m playing rugby league at the moment, so I am just enjoying my time while I’m there.”
Manu, who filled in as fullback for a concussed James Tedesco in their 28-8 loss to the storm on Thursday night, said he was particularly focused on delivering a win for his team in Cronulla this week.
The Roosters have won three of their five games this season, and picked up two points from a bye in round four, but their completion rate was down to 61 per cent on Friday, and the team made 14 errors to hand victory to the Storm.
“It’s pretty simple, [last week] just spent a lot of time with the ball in our end, a lot of errors, completion rate definitely didn’t help,” Manu said when asked what the team needed to improve on.
“Just focussing on ourselves, getting our system right and the mentality behind that of just being there for the whole game.”
