The Roosters are reportedly considering an early release for star centre Joseph Suaali’i to free up space in their salary cap.
Suaali’i will finish up with the Roosters at the end of next season to take up a mega-money deal with Rugby Australia — but there’s a chance he could switch to the rival code a year early.
NRL 360 host Braith Anasta said on Monday that he “spoke to a couple of the (Roosters) officials” and there’s some “concern” around the 19-year-old and his “form.”
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It comes as Nine News reported on Monday evening that the Roosters are looking at releasing him at the end of this season.
Fox League’s James Hooper had heard the same whispers, telling NRL 360 “I think those conversations are going on at the Roosters’ headquarters at the moment.”
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“He’s been poor for the last month,” Hooper added.
“He had one good game off the back of the big announcement that he was going to go and join Rugby Australia but given the way Roosters like to do business I think they’d be looking at that as an investment and going ‘well he’s not performing, he’s on strong coin. We’ve got to try and keep Jared (Waerea-Hargreaves and there’s other pieces of the puzzles as well).
“I think absolutely he’d be a good chance of leaving.”
Suaali’i dropped a bombshell on the Roosters when he signed a three-year deal with Rugby Australia understood to be worth $1.6 million a year.
Hamish McLennan — chairman of Rugby Australia — told Nine News that his code could “afford” an early arrival from Suaali’i and “will take him straight away.”
“We made a good profit this year… We can afford to take him now and would be delighted to take him earlier if league didn’t want him,” McLennan said.
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Cutting ties a year early with Suaali’i would free up close to $700,000 in their 2024 salary cap. That money could be spent on a new deal for off-contract prop Waerea-Hargreaves or Matt Lodge, who is rumoured to be on the verge of getting squeezed out next year.
“If Suaali’i has, as we’re led to believe, a history of disengaging when he’s ready to go somewhere else. If that’s on the cards and he’s not playing the Rooster football that Trent Robinson spoke about after he signed and all the promises were made that ‘we’d just get through the contract’ thinking that everything would tick along as it was happening,” Paul Kent said on NRL 360.
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“Now it’s clearly changed, he basically hasn’t had a good game since he signed.”
Hooper pointed out that Suaali’i had a “really strong” performance in the Roosters’ Round 5 win over the Eels but “since then he actually looks like he’s not really that interested.”
Suaali’i had a breakout season on the wing in 2022 which earned him selection in the extended New South Wales Origin squad.
He’s shifted to the centres this year but hasn’t had the same impact for the Roosters.
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Anasta believes Suaali’i decision to leave the club has rubbed the Roosters the wrong way, which Kent agreed to, saying it’s “irked” some officials.
“I think a big thing here is not only his performances on the field, but the way the deal was done and the way he’s exiting the club was not done in the right way,” Anasta said.
“There’s a suspicion at the Roosters that the Rugby deal was worked out before he signed his last deal (a one-year extension with the Roosters)… Which has irked them a little bit,” Kent added.
“I wouldn’t say they’re not speaking or anything like that but they’re certainly not happy, the Roosters.”
