Roosters star Joseph Suaalii and his agent Isaac Moses have been called out for keeping Tricolours supremo Nick Politis “in the dark” regarding Rugby Australia’s whopping deal.
The 19-year-old’s NRL tenure will finish after the 2024 season after the outside back signed a lucrative $1.6 million per-year contract to join the 15-man code.
Suaalii will likely take part in the Wallabies’ British and Irish Lions series next year, before he plays in a World Cup on Australian soil in 2027.
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Now, according to The Daily Telegraph’s Buzz Rothfield, Roosters officials are unhappy with Moses’ “manners” by failing to disclose what the rival code were offering his client during negotiations.
“Isaac Moses has been dealing with Nick Politis on this contract, the recent extension for one more year,” Rothfield said on NRL360 on Monday night.
“Now Isaac went off and did this deal with Rugby Australia without coming back to Nick Politis to say this is what you’re up against.
“He kept him in the dark, it was really bad table manners and it shouldn’t have happened.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read questioned why Roosters bosses should have been told about their rival’s offer.
But according to Rothfield, it all comes down to manners.
“Should the manager have been told? The Roosters have invested heavily in him for two years and looked after his family,” Rothfield replied.
“It’s called manners.”
Meanwhile, NRL360 co-host Paul Kent slammed Suaalii for not keeping the Roosters in the loop, explaining he is the “boss” in the relationship.
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“Suaalii is the boss in that relationship with Moses, and he should be saying to Moses now go back to the Roosters and tell them and see what they can come back with,” Kent said.
“If being a Rooster meant what he said about being a Rooster a year or two ago, where’s the courtesy of just saying ‘this is the offer’, it’s a courtesy.”
Rothfield hit back and said that Politis and the Roosters could have matched that offer once Tedesco retires.
But NRL360 host Braith Anasta chimed in and questioned why Suaalii would be offered that salary as a player without any credentials to his name.
“You have got to earn your stripes, Tedesco is the best fullback in the game, Origins, Australian caps, Suaalii hasn’t even gone close to Teddy at any point in any game he’s played ever,” Anasta said.
“He’s earning a lot of money, good luck to him, but I just don’t think the rugby experiment, look at Israel Folua, he went to rugby and he was all right,” Kent added.
“He was a good player for rugby, but the personality that he would have been as a rugby league player, he’d have a much bigger social profile which leads to more benefits even in retirement.”
