Joseph Suaalii has just experienced his first week as a professional rugby player – and the man who signed him to the biggest deal in either rugby code says Nathan Cleary should be the next target for the Wallabies.
Former Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan is delighted Suaalii is now in rugby and is unfazed by criticism of the $8 million, five-year deal. There is talk of a potential revolt in the playing ranks because of the size of the deal. But McLennan is unconcerned.
“Joseph has already driven massive interest in rugby union and paid for himself over and over again,” McLennan said. “He’s a global rugby superstar before he has even pulled on a Wallaby jumper, and he’ll be a wonderful role model for aspiring young players.
“The decades-long under-performance of the Wallabies means they need investment in the top tier to drive value in sponsorship, media rights and crowds. We haven’t won a World Cup since 1999, and a Bledisloe Cup in 23 years, so you don’t need more evidence the system needs an overhaul and to be centralised.”
McLennan says the recruitment drive must continue.
“I’d be having a crack at the likes of Nathan Cleary and a few others,” he said. “The game needs another five Josephs as the World Cup for ’27 [to be played in Australia] is just around the corner and the clock is ticking … Thank god for Joseph, because that’s all everyone is talking about. Australia is No.10 in the world [rankings] and needs an injection of talent or there will be nothing left to sell.”
Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary.Credit: Getty Images
McLennan also defended the size of Suaalii’s contract.
“Anyone who thinks that Joseph is the only player who has earned over a million dollars a year in Australia or overseas is kidding themselves,” McLennan said. “Yes, he is earning more, but the additional amount he is getting above the other players is worth it … he is worth every cent.”
No mental Giants
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the crazy “troubled couples” event held by AFL club Greater Western Sydney was that someone recognised the players involved.
As a largely invisible sports team, they enjoy anonymity in Sydney. Even if they were wearing their normal playing kit, they are tough to identify, let alone in “fancy dress”.
GWS player Josh Fahey.Credit: Getty Images
That said, GWS players Josh Fahey, who dressed as Jarryd Hayne, and Jake Riccardi, who dressed as a taxi driver on the night, don’t deserve a role in professional sport. And that’s as polite as I can be.
Fahey was subsequently banned for four games by the AFL and Riccardi got two matches.
Hayne was convicted of sexual assault offences and sentenced to a prison term in 2023 before the conviction was quashed on appeal and the charges formally dropped. Hayne made a taxi wait outside the house of the woman who accused him of the offences after the 2018 NRL grand final. Hayne maintained the sexual acts were entirely consensual.
The GWS players should do some work in the counselling world to learn a bit about what they are making light of. Their actions were exposed in the same week that Hayne hit the headlines. You have to think there is no way the game’s bosses, ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo would be comfortable with the re-emergence of Hayne in rugby league as a mentor on Fiji’s coaching staff.
But Abdo and V’landys are powerless to do anything, even though V’landys is an International Rugby League board member.
I understand Hayne is out of jail after his appeal and that everybody deserves another opportunity in life, but his actions destroyed lives. I’ve had some contact with the woman involved, and believe me, she has been through enough without having to see Hayne re-emerge on the international football scene.
She has had approaches in the past to tell her story, but she sees no upside in putting herself out there. Enough people in and around Hayne and his supporters know who she is, and she doesn’t need them in her life. She’s already had enough vitriol come her way.
Hayne wants big money to tell his story, but there have been no takers.
Hunt returns fire
The ill-feeling between Ben Hunt and the Dragons has been heightened by the timing of the club’s decision to allow him to negotiate with other NRL teams.
Hunt has been looking to get a release from the Dragons for more than a year, and after being denied by the club and coach Shane Flanagan last year, the decision on Wednesday to give him permission to talk to other clubs – only two weeks before he would have been able to speak to rivals anyway – has gone down badly.
Hunt’s biggest concern was that he didn’t want to become a distraction in Kangaroos camp. There is no question the Dragons’ decision has made him exactly that. Hunt hates the attention his contract situation gets, but he is always up front and never dodges the issue.
Ben Hunt in action at Kangaroos training.Credit: NRL Photos
When the Dragons contacted Hunt’s agent to let him know his client was free to talk to rivals, the agent said they did not want early permission because Hunt had enough on his plate representing his country. Their displeasure was also conveyed in writing to the Dragons.
It was the board that made the decision to let Hunt leave. Flanagan had been digging his heels in and wanted him to stay. Perhaps the telling moment was a suggestion by Hunt that Parramatta’s Clint Gutherson, who has also been given permission to speak to rival clubs, could play in the No.6 next year for the Dragons, which is the position the coach’s son, Kyle Flanagan, plays at present. It may have been a harmless comment, but plenty have seized upon it.
Hunt accepted the scathing end-of-season review he received from Flanagan. What got under his skin was that his salary of more than $1million a season was mentioned in that review, and that the information was leaked.
Hunt is a man of considerable standing in the game, and many feel he would be a good fit for a club approaching a premiership window. Hunt was seen talking to a person connected with the Broncos late in the week in Kangaroos camp. He has also been linked to the Bulldogs, but they are an outsider at best.
In an interesting side note, Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo and general manager Phil Gould were seen having dinner with Toby Sexton and his family on the Gold Coast last week. It was before Hunt was given permission to negotiate with rivals.
It’s a nice touch after Sexton enjoyed a breakout year for Canterbury. He is a free agent on November 1 and has indicated he is keen to stay at the Bulldogs. He has impressed everyone with his improvement.
Ciraldo is certainly getting around. He is off to London with some of his coaching staff on a fact-finding tour. They are hoping to spend time with the English rugby union set-up, and perhaps with some Premier League soccer teams as well.
Trail of the Fox
The Dragons have been strongly linked to Josh Addo-Carr, but there are concerns at board level about whether he is a good fit.
Sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly have told me they have been doing serious due diligence.
Addo-Carr returned a positive roadside drug test for cocaine in September. The Bulldogs winger maintains he did not knowingly take a prohibited drug.
There is no question he still has plenty to offer as a player and is a potential fan favourite, but he needs to ensure there are no further missteps off the field.
Storm still rages
Kangaroos reunion organisers probably thought they were doing the right thing by seating Melbourne Storm greats Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk together.
Be sure, there is still a lingering issue between the pair. To their credit, they hugged, but our spies say Cronk moved to a different table quickly after the event began.
Too close for comfort? The table setting at the Kangaroos reunion.
The pair fell out after Cronk left to join the Roosters in 2018, where he won back-to-back premierships.
We are unaware how the day finished up.
Blue brewing
It will be interesting to see if anyone from the NSW set-up puts their name to the disquiet around Kalyn Ponga’s decision not to represent Australia.
As we revealed last week, the real reason Ponga was not selected was his unconvincing phone discussion with Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga after initially pulling out of the team without telling big Mal.
The Blues have been privately questioning whether he should be allowed to play for Queensland if he doesn’t want to play for Australia. So far, no one from the organisation has been willing to discuss this matter publicly, but they may in weeks to come.
Sticking with Tricky
The Sharks are confident of keeping Braydon Trindall and hope to sit down with “Tricky” in the next couple of weeks to table a long-term deal.
Trindall stood up for the Sharks last season, particularly in the absence of Nicho Hynes, and that has been noted by those who sign the cheques.
Those pushing a story that Hynes would be traded out of Cronulla in the off-season have gone awfully quiet. Hynes was identified by the Sharks as their future and was signed to a contract last year that runs until the end of 2029.
Now some of those who were pushing his barrow are urging the club to dump him. Club powerbrokers Dino Mezzatesta and Steve Mace have slammed suggestions Hynes would be shipped off in the summer. The Cronulla bosses say they are bemused by the talk and are sticking solid behind Hynes.
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