The one thing Joseph Suaalii will miss the most when he quits the NRL for a $4.8m three-year Rugby Australia deal is his friendship with Sydney Roosters stalwart Daniel Tupou.
Suaalii, 21, has grown close with several Roosters, including Joey Manu, but none moreso than his 33-year-old left-wing partner Tupou.
The pair hit it off on day one of pre-season training at the end of 2020, were roommates in Las Vegas at the start of this year, and spend a lot of time together away from the football field with their respective families.
Suaalii knows a loss in Melbourne on Friday night will drop the red, white and blue curtain on his Roosters career – but will forever appreciate the role Tupou has played in his career that has already been closely followed by league and rugby fans alike.
“I’ll miss ‘Toops’ dearly when I go,” Suaalii told this masthead.
“He’s so humble outside of footy, but every day when he turns up here, he’s always happy, no matter what’s going on at home, and he’s always that guy who brings energy to the group. He’s a great man.
Joey Suaalii will miss his mateship with Daniel Tupou.Credit: Steven Siewert/SMH
“He’s also been the best in the air for ten-plus years, keeps scoring tries, and although he doesn’t see himself as a leader, in the eyes of many here, he’s a role model. I give him a bit of stick for being old, but I know one day I’ll be older and the young bucks are coming in, I need to keep it [the banter] as tame as possible. He’s always up for a laugh.”
Tupou thanked Suaalii for revitalising his own career by wanting him to do extras after training.
The quietly-spoken Tupou has played outside some of the game’s greatest centres during his 13 seasons in the top flight, including Michael Jennings, Latrell Mitchell and Josh Morris – and he rated Suaalii right up there in the same category.
“I joked with ‘Sue’ on Monday how once he goes on that [Wallabies spring tour] he’ll delete my number,” Tupou said.
“Just his professionalism, he’s always making me do extras with him, catching, passing; I wish I had the same mentality at his age because I was a bit of a stand-offish and shy kid. It’s been good to learn and grow from him. He’s my little brother. I’ll miss him.”
Tupou always knew it would be part of his role to mentor one of Australia’s most talked-about sporting talents, and recalled Suaalii marching up to him one summer and telling him how much he used to love watching him play when he was a kid.
“That first training session he just glued himself to me,” Tupou said.
“We were introduced, I knew a little bit about him, but he was confident enough to ask me all these questions. We’ve been close ever since.”
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
