Joseph Sua'ali'i ( ) (born 1 August 2003) is a Samoa international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a or for the Sydney Roosters in the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

. Described as a teen prodigy, Sua'ali'i received significant media attention during contract negotiations in 2020. In 2021, he was granted an exemption to play in the NRL prior to his 18th birthday, prompting discussions about the welfare of young players.

Background

Sua'ali'i was born in Penrith, a suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, the son of a Samoan father and an Australian mother of

Cambodian Cambodian usually refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Cambodia ** Cambodian people (or Khmer people) ** Cambodian language (or Khmer language) ** For citizens and nationals of Cambodia, see Demographics of Cambodia ** Fo ...

and

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heritage. He grew up playing rugby league for the

Glenmore Park Brumbies The Glenmore Park Brumbies were formed in 1994 and currently fields male and female teams in all junior grades of the Penrith District Rugby League. The club is based at Ched Towns Reserve in Glenmore Park, New South Wales. Notable Juniors *Tony ...

and then moved to the Coogee Wombats from age 12. Sua'ali'i attended Regentville Public School and attended The King's School, Parramatta. Joseph set the Australian 12-year-old male high jump record in 2015.

Career

In 2018, Sua'ali'i played rugby league for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the

Harold Matthews Cup The NSWRL Harold Matthews Cup is a junior rugby league competition played in New South Wales between teams made up of players aged under 16. The competition is administered by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL). The competition is made up o ...

(under 16s). He played rugby union as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

for The King's School's 1st XV from the age of 14, and in 2018 was selected to represent the

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

1st XV, and the NSW Schoolboys and Australian Schoolboys in rugby sevens. In February 2019, Sua'ali'i re-signed with the Rabbitohs until the end of the 2021 season. He captained the Harold Matthews Cup team in 2019, scoring 15 tries in 9 matches, and was named the Harold Matthews Cup Player of the Year. Conflicting reports in mid-2020 suggested that Sua'ali'i had agreed to a multi-million dollar contract with either the Rabbitohs, or

Rugby Australia Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...

, which they denied. In discussions with both those enitities, Sua'ali'i reportedly wanted 'get out' clauses available in his favour. In November 2020, it was reported that the Sydney Roosters had signed Sua'ali'i from 2022 onwards, with the 'get out' clauses having been accepted by the club. The signing was officially announced on 1 December, with Sua'ali'i joining the Roosters effective immediately after he was released from the final year of his Rabbitohs contract.

2021

Sua'ali'i made his debut for North Sydney in round 1 of the 2021 NSW Cup season. Sua'ali'i scored two tries in North Sydney's 48–20 loss to the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles. On 15 March 2021, the ARL Commission granted Sua'ali'i an exemption to play in the NRL before turning 18 years old. Sua'ali'i made his NRL debut on 22 May 2021, playing at for the Sydney Roosters in their round 11 loss to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. At age 17 years and 294 days, Sua'ali'i was the first player since Jason Taumalolo in 2010 to debut prior to their 18th birthday. Sua'ali'i scored his first NRL try the following week as the Sydney Roosters defeated the Canberra Raiders in round 12. On 14 July, Sua'ali'i was ruled out for the remainder of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

with a foot injury.

2022

In round 9 of the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

, Sua'ali'i scored two tries for the Sydney Roosters in their 44-16 victory over the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. The following week, Sua'ali'i scored a further two tries in the club’s 31-24 victory over Parramatta. In May, Sua'ali'i was selected in the

22-man squad for Game One of the State of Origin series. In October Sua'ali'i was named in the Samoa squad for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £2 ...

. He played in every game for Samoa at the tournament including the final where they lost 30-10 against Australia.

References

External links

Sydney Roosters profileSamoa profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sua'ali'i, Joseph 2003 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian people of Cambodian descent Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Penrith, New South Wales Rugby league wingers Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Sydney Roosters players North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players