Club Statement: Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii

[Mickie Lane]

How good is Brandon Smith “ a 1.6 million dollar winger from the Roosters is not gonna beat the All Blacks”

[Jacks Fur Coat]

Sorry but Latrell is one of the greatest players of this or any generation.

You're delusional if you think otherwise.

Ok, I'm delusional.

[bondi.boy]

The thing is, fullback isn’t his preferred position. He only “wants” fullback cause he gets fullback dollars. I’m convinced he prefers left centre so he can have a bludge and wait for the ball to come to him. A good fullback wants the ball, goes looking for it. Latrell certainly doesn’t.

Seems to be.

[Johnny Brass]

Edwards is a better player than Latrell. He’s a much more consistent performer. Latrell can be brilliant but you just don’t see it often enough. Compare the stats of the two.

Have you seen Walsh this season? He’s absolutely dynamic. I won’t say he’s better than Latrell at fullback after 4 great games but he’s well on the way.

As for Queen Gutho, he has much more influence on a consistent basis on a game then Latrell.

And don’t forget about our Manu, also a better fullback than Latrell.

No way Penrith would swap Latrell for Edwards as a fullback. Edwards is always in the game making metres out of his own end, safer catching kicks and returning the ball and is a much better defensive player. Latrell quick hands are his greatest asset but he isn't interested until he is in the opposition 40 metre zone.
Walsh's speed,agility and ball playing have turned the Broncos into a premiership threat.
Latrell is the best left centre in the game but he wanted fullback money and the glory that goes with it.

[MKCS]

Unless Suaalii plays to such a high standard that he takes the Roosters to back to back Grand Finals on the back of his brilliance, he may as well go now. This means he would need to be Dally M player of the year standard week in week out. I haven’t seen it so far. I have seen it in Reece Walsh, and a few others. I don’t know that he’s that type of player who can win games in his own right. And if he’s not going to do that, and we’re more likely to compete to just get into the top 8, then he can be replaced now. We need to treat him as he’s treating us - it’s just business. He’s used us to get himself a payday with rugby, and now we should just care if he can play a big part in getting us a premiership. We’ve met our part of the deal, now it’s over to you.

Of course at 19 years old in a position he's only played first grade in a handful of times he isn't going to win us games by himself. Can you name any greats that were absolutely crushing the league at 19 years old though? For example, Tedesco's break out year was 2015 at age 22, Latrell's break out year in my opinion was probably 2018 at age 21 and even for those two it probably was another 2-3 seasons before they were superstars that could actively change the game.

What we should be focused on is whether or not Suaalii is the best option we have at left centre, for me he 100% is so he's an easy pick and should remain.

[Bondicigar]

Souths have had the roosters measure for a while now. I would feel way more comfortable playing souths if Edwards Gutho or walsh was there number 1.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

I like the fact the young buck is clear about his intentions nice and early. No fiddle arsin around close to deadline and media overplays are possible now.

Watch him zoom for us these next 2 seasons. Looking forward to it.

[Carlos Parra]

We can just hope that the ARU fall into insolvency some time in the next 18 months.

[King Salvo]

The thing is, fullback isn’t his preferred position. He only “wants” fullback cause he gets fullback dollars. I’m convinced he prefers left centre so he can have a bludge and wait for the ball to come to him. A good fullback wants the ball, goes looking for it. Latrell certainly doesn’t.

This money for positions doesn't seem to take into account the extra's a player may bring to the table

What would a top notch goal kicking winger be worth compared to a full back / centre / 5/8 and half back who are not goal kickers?

Turning 4's in 6's more often than the opponents goal kicker can win you more games and may be the difference between making the 8 and missing out i.e winning more of those close games than your lose

What is the value of a player that makes 20 odd hit ups - 100 plus metres plus and makes 40 tackles on average per game with few errors compared to certain backline positions.

Mitchell does have the extra's to his game though - the goal kicking / general field kicking and ability to kick field goals etc and as such would be worth more on the market than a lot of other fullbacks without these additional abilities.

[King Salvo]

They all come back.

Hard to say as along with this reported 1.6 million which could increase to 2 million dollars in year 2 and 3 there are additional payments for test matches and tours , plus sponsorship and endorsements etc as no doubt Suaalii will be made one of the faces of Rugby going forward.

I read that he could earn up to 3 million a year from Rugby from all the above.

If he makes it big in Rugby then he could possible earn even more again

Depends where his head is at - if money driven or not - obviously he would earn much more from Rugby than he could from League if he considered coming back.

[Thirteen]

This money for positions doesn't seem to take into account the extra's a player may bring to the table

What would a top notch goal kicking winger be worth compared to a full back / centre / 5/8 and half back who are not goal kickers?

Turning 4's in 6's more often than the opponents goal kicker can win you more games and may be the difference between making the 8 and missing out i.e winning more of those close games than your lose

What is the value of a player that makes 20 odd hit ups - 100 plus metres plus and makes 40 tackles on average per game with few errors compared to certain backline positions.

Mitchell does have the extra's to his game though - the goal kicking / general field kicking and ability to kick field goals etc and as such would be worth more on the market than a lot of other fullbacks without these additional abilities.

Fair points. Yes his kicking ability certainly does add value.

[milanja]

Hard to say as along with this reported 1.6 million which could increase to 2 million dollars in year 2 and 3 there are additional payments for test matches and tours , plus sponsorship and endorsements etc as no doubt Suaalii will be made one of the faces of Rugby going forward.

I read that he could earn up to 3 million a year from Rugby from all the above.

If he makes it big in Rugby then he could possible earn even more again

Depends where his head is at - if money driven or not - obviously he would earn much more from Rugby than he could from League if he considered coming back.

Did you see much of Max Jorgensen while watching the lower grades? With the chooks hoping to snare him back from rugby, what position would he be best suited?

[dice]

Souths have had the roosters measure for a while now. I would feel way more comfortable playing souths if Edwards Gutho or walsh was there number 1.

I would be nervous watching Walsh creating overlaps at will.

[Bondicigar]

I would be nervous watching Walsh creating overlaps at will.

How many times has latrell sent his winger in untouched against the chooks in the last few seasons?
iv lost count

[Inflictor]

Souths have had the roosters measure for a while now. I would feel way more comfortable playing souths if Edwards Gutho or walsh was there number 1.

I thought we beat them 2 of the last 3 and the one they won was when we were well on top and they decided to knock our heads off to even it up.