Joseph Suaalii’s bomb backflip sent shockwaves over two codes after the teenage phenomenon reportedly turned his back on the NRL to conclude a $ 3 million rugby deal.
Last month, Suaalii signed a three-year, $ 1.7 million deal with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. However, the contract could not be registered until his 17th birthday in August.
In a breathtaking back flip, The daily telegraph has reported that the 16-year-old has instead signed a three-year, $ 3 million contract with Rugby Australia after drawing his attention after dominating the GPS school’s rugby competition.
Suaalii is expected to make his Super Rugby debut for the New South Wales Waratahs later this season and is well on the way to representing Australia at the Tokyo Olympics next year and the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France in Rugby Sevens .
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The report forced Rugby Australia’s interim executive, Rob Clarke, to quickly decline.
“Joseph Suaalii is an aspiring young man and talented rugby player who has proven to be an exciting rugby perspective for the future. We made no secret of our wanting to keep Joseph on the rugby path, ”said Clarke.
“At this point there was no agreement between Joseph, his family or his representative. Rugby Australia continues to have an open and exciting conversation about its possible future in our game.
“Financial offers, which are currently speculated in the media, are absolutely imaginative and are propagated by the usual suspects whose only interest is to increase the contract values and misrepresent them.”
The shock announcement has received mixed reactions from the rugby community – although the 15v15 game desperately needed a win this year, many have asked if a teenager is worth the money.
In addition, the $ 3 million paycheck could be considered a ruthless expense as Rugby Australia continued to recover from a difficult financial situation. A third of their employees were wiped out during the coronavirus epidemic and the players suffered significant wage cuts.
During this year’s AGM, RA announced a preliminary loss of $ 9.4 million for the 2019/20 fiscal year.
To make matters worse, RA will lose $ 15 million each year after reports say that a $ 25 million annual broadcast contract was rejected.
“It’s insane from a game that broke”
I’m talking about Fox League NRL 360, Daily telegraph Reporter Paul Crawley cursed the seven-digit offer.
“It’s just insane; It’s insane from a game that’s broke, ”Crawley said Tuesday.
“Anyone who saw this kid at the GPS rugby competition said he was just a freak. It is excellent. It is very special.
“We’ve all been there long enough to see this kind of talent keep coming up, and this talent doesn’t always match an excellent professional rugby player.
“Kurtley Beale was a great example … everyone followed him. Has Kurtley Beale turned out to be this player?
“It’s a desperate attempt to save yourself.”
NRL 360 Host Paul Kent also asked if RA had put her eggs in the wrong basket.
“Rugby has not been known to make smart decisions lately, and this is another one that is very questionable,” said Kent.
“To pay $ 1 million a year for a 16-year-old – and they go to the Waratahs too quickly. When he turns 17 in August, it says he’ll make his Waratahs debut.
“Rugby has been crying badly for the past six months. They’ve stuffed their radio contract – they’ve knocked back $ 25 million a year, and they’re now thinking about taking $ 10 million a year.
“You’re sitting here and you’re going to pay that kind of money in a game that is being financially downsized. It’s crazy.”
When the experienced rugby league broadcaster Phil Gould was asked about its value of two cents, he complained about the sport’s dwindling youth program.
“Well done to everyone at the NRL who voted to remove the National Youth Competition (NYC) from our Pathways Player Development Model,” Gould tweeted Tuesday.
“After just a short time (as predicted), the impact on our game of leaving NYC was significant.”
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