Mat Rogers shuts down claims about Joseph Suaalii after Wallabies recruit crashes back to earth

Former dual-code international Mat Rogers has shot down suggestions that opposition sides have already figured out superstar Wallabies recruit Joseph Suaalii. The NRL convert starred on his Test debut for Australia as the Wallabies kicked off their European tour with an epic come-from-behind victory against England, but failed to have much of an impact in their remaining three Tests.

The towering Suaalii's aerial threat was on hand for all to see against England and his offloading prowess set up their first try in a man-of-the-match performance at Twickenham. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt then left the former Roosters star on the bench for the second successive victory of the spring tour against Wales, before Suaalii returned to the starting side for a loss to Scotland that ended their hopes of a first grand slam since 1984.

Suaalii was forced off early in the Scotland defeat after suffering an arm injury but returned for Australia's second straight defeat to Ireland over the weekend. The Wallabies went down in a closely fought 22-19 loss to the reigning Six Nations champions in Dublin, but the league convert was kept very quiet and didn't get an opportunity to showcase his attacking ability.

Speaking on SEN radio, former NRL star Bryan Fletcher questioned whether teams have already worked out how to nullify Suaalii's threat. But former Wallabies outside back Rogers said he didn't think that was the case. "No, he's still working things out (himself)," Rogers insisted.

"He made a few errors (against Ireland) but he's still trying to find his way. And you think about the year he's had, he's played a full NRL season, he's with the team for a couple of weeks and all of a sudden he's thrust into a Test match... in probably the biggest arena in the UK where it's a huge game over there... it's a big ask and I think he's handled himself very well."

Joseph Suaalii hailed after first foray into Test rugby

Suaalii's teammates have also hailed the way he's adapted to a brutal baptism of fire in his Test rugby career. "I don't know if throwing someone in the deep end is the best way, but certainly it's worked pretty well for us," Andrew Kellaway said about his Wallabies teammate. "We're pretty happy to have him. The first part about Joe is he is incredible, what a professional!

"He's 21 years old, and the kid is on his stuff, studying the game, his stretching, his rehabbing, his recovering, he's every bit the professional, and he's certainly rubbed that off on a lot of our guys. You've certainly seen a lot more guys starting to do that sort of stuff, which is really cool, and I think a really big pat on the back for him. He's come straight in, made a difference, and added value. Then you go onto the field, and the guy's a freak... Lots of shades of Israel (Folau) there. We're super glad to have him.

Ireland coach and now full-time Lions coach Andy Farrell also predicted Suaalli had a huge future in rugby after watching him closely in the NRL. "When he gets comfortable and he's not having to think too much - because that's where he'll be at this moment in time as it's tough transferring over from league - his skill-set is there for us all to see," Farrell said. "He's a confident kid, and he's some athlete as well, so he's certainly a good addition to rugby, good for us all to watch."

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Rogers says Australian rugby is definitely heading in the right direction with Schmidt at the helm as coach and predicted Suaalii's game will go to another level when he's playing regularly with the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby. "I'm looking forward to seeing him week in, week out with the Waratahs, that's where we're really going to see his game develop," Rogers said. "And then back into the Wallabies squad where he'll just get better and better.

"To have a couple of young fellas over there and be a part of that squad, (winning) two out of four games, could have been three, yeah I'm pretty happy. I never want to be content with (the notion that) 'we played well'... and I think the Wallabies were moving towards that space a couple of years ago and I think Joe Schmidt has changed that."

with agencies