Teen star Joseph Suaalii had arguably his best game in Roosters colours, playing a crucial role in his side’s 31-24 win over the Eels on Sunday.
Suaalii finished with 155 run metres from 18 runs, he produced two line-breaks and crossed over for two tries, per NRL.com stats, to help his side to a Magic Round upset against an Eels’ outfit that was coming off a win against first-placed Penrith.
The 18-year-old’s big moment came late in the second half when he found himself on the shoulders of Hayze Perham for a stunning aerial try.
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“That’s incredible,” said rugby league great Phil Gould in commentary for Nine.
“He’s still a baby, but watch the athleticism as he climbs up… it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Suaalii made headlines through 2020 and 2021 as arguably the most hyped prospect in NRL history.
Before joining and making his debut with the Tricolours at age 17 last year, Suaalii had previously been at the centre of a bitter battle between rugby union and league, with multiple NRL clubs and Rugby Australia jostling to secure the young star’s signature before South Sydney released him to their arch-rival.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson lauded Suaalii’s work ethic for wanting to learn the “heard areas” of first-grade football.
“It’s natural, you’ve got to work on the really hard areas of the game in young guys because they just don’t get it in lower grades,” Robinson said after the game.
“He hardly even played reserve grade, but he’s walked in and dreamt about those hard areas a lot and he’s taken them on board.
“He’s got really good mentors with Tedesco and Tupou out the back there, and he put his hand up tonight like he has since he started.
“He knows he has class at the end. That was a great game.”
However, Suaalii wasn’t the only young gun to shine in Magic Round for the Roosters.
Young halfback Sam Walker produced a stunning try of his own when he saw space behind the defensive line to execute a perfect chip and chase to score.
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