Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i

Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i

Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i (Samoan: Anavaotaua Iosefa Aukuso Suaali’i; born 1 August 2003) is an Australian rugby union footballer who plays for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby and the Australia national rugby team. He previously played rugby league as a winger or centre for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL), for New South Wales and for Samoa at international level.

This profile of Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i covers Early Life and Family Background, Career and Rise to Fame, Sydney Roosters and International rugby league.

Described as a teen prodigy, Sua'ali'i received significant media attention during contract negotiations in 2020 as well as during his announcement in March 2023 of switching to rugby union starting in 2025. 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.

Early Life and Family Background of Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i

Sua'ali'i was born in Penrith and lived in Glenmore Park, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. He is the son of a Samoan father and an Australian mother of Cambodian and European heritage. His father immigrated to Australia from Samoa at age 12 or 13, and his maternal grandfather came to Australia from Cambodia around age 20 or 21, remaining due to the Vietnam War. His parents met at Kingswood train station.

He grew up playing rugby league for the Glenmore Park Brumbies and then moved to the Coogee Wombats from age 12. Sua'ali'i attended Regentville Public School and attended The King's School, Parramatta. In Year 6 of primary school, he was selected for representative teams in rugby league, rugby union, basketball, athletics, and Australian Rules Football (AFL), and was in contention for touch football.

Former Sydney Swans coach John Longmire scouted Sua'ali'i when he represented the under-12 New South Wales Australian rules football state team and believed he would have been a superstar in the AFL if he had continued with the sport. Joseph set the Australian 12-year-old male high jump record in 2015. Sua'ali'i expressed a desire to attend The King's School after training there in Year 6. He enrolled in his local high school before being offered a last-minute scholarship to The King's School for Year 7, following a recommendation from Will Penisini's family. At The King's School, Sua'ali'i played first-grade basketball in Year 7 and first-grade rugby union in Year 9. He is the nephew of Samoan Australian boxer Paulo Aokuso.

Career and Rise to Fame of Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i

In 2018, Sua'ali'i played rugby league for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Harold Matthews Cup (under 16s). He played rugby union as a fullback for The King's School's 1st XV from the age of 14, and in 2018 was selected to represent the GPS 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 fifteen tries in nine 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, which they denied. In discussions with both those enitities, Sua'ali'i reportedly wanted 'get out' clauses available in his favour.

Sydney Roosters

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.

Sua'ali'i made his debut for North Sydney Bears in round one 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 centre for the Sydney Roosters in their round eleven loss to the Brisbane Broncos. 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 twelve. Sua'ali'i played in the Roosters' next three fixtures (Gold Coast Titans, Penrith Panthers, Melbourne Storm), winning one and losing two. Following the Roosters' heavy round sixteen defeat to the Melbourne Storm, Sua'ali'i did not play again for the remainder of the season, as, announced on 13 July 2021, he had accrued a foot injury.

Sua'ali'i was absent from the first five rounds of the 2022 NRL season from a foot (lisfranc) injury. Following round four, Sua'ali'i said “My foot is going well, feeling good. I've been making sure I've been looking after it and doing everything I can to stay on top of it. I'm happy here learning the game. But there's no rush. I'm just trying to go game-by-game.” After sitting out for another round, Sua'ali'i re-appeared for the Roosters in round six against the New Zealand Warriors. Sua'ali'i scored his first try of the season in round eight against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in a 16–12 loss.

In rounds nine and ten, Sua'ali'i continued his attacking form from the previous round, scoring four tries over the next two fixtures: a double in a 44–16 win over the Gold Coast Titans, and, in incredible fashion, a double in a 31–24 victory over the Parramatta Eels. Between rounds eleven and sixteen managed to score four tries, with the Roosters only managing to get one win from six games. Up to round sixteen the Sydney Roosters were in poor form, sitting tenth on the Premiership ladder. But statistically Sua'ali'i was fairing well. He had ten tries (one assist), he averaged 131 run metres, 27.5 kick return metres, 5.6 tackles (62 total), 3.2 tackle breaks (35 total), and had eight linebreaks.

From round eighteen until the second-last round (twenty-four), Sua'ali'i, and the Sydney Roosters, were outstanding. Sua'ali'i scored six tries in a seven match win-streak, to finish the season in sixth place. Regarded as the league's "in form" team, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks was the only other team to have won their last five matches by seasons end. Sua’ali’i ended his second NRL season as the Dally M Winger of the Year.

In round one of the 2023 NRL season, the Sydney Roosters played away against the newly-entered team the Dolphins. Sua'ali'i scored the first try of the match, however the Roosters lost 18–28 at Lang Park, Brisbane.

In Anzac Round against St George Illawarra Dragons Sua'ali'i kicked his first NRL goal. He played 21 matches for the Sydney Roosters in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 7th on the table and qualified for the finals. He played in both of the clubs finals games as they were eliminated in the second week against Melbourne.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph-Aukuso_Sua%27ali%27i), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.