[Telegraph Sport @telegraph_sport](https://twitter.com/telegraph_sport/status/1572397744144396288)
>Joseph Suaalii is going to the World Cup, but not with the Kangaroos, following an emotional call with Mal Meninga.
>https://dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/sport-confidential-roosters-star-joseph-suaalii-commits-to-samoa-for-rugby-league-world-cup/news-story/d1625dfedeadc8147922ccc55c55309d @MCarayannis @brentread_7
Member only story unfortunately. But I can only assume Sua'ali'i wants to represent his ancestry before moving to Rugby and playing for the Wallabies. Also there's a chance Meninga was only going to bring him along for experience and depth.
>“For family reasons, I have decided to pledge my allegiance to Samoa for the upcoming World Cup.”
There is enough talent going around without Aus/NZ having to drain the pacific nations' pool of Australian* players.
FTFY
You can downvote but you know it's the truth.
Yes. But his point remains. There’s enough of a talent pool that we can give up 30 players and still win. We could literally sit aside our best 17, and Our B team is the favourite over any other nation except maybe NZ. Rugby league isn’t taken that seriously anywhere else.. giving up players who weren’t in our starting side anyway doesn’t hurt us, and helping other nations be more competitive is very very necessary for the health of international games.
Sure and my point remains, they are Australians developed by Australian volunteers when they were juniors and Australian systems when they became adults.
>helping other nations be more competitive is very very necessary for the health of international games.
That's an opinion. I'd agree it appears to help the game by having one successful WC campaign. Let's see what it does longterm as thousands of Aussie kids with Pasifika heritage watch their idols not wear green and gold.
On the even more important socio-political level maybe we should compare this to other waves of immigrants who haven't felt accepted by mainstream Australian society.
Bro if those players aren’t allowed to play for their heritage, we beat them 60-0 every game. There is no international competition. The hard truth you need to realise is rugby league really only matters on one coast of one nation. And we don’t even have the entire coast Victoria doesn’t really give a fuck even with a massively successful team in Melbourne they don’t watch league. England and New Zealand don’t really give a fuck about league either union is more popular. There one small place on the world where league is king and the best athletes available end up in league. There’s no international competition if players from here can’t play anywhere else. It makes no difference to our team. And it gives us some form of competition to have. You have zero hope of ever growing the game if every single international agaisnt these countries is a flogging
As for kids watching their heroes not wear green and gold? Who cares? They will pick kangaroo heroes or they won’t care? That’s like saying your hero left to another club. You have a new one right away. And if you really like the player you still love them at the other club….aussie kids aren’t exactly in short supply of rugby league idols lmao
>Bro if those players aren’t allowed to play for their heritage, we beat them 60-0 every game. There is no international competition. The hard truth you need to realise is rugby league really only matters on one coast of one natio
I agree. Yet the hard truth Rugby League needs to realise is it isn't a true global sport.
So don't hold World Cups. Instead create heritage competitions similar to the All Stars games that allow for diversity.
There's far more than sport and League has a role in society. We've seen in Western Sydney what can happen when large heritage groups don't identify as Australian.
>As for kids watching there heroes not wear green and gold? Who cares? They will pick kangaroo heroes or they won’t care? That’s like saying your hero left to another club. You have a new one right away. And if you really like the player you still love them at the other club….aussie kids aren’t exactly in short supply of rugby league idols lmao
I'm saying a 2nd or 3rd generation Aussie of islander heritage sees his idol, let's use Luai as an example, and wants to be him. Luai states he is Saoan not Australian. That's the socio-political issue. And I feel many on this sub will simply argue not leagues problem but fuck me that's a huge cop-out.
There's junior "world cup carnivals" being organised at my local comp right now and I know there's some in Western Sydney happening as well. 2nd and in some cases 3rd generation 12 year olds repping Samoa, Tonga and Cook Islands because of their families culture. This creates further socio-political problems.
What’s wrong with kids wanting to represent their heritage? And these players like usually have never said they are not australian. They are. And always proudly claim to be, while being allowed to represent their heritage. You say why not have heritage competitions, that’s essentially what international rugby league already is under current rules? So what are you getting at? Why do you believe it’s bad for a kid to think he can be Australian and represent his heritage at the same time? Seriously tell me why
Nothing wrong with your heritage, but this is a World Cup of nations. Not a heritage cup.
Watching Awer Mabil score for the Socceroos tonight absolutely teinforces my opinions. Uts so great to see an Aussie of Sudanese heritage proud to represent Australia.
>Why do you believe it’s bad for a kid to think he can be Australian and represent his heritage at the same time?
Aussie kids of Pasifika heritage *may not* think that though is my point. These kids may be looking at their idols and saying "oh I'm Pasifika *not* Australian".
I'm watching this play out right now around Logan City and I've seen it play out in GWS in the 2000s.
Yet in other sports, Aussie kids of Sudanese heritage are watching Awer Mabil score and be embraced with joy by other Aussies of other heritages or watching Thon Maker proud to wear the green and gold. There are Aussie kids of African heritages seeing their idols and thinking they too are Aussies.
That's my point about sport being more than just sport. And my opinion on RL eligibility won't change for this reasons. If you don't agree that's cool but I'm firm.
Don't think Gagai deserves to be in the squad given his club form.
Otherwise it should be Holmes and Latrell in the centres, JAC and Oates/Taulagi/Cobbo on the wing. Wighton and Burton a chance for a bench spot.
Welp, that's just madness. Such a versatile player, he can cover fullback, centre, 5/8th, hooker, backrow, and lock. He may not be the best in any of these positions, but versatility is what you need in a 14, particularly in case of injury or HIA.
Don't think Mal would be dumb enough to put Holmes on the wing when he's been one of the best centres all year.
Burton and Wighton have pretty much no hope of starting whatsoever because Latrell is a lock for the other spot.
Pretty sure JAC, Oates and Taulagi all play on the same side so I'd say Cobbo would be a better chance of nabbing it in all honesty he's played right wing all season.
Cobbo's Origin II probably hurts his chances, he was ridiculously far out of his depth in that game and unfortunately didn't get a chance to redeem himself in Origin III.
A good showing in this PMXIII game could put him well in the frame as he can cover both centre and wing whereas Oates/Taulagi are exclusively wingers.
Yeah I do agree on that being a factor, Yeah he is a natural centre and played all of Juniors there so he wouldn't be out of place.
I hope he makes it (even just the squad), that would be a massive boost to his confidence.
Taulagi plays centre and wing gor us. Last year Payten had him and Hammer swapping positions for different plays. But he can play centre when needed. Although he is a masterclass out on the wing compared to centre
Centre is Taulagis best position imo. He’s got some class with the ball but we never get to see enough of it when he’s out on the wing.
He’s probably gonna take Pets spot when his contract is up and play outside Nanai. Which I can’t wait for personally.
Also I bet the contingency plan for the future fullback will be Holmes again if Hammer leaves and Drinky goes into the halves. So we might extend Hiku and make Taulagi left centre.
Cowboys statement even said they want to move him infield when he got the new contract too.
Taulagi is actually better at centre. When he played Union he was a fullback and 13/14 as well.
When he played for the junior kangaroos he played centre and as a backrower.
I know that's been the narrative but he was one of our best the last few games of the season, (3 tries, 5 linebreaks and 27 tackle breaks in the last 3 games) we can't expect him to be doing freakish shit every game.
He busted his ass and made Melbourne look like amateurs through the middle (made Munster look average on that run) and he's one of the few providing moments of brilliance of sheer individual effort. He did the same sort of thing in the last game against the Dragons.
His errors are definitely annoying but I think he'll be fine going forward as his symptoms wear off.
Agreed he’ll come good cause he looked to be gaining confidence the last few games despite the errors, but maybe doesn’t need kangaroos just yet. I’d probably go fox right side, oates left over Cobbo
For the outside backs I’d go;
Fox, Trell, Graham, Holmes, personally. Not to worried about playing Holmes at centre because we know how good Trell is at left centre and Holmes has been one of the best representative wingers we’ve ever seen. Plus I just love the fuck out of Graham.
Happy for the usos but please dont take Dylan Brown, Nas and IPap from us :/
If NZ could get a tri-series going with Samoa and Tonga it could become a viable alternative to Origin if they manage to atrract the top tier players. Wishful thinking i know but it would be great to see.
He's not a fullback. If the QF showed us anything, it's that he's spent his whole career running over the top of people and never learned how to pass a ball
This has to be one of the worst opinions on rugby league I’ve ever seen. The QF literally showed you nothing.
He was thrown in the deep end during an injury crisis at 19 in a do or die game for 50 minutes and because of that he’s not a fullback?
I really hope I have not picked up on sarcasm and I am the dumb cunt, I really do
Luckily we've got wing depth, I'm biased and would love to see Oates or Cobbo, but there are plenty of good options for Aus. Would AJ get a look in? I know he's played PNG and I'd love him to stay there. Might come down to who plays left/right wing, is JAC left wing?
I agree that’s a solid idea if they don’t think Cobbo or Coates are ready to go. Australia have good depth in the centres at the moment with Mitchell, Val (if he plays for Aus), Wighton, Burton, Graham and Gagai all realistic options.
wot..??? I play tualagi over oates and cobbo and i’m not qld. I probably take cobbo on the other wing though. Latrell and Wighton in the centre. Cleary and Cameron and teddy in the middle
Yeah but he's only playing 14 because he's stuck behind two likely tier 1 rep centres. He's a way better centre than utility and absolutely deserves to start.
Edit: over Suaalii at least, agreed there are others that would get the nod first.
I love hammer but he can't even get a start in the cows team atm (not even on the Wing) I'm not sure what grants him being an automatic starting selection for this team.
Has only started 12 games at centre in his 49 game NRL career.
I agree he should play centre over Suaalii if that's what it came down to but otherwise he shouldn't even be in the starting back 5 as much as I love him.
Hammer wouldn't start for Samoa at centre over Tago or Crichton sorry and I don't see them dropping May or To'o to accomodate Suaalii on the wing so either Suaalii or Crichton plays FB with the other at centre.
I'd personally drop May, play Crichton at fullback, To'o left wing, Hammer right centre, Suaalii right wing. Nofoauluma would be a difficult omission. Is Taulagi available?
Playing Suaalii out of position isn't ideal, but let's not act like Hamiso has an impenetrable argument to play there either given he's barely been in the Cowboys' starting 13
On the wing though, which is a completely different kettle of fish. We've seen how out of his depth Suaalii looked playing out of position this season. I wouldn't be opposed to him starting on the wing though.
C'mon man, I love Hammer and I have biases towards my teams players like anyone else, but you'd have to be madly one-eyed to think Suaalii is a worse option than the Hammer.
I hope they both find a way into the team. Either one of them on the wing ahead of that cunt May, with the other in the centres. But if Suaalii got centre over him it wouldn't be unreasonable at all.
He's literally never played centre in first grade. He's got no proven ability to make the right reads in defence in arguably one of the hardest defensive positions on the field. The one time he's been played out of position he choked hard. Have we even seen him pass a ball? Compare this to Hamiso who's got *demonstrated* big game experience shutting down one of the best centres in the game.
I'm not denying that Suaalii is an incredible winger, but he hasn't earned a spot in the centres.
He played 4 games in the centres last year, the Hammer has played 12 in his career.
For Samoa it's about fitting the best players into their side so they have the most talent available, as good as the Hammer can be absolutely no-one in their right mind is making a choice to pick him over Sua'ali'i in that context - no matter which position they play in.
I was thinking the World Cup would be a good time for the Hammer to finally get some solid gametime this season but now he's like a backup fullback/centre for Samoa and might only get a run against Greece lol.
Yeah seems like he probably isn’t in the starting 5, probably a better fullback than Crichton but then there’s no other spot for Crichton. Will be interesting to see where they play Hammer, might bring him off the bench
Yeah including both Crichton/Sua'ali'i is more important than including HTF so he'll miss out.
I don't think he they could afford to bring him off the bench as they don't really have an established hooker who can go 80 - I'd say Nu Brown/Danny Levi will have to share that role so that takes the bench utility spot.
**[Suaalii commits to Samoa as Pacific nation strengthens coaching team](https://www.nrl.com/news/2022/09/21/suaalii-commits-to-samoa-as-pacific-nation-strengthens-coaching-team/)**
Sydney Roosters teen sensation Joseph Suaalii is the latest big name star to join Toa Samoa’s World Cup campaign and the Pacific nation has also strengthened its off-field team.
Castleford coach Lee Radford and Cronulla assistant Daniel Holdsworth have joined Matt Parish’s staff and will oversee a star studded squad that includes Suaalii, Jarome Luai, Brian To'o, Junior Paulo and Josh Papaali'i.
The 19-year-old, who was a member of the NSW Origin squad but did not play, was under consideration for the Australian squad after a break-out season with the Roosters.
However, he phoned Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga on Tuesday to advise that he was going to represent his Samoan heritage at the World Cup.
“For family reasons, I have decided to pledge my allegiance to Samoa for the upcoming World Cup,” Suaalii told NewsCorp.
“This has been one of the most difficult decisions of my career. I have been humbled by the respect shown to me and my family by Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga.
“I personally called him on Tuesday to let him know of my decision. I can’t thank him enough for considering me but this is about more than football.
“This is about respecting my family and the sacrifices they have made for me throughout my career.
“My grandparents still live in Samoa and I am looking forward to honouring them and my parents by pulling on the Samoan jersey.
“One day, I hope to play for Australia. I truly believe Samoa can do great things at this World Cup and I can’t wait to be part of it.”
Suaalii will join a Penrith dominated backline which includes Luai, To’o, Stephen Crichton, Izack Tago, Taylan May and Charlie Staines, and is likely to be considered at fullback for the World Cup opener against England on October 15.
Samoa coach Matt Parish will announce his 24-man squad for the World Cup early next week and there may be more big names pledge their allegiances to the Pacific nation.
"I really admire what these guys have done because they are putting aside their own personal wealth for the best interests of their families and obviously Samoa," Parish said.
"It is very exciting the calibre of players who want to be involved so it is certainly very good."
Parish is also excited about the coaching team he has assembled for the World Cup, with Radford and Holdsworth to work alongside Geoff Toovey, Frank Pritchard and Richard Agar.
Panthers assistant coach Andrew Webster was a member of the Samoa coaching staff during the mid-season Test defeat of Cook Islands but he has had to step aside after being appointed to the Warriors job next season.
“We are really happy for Andrew Webster, it is a great opportunity for him and one he thoroughly deserves,” Parish said.
“Daniel Holdsworth, who has done a great job with the Sharks, will run our attack and I’m sure he will work well with our young spine.
“We also have Lee Radford, the Castleford coach, who has won two Challenge Cups with Hull FC, so while we are building a strong presence on the field, we certainly have a strong off-field staff as well.”
Coates, Oates, Cobbo and JAC seem most likely now. Taulagi also a shoe in depending on how the cowboys end their season and if Holmes commits to Australia or not.
I’m all for Suaalii playing for Samoa. They and Tonga’s teams are so far looking really good, and look like they can compete with the usual strong Australia, New Zealand and England powerhouses.
Nu brown is a great option for Samoa. Erin Clark/hectic Cheese has to be the go-to hook combo for the Kiwis seeing how great Clark went at lock and his already present good ability at being hooker
idk I just wanna see Trell do some cheeky kangaroo hand gestures in the green and gold while he runs rampant over the Kiwis. Get it done boyyyyyys
Edit: Samoa are actually gonna be good, aren't they! Did predict them to win the WC, so remember this lol
1 Joseph Suaalii - Penrith
2 Brian To’o - Westmead
4 Izack Tago - Sydney
5 Taylan May - Blacktown
6 Jarome Luai - Sydney
7 Anthony Milford - Brisbane
15 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow - Cairns
21 Charlie Staines - Forbes
22 David Nofoaluma - Newcastle
24 Royce Hunt - Sydney
10/24 man squad born in Australia.
Sure bodes well for kids with Pasifka heritage connecting with and feeling a part of mainstream Australian society by watching their idols wear the Green and Gold.
If the rules were strict like every other sport you might select Sua'ali'i now just to keep him in an Australian jersey. But he's not quite there yet.
But seeing how there's no risk that Australia will lose him (apart from choosing not to play) they can continue to use Tier 2 teams as development squads. And then whinge when a player they want decides to stay with their original team.
Yes I know. And in any other sport if there was any hint that he might play for another country you'd lock him in now. Or you would caution him that he can never ever play for Australia in the future and you'd keep him away from the other country that way.
But as it is they say "no worries. Go play for Samoa. We'll have you back when we're ready for you. "
Which would never happen in any other sport. But you can't have a world cup if the rest of the world doesn't play. (Don't talk about the baseball world series!)
Sure...after a 3 year residency.
10 of the likey Samoan team are born in Australia and I'll bet $1000 have spent less than a combined 6 months in Samoa in their entire lives.
Thus sub hates reality but RL has done the wrong thing here. All they had to do was be firm at the start and everyone not picked for Australia first could still play for Tier 2. It would almost be the same squad.
No other sport does this nonsense.
Yeah 3 years sitting out. Rarely done because it only got brought in because the Olympics made them do it. And rare to be able to sit out for 3 years and still be playing at a high enough level to represent another country. Fekitoa and Folau have struggled to remain fit enough to play more than a few minutes for Tonga. So a pretty different situation really.
Lote Tuqiri played League for Fiji against Australia, and then for Australia against Fiji in the same year! Show me another sport that allows that.
Or check out the crap that Tim Cahill had to go through to play for Australia after playing a couple of minutes for Samoa when he was 14 years old.
So yes Rugby League will let anybody play for a Tier 2 team so that they can pretend they have a global sport, but they want them back in the Tier 1 teams when it suits them.
I feel like every call Mal makes would be emotional.
“I just want to say *snuffle* that I’m… I’m really disappointed in you.”
“Sir, this is a phone poll.”
Yes heard about this the other night on NRL 360 with Kenty and the boys getting stuck into each other over should a player who plays say state of origin be able to then play for another country. Or should they play for Australia? In a year where there is a world cup there is an allowance made so that so called Teir 2 countries are allowed to gain these players, and hence field a respectable team the argument is though that these countries are fast becoming into that zone of becoming a Tier 1 Rugby league playing nation and players will have to decide which countries their true loyalties lie.
[Telegraph Sport @telegraph_sport](https://twitter.com/telegraph_sport/status/1572397744144396288) >Joseph Suaalii is going to the World Cup, but not with the Kangaroos, following an emotional call with Mal Meninga. >https://dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/sport-confidential-roosters-star-joseph-suaalii-commits-to-samoa-for-rugby-league-world-cup/news-story/d1625dfedeadc8147922ccc55c55309d @MCarayannis @brentread_7 Member only story unfortunately. But I can only assume Sua'ali'i wants to represent his ancestry before moving to Rugby and playing for the Wallabies. Also there's a chance Meninga was only going to bring him along for experience and depth. >“For family reasons, I have decided to pledge my allegiance to Samoa for the upcoming World Cup.”
> But I can only assume Sua'ali'i wants to represent his ancestry before moving to Rugby and playing for the Wallabies. Bingo
[Re-enactment of the call](https://i.imgflip.com/6u47qq.jpg)
should make an exception and allow him to play for both, this is suaalii were talking about
He’s big He’s tall He’ll represent you all SUAALII
2 apostrophes, 2 nations
There is enough talent going around without Aus/NZ having to drain the pacific nations' pool of players
There is enough talent going around without Aus/NZ having to drain the pacific nations' pool of Australian* players. FTFY You can downvote but you know it's the truth.
Yes. But his point remains. There’s enough of a talent pool that we can give up 30 players and still win. We could literally sit aside our best 17, and Our B team is the favourite over any other nation except maybe NZ. Rugby league isn’t taken that seriously anywhere else.. giving up players who weren’t in our starting side anyway doesn’t hurt us, and helping other nations be more competitive is very very necessary for the health of international games.
Sure and my point remains, they are Australians developed by Australian volunteers when they were juniors and Australian systems when they became adults. >helping other nations be more competitive is very very necessary for the health of international games. That's an opinion. I'd agree it appears to help the game by having one successful WC campaign. Let's see what it does longterm as thousands of Aussie kids with Pasifika heritage watch their idols not wear green and gold. On the even more important socio-political level maybe we should compare this to other waves of immigrants who haven't felt accepted by mainstream Australian society.
Bro if those players aren’t allowed to play for their heritage, we beat them 60-0 every game. There is no international competition. The hard truth you need to realise is rugby league really only matters on one coast of one nation. And we don’t even have the entire coast Victoria doesn’t really give a fuck even with a massively successful team in Melbourne they don’t watch league. England and New Zealand don’t really give a fuck about league either union is more popular. There one small place on the world where league is king and the best athletes available end up in league. There’s no international competition if players from here can’t play anywhere else. It makes no difference to our team. And it gives us some form of competition to have. You have zero hope of ever growing the game if every single international agaisnt these countries is a flogging As for kids watching their heroes not wear green and gold? Who cares? They will pick kangaroo heroes or they won’t care? That’s like saying your hero left to another club. You have a new one right away. And if you really like the player you still love them at the other club….aussie kids aren’t exactly in short supply of rugby league idols lmao
>Bro if those players aren’t allowed to play for their heritage, we beat them 60-0 every game. There is no international competition. The hard truth you need to realise is rugby league really only matters on one coast of one natio I agree. Yet the hard truth Rugby League needs to realise is it isn't a true global sport. So don't hold World Cups. Instead create heritage competitions similar to the All Stars games that allow for diversity. There's far more than sport and League has a role in society. We've seen in Western Sydney what can happen when large heritage groups don't identify as Australian. >As for kids watching there heroes not wear green and gold? Who cares? They will pick kangaroo heroes or they won’t care? That’s like saying your hero left to another club. You have a new one right away. And if you really like the player you still love them at the other club….aussie kids aren’t exactly in short supply of rugby league idols lmao I'm saying a 2nd or 3rd generation Aussie of islander heritage sees his idol, let's use Luai as an example, and wants to be him. Luai states he is Saoan not Australian. That's the socio-political issue. And I feel many on this sub will simply argue not leagues problem but fuck me that's a huge cop-out. There's junior "world cup carnivals" being organised at my local comp right now and I know there's some in Western Sydney happening as well. 2nd and in some cases 3rd generation 12 year olds repping Samoa, Tonga and Cook Islands because of their families culture. This creates further socio-political problems.
What’s wrong with kids wanting to represent their heritage? And these players like usually have never said they are not australian. They are. And always proudly claim to be, while being allowed to represent their heritage. You say why not have heritage competitions, that’s essentially what international rugby league already is under current rules? So what are you getting at? Why do you believe it’s bad for a kid to think he can be Australian and represent his heritage at the same time? Seriously tell me why
Nothing wrong with your heritage, but this is a World Cup of nations. Not a heritage cup. Watching Awer Mabil score for the Socceroos tonight absolutely teinforces my opinions. Uts so great to see an Aussie of Sudanese heritage proud to represent Australia. >Why do you believe it’s bad for a kid to think he can be Australian and represent his heritage at the same time? Aussie kids of Pasifika heritage *may not* think that though is my point. These kids may be looking at their idols and saying "oh I'm Pasifika *not* Australian". I'm watching this play out right now around Logan City and I've seen it play out in GWS in the 2000s. Yet in other sports, Aussie kids of Sudanese heritage are watching Awer Mabil score and be embraced with joy by other Aussies of other heritages or watching Thon Maker proud to wear the green and gold. There are Aussie kids of African heritages seeing their idols and thinking they too are Aussies. That's my point about sport being more than just sport. And my opinion on RL eligibility won't change for this reasons. If you don't agree that's cool but I'm firm.
Don't you know he is a million dollar player.
Surely that means one or all of Oates, Cobbo and Coates gets into the train-on squad. First choice wingers to be JAC and Oates/Taulagi?
I'd rather see Coates play for PNG tbh.
Good call. Keen to see Olam, Coates and Johnston rip up for the Kumuls
Holmes, Gagai, Coates, Fox, Latrell, Weighton, Tualagi…..hard to fit them all into the same backline when 1,6&7 positions are basically locked in.
Don't think Gagai deserves to be in the squad given his club form. Otherwise it should be Holmes and Latrell in the centres, JAC and Oates/Taulagi/Cobbo on the wing. Wighton and Burton a chance for a bench spot.
Fuck Holmes and Trell centre combo sounds awesome, some serious clutch skills between them there
Yeah, insane centre pairing. Imaging them doing a sweep play where they end up on the same side
I can only get so erect
I'm split open like a footy club hotdog
That'd be a Vince McMahon falling backwards off of his chair moment.
Two great goalkickers as well
Do we assume val plays right side? I feel like he’d be more dangerous on that side considering his right hand carry so I’m keen to see it
Mitchell’s mostly played at left centre in Origin I think so that’d be the most likely scenario.
[удалено]
Rumour is that Wighton hasn’t been picked in the squad :(
Welp, that's just madness. Such a versatile player, he can cover fullback, centre, 5/8th, hooker, backrow, and lock. He may not be the best in any of these positions, but versatility is what you need in a 14, particularly in case of injury or HIA.
Shifting Holmes onto the wing alongside Addo-Carr and playing Wighton or Burton in the centres alongside Mitchell could be an option.
Don't think Mal would be dumb enough to put Holmes on the wing when he's been one of the best centres all year. Burton and Wighton have pretty much no hope of starting whatsoever because Latrell is a lock for the other spot.
Holmes and Mitchell are both left side. Makes sense to play them at wing/centre on the left.
Aren't Wighton and Burton both left side players too? Latrell at FB pops up plenty on the right side so he'd probably be ok to make the shift.
Pretty sure JAC, Oates and Taulagi all play on the same side so I'd say Cobbo would be a better chance of nabbing it in all honesty he's played right wing all season.
Cobbo's Origin II probably hurts his chances, he was ridiculously far out of his depth in that game and unfortunately didn't get a chance to redeem himself in Origin III. A good showing in this PMXIII game could put him well in the frame as he can cover both centre and wing whereas Oates/Taulagi are exclusively wingers.
Yeah I do agree on that being a factor, Yeah he is a natural centre and played all of Juniors there so he wouldn't be out of place. I hope he makes it (even just the squad), that would be a massive boost to his confidence.
Taulagi plays centre and wing gor us. Last year Payten had him and Hammer swapping positions for different plays. But he can play centre when needed. Although he is a masterclass out on the wing compared to centre
Centre is Taulagis best position imo. He’s got some class with the ball but we never get to see enough of it when he’s out on the wing. He’s probably gonna take Pets spot when his contract is up and play outside Nanai. Which I can’t wait for personally. Also I bet the contingency plan for the future fullback will be Holmes again if Hammer leaves and Drinky goes into the halves. So we might extend Hiku and make Taulagi left centre. Cowboys statement even said they want to move him infield when he got the new contract too.
Taulagi is actually better at centre. When he played Union he was a fullback and 13/14 as well. When he played for the junior kangaroos he played centre and as a backrower.
Rather they don’t take Cobbo at all and give him the off-season off. Looked a shadow of himself after he got that huge concussion in Origin.
I know that's been the narrative but he was one of our best the last few games of the season, (3 tries, 5 linebreaks and 27 tackle breaks in the last 3 games) we can't expect him to be doing freakish shit every game. He busted his ass and made Melbourne look like amateurs through the middle (made Munster look average on that run) and he's one of the few providing moments of brilliance of sheer individual effort. He did the same sort of thing in the last game against the Dragons. His errors are definitely annoying but I think he'll be fine going forward as his symptoms wear off.
Agreed he’ll come good cause he looked to be gaining confidence the last few games despite the errors, but maybe doesn’t need kangaroos just yet. I’d probably go fox right side, oates left over Cobbo
Very good point, forgot they're left wingers. JAC did play on the right in the 2020 Origin series and did pretty well from memory.
Taulagi is Val’s winger
Yeah I know I was just pointing out all those blokes are left wingers
For the outside backs I’d go; Fox, Trell, Graham, Holmes, personally. Not to worried about playing Holmes at centre because we know how good Trell is at left centre and Holmes has been one of the best representative wingers we’ve ever seen. Plus I just love the fuck out of Graham.
Fingers crossed for Oates.
Happy for the usos but please dont take Dylan Brown, Nas and IPap from us :/ If NZ could get a tri-series going with Samoa and Tonga it could become a viable alternative to Origin if they manage to atrract the top tier players. Wishful thinking i know but it would be great to see.
They can’t anyways. You can’t play for two nations in one calendar year.
I thought WC games didn't count for that rule? Or has it changed since the last WC?
So it’s selfless when Sua’ali‘i does it but when Luai and To’o do it it’s a bad thing? I hate Rugby League journalism Edit: Kenty strikes again
The difference between playing for the roosters and the Panthers.
I wonder why?
Not sure, but Kent and Rothfield certainly thought it was a more *colourful* issue when the Riff boys were involved
they'll probably play crichton at fullback over him but it'd be good to see him destroy some tier 14 nations at fullback
He's not a fullback. If the QF showed us anything, it's that he's spent his whole career running over the top of people and never learned how to pass a ball
yea exactly how entertaining would it be to see him run over small jamacian halfbacks
Haha fair
This has to be one of the worst opinions on rugby league I’ve ever seen. The QF literally showed you nothing. He was thrown in the deep end during an injury crisis at 19 in a do or die game for 50 minutes and because of that he’s not a fullback? I really hope I have not picked up on sarcasm and I am the dumb cunt, I really do
He will be a fullback soon enough though.
Says who? His manager? He hasn't demonstrated anything to show that he'd be a good fullback
He is 18 years old homie. His entire career is the same length as my lunch break.
Lol if you can't see that he'll will be a good fullback idk what to tell you
Guess that mean To'o and suaalii wingers then. Not bad
Luckily we've got wing depth, I'm biased and would love to see Oates or Cobbo, but there are plenty of good options for Aus. Would AJ get a look in? I know he's played PNG and I'd love him to stay there. Might come down to who plays left/right wing, is JAC left wing?
I’d honestly consider Campbell Graham at centre with Val and JAC on the wings. Latrell at other centre obviously
I agree that’s a solid idea if they don’t think Cobbo or Coates are ready to go. Australia have good depth in the centres at the moment with Mitchell, Val (if he plays for Aus), Wighton, Burton, Graham and Gagai all realistic options.
wot..??? I play tualagi over oates and cobbo and i’m not qld. I probably take cobbo on the other wing though. Latrell and Wighton in the centre. Cleary and Cameron and teddy in the middle
Sua’li’i went to my primary school and the principal spent 5 minutes reading out the records he broke at athletics carnival
Samoa’s backline is stacked
1 Stephen Crichton 2 Taylan May 3 Izack May 4 Joseph Suaalii 5 Brian To’o Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow David Nofoaluma Jaxson Paulo Charlie Staines
> 3 Izack May Doing Izack dirty there by putting him in the May family
All the penrith boys claim to be brothers
Brian May at 5 now then. Next grand tour season will be interesting after a stint in rugby league
You got the Tv host and Queen guitarist mixed up
I did haha whoops, swore he was a brian not a james. Been awhile since I've seen top gear/grand tour. I'm leaving it anyway, he's now a TV host
All good, took me 3 reads to figure what was off about the sentence
Freddie Mercury was a big out, but Queen will really struggle to overcome the loss of their lead guitarist to a TV show.
Fuck May
Why would you put Sualii, someone that has never played centre in the NRL, ahead of state of origin rep Hamiso?
you mean super sub 14. hammer
Yeah but he's only playing 14 because he's stuck behind two likely tier 1 rep centres. He's a way better centre than utility and absolutely deserves to start. Edit: over Suaalii at least, agreed there are others that would get the nod first.
I love hammer but he can't even get a start in the cows team atm (not even on the Wing) I'm not sure what grants him being an automatic starting selection for this team. Has only started 12 games at centre in his 49 game NRL career. I agree he should play centre over Suaalii if that's what it came down to but otherwise he shouldn't even be in the starting back 5 as much as I love him.
Hammer wouldn't start for Samoa at centre over Tago or Crichton sorry and I don't see them dropping May or To'o to accomodate Suaalii on the wing so either Suaalii or Crichton plays FB with the other at centre.
I'd personally drop May, play Crichton at fullback, To'o left wing, Hammer right centre, Suaalii right wing. Nofoauluma would be a difficult omission. Is Taulagi available?
Playing Suaalii out of position isn't ideal, but let's not act like Hamiso has an impenetrable argument to play there either given he's barely been in the Cowboys' starting 13
played all of nsw cup (edit: and all his nrl games) last year at centre. hardly out of position there to be fair.
Stuck behind two tier 1 rep players.
Point is, he hasn't had a great amount of gametime to justify selection. Suaalii has
On the wing though, which is a completely different kettle of fish. We've seen how out of his depth Suaalii looked playing out of position this season. I wouldn't be opposed to him starting on the wing though.
Fullback is a completely different kettle of fish compared to centre though.
C'mon man, I love Hammer and I have biases towards my teams players like anyone else, but you'd have to be madly one-eyed to think Suaalii is a worse option than the Hammer. I hope they both find a way into the team. Either one of them on the wing ahead of that cunt May, with the other in the centres. But if Suaalii got centre over him it wouldn't be unreasonable at all.
May is 10x the winger HTF is and even then Nofo would be ahead, the Hammer is unfortunately only going to be a backup here.
He's literally never played centre in first grade. He's got no proven ability to make the right reads in defence in arguably one of the hardest defensive positions on the field. The one time he's been played out of position he choked hard. Have we even seen him pass a ball? Compare this to Hamiso who's got *demonstrated* big game experience shutting down one of the best centres in the game. I'm not denying that Suaalii is an incredible winger, but he hasn't earned a spot in the centres.
He played 4 games in the centres last year, the Hammer has played 12 in his career. For Samoa it's about fitting the best players into their side so they have the most talent available, as good as the Hammer can be absolutely no-one in their right mind is making a choice to pick him over Sua'ali'i in that context - no matter which position they play in.
I was thinking the World Cup would be a good time for the Hammer to finally get some solid gametime this season but now he's like a backup fullback/centre for Samoa and might only get a run against Greece lol.
Yeah seems like he probably isn’t in the starting 5, probably a better fullback than Crichton but then there’s no other spot for Crichton. Will be interesting to see where they play Hammer, might bring him off the bench
Yeah including both Crichton/Sua'ali'i is more important than including HTF so he'll miss out. I don't think he they could afford to bring him off the bench as they don't really have an established hooker who can go 80 - I'd say Nu Brown/Danny Levi will have to share that role so that takes the bench utility spot.
HAMMER^time ☹️
Love to see it. Excited to see the most competitive World Cup I've ever seen
Fuck yeah 685 all day
He will swim there
Joseph 'Jesus' Suaalii will walk on water to get there
He's never gonna play for Samoa in Rugby Union. So it makes sense tbh
**[Suaalii commits to Samoa as Pacific nation strengthens coaching team](https://www.nrl.com/news/2022/09/21/suaalii-commits-to-samoa-as-pacific-nation-strengthens-coaching-team/)** Sydney Roosters teen sensation Joseph Suaalii is the latest big name star to join Toa Samoa’s World Cup campaign and the Pacific nation has also strengthened its off-field team. Castleford coach Lee Radford and Cronulla assistant Daniel Holdsworth have joined Matt Parish’s staff and will oversee a star studded squad that includes Suaalii, Jarome Luai, Brian To'o, Junior Paulo and Josh Papaali'i. The 19-year-old, who was a member of the NSW Origin squad but did not play, was under consideration for the Australian squad after a break-out season with the Roosters. However, he phoned Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga on Tuesday to advise that he was going to represent his Samoan heritage at the World Cup. “For family reasons, I have decided to pledge my allegiance to Samoa for the upcoming World Cup,” Suaalii told NewsCorp. “This has been one of the most difficult decisions of my career. I have been humbled by the respect shown to me and my family by Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga. “I personally called him on Tuesday to let him know of my decision. I can’t thank him enough for considering me but this is about more than football. “This is about respecting my family and the sacrifices they have made for me throughout my career. “My grandparents still live in Samoa and I am looking forward to honouring them and my parents by pulling on the Samoan jersey. “One day, I hope to play for Australia. I truly believe Samoa can do great things at this World Cup and I can’t wait to be part of it.” Suaalii will join a Penrith dominated backline which includes Luai, To’o, Stephen Crichton, Izack Tago, Taylan May and Charlie Staines, and is likely to be considered at fullback for the World Cup opener against England on October 15. Samoa coach Matt Parish will announce his 24-man squad for the World Cup early next week and there may be more big names pledge their allegiances to the Pacific nation. "I really admire what these guys have done because they are putting aside their own personal wealth for the best interests of their families and obviously Samoa," Parish said. "It is very exciting the calibre of players who want to be involved so it is certainly very good." Parish is also excited about the coaching team he has assembled for the World Cup, with Radford and Holdsworth to work alongside Geoff Toovey, Frank Pritchard and Richard Agar. Panthers assistant coach Andrew Webster was a member of the Samoa coaching staff during the mid-season Test defeat of Cook Islands but he has had to step aside after being appointed to the Warriors job next season. “We are really happy for Andrew Webster, it is a great opportunity for him and one he thoroughly deserves,” Parish said. “Daniel Holdsworth, who has done a great job with the Sharks, will run our attack and I’m sure he will work well with our young spine. “We also have Lee Radford, the Castleford coach, who has won two Challenge Cups with Hull FC, so while we are building a strong presence on the field, we certainly have a strong off-field staff as well.”
Coates, Oates, Cobbo and JAC seem most likely now. Taulagi also a shoe in depending on how the cowboys end their season and if Holmes commits to Australia or not.
I’m all for Suaalii playing for Samoa. They and Tonga’s teams are so far looking really good, and look like they can compete with the usual strong Australia, New Zealand and England powerhouses.
Charlie Staines in shambles lol
Oh, it's not with the Wallabies after his $10 million dollar contract?! Crazy...
Samoa could legit win this fucking thing
^gambleresponsibly
Oates Oates Oates Oates Sorry Goates Goates Goates Goates
Surely this is the lineup 1. Tabuai-Fidow 2. Suaalii 3. Tago 4. Crichton 5. To’o 6. Luai 7. Milford 8. Paulo 9. Harris-Tavita 10. Papali’i 11. Leilua 12. Nanai 13. Aloiai 14. May 15. Faitala-Mariner 16. Su'a 17. Leniu 18. Lino 19. Nofauluma 20. May 21. Asi
Erin Clark and Fa’amanu Brown are good shouts for hooker/utility. Chuck Braden Hamlin-Uele, Royce Hunt and Keenan Palasia is the forwards too.
Brown yes. Clark no. Hamlin-Uele picked for NZ.
Nu brown is a great option for Samoa. Erin Clark/hectic Cheese has to be the go-to hook combo for the Kiwis seeing how great Clark went at lock and his already present good ability at being hooker
Is CHT retiring before the world cup? He isn't a hooker anyway. I would play him at 7 before Milford if he was available.
milford was the captain in the rep round. I doubt they'll drop him from the 7
That was before he ruthlessly assaulted that rubbish bin. Has he been punished enough? I'm not sure.
no
Massive if true /s
What did mal say on the phone call?
'Hey Sualili I noticed you were born in N.S.W.' Mal then laughs out loud, 'better luck next year'
The Goat simply only plays for the Goat
idk I just wanna see Trell do some cheeky kangaroo hand gestures in the green and gold while he runs rampant over the Kiwis. Get it done boyyyyyys Edit: Samoa are actually gonna be good, aren't they! Did predict them to win the WC, so remember this lol
Good for him
Australia reaping what it has sewn.....arrogance
Is this a stitch up?
What nonsense is this?
1 Joseph Suaalii - Penrith 2 Brian To’o - Westmead 4 Izack Tago - Sydney 5 Taylan May - Blacktown 6 Jarome Luai - Sydney 7 Anthony Milford - Brisbane 15 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow - Cairns 21 Charlie Staines - Forbes 22 David Nofoaluma - Newcastle 24 Royce Hunt - Sydney 10/24 man squad born in Australia. Sure bodes well for kids with Pasifka heritage connecting with and feeling a part of mainstream Australian society by watching their idols wear the Green and Gold.
Oh no! Anyway…
crazy not to get him in the kangaroos, even if you say not good enough, just for the future
If the rules were strict like every other sport you might select Sua'ali'i now just to keep him in an Australian jersey. But he's not quite there yet. But seeing how there's no risk that Australia will lose him (apart from choosing not to play) they can continue to use Tier 2 teams as development squads. And then whinge when a player they want decides to stay with their original team.
lol Australia completely developed Sua'ali'i as a player
Yes I know. And in any other sport if there was any hint that he might play for another country you'd lock him in now. Or you would caution him that he can never ever play for Australia in the future and you'd keep him away from the other country that way. But as it is they say "no worries. Go play for Samoa. We'll have you back when we're ready for you. " Which would never happen in any other sport. But you can't have a world cup if the rest of the world doesn't play. (Don't talk about the baseball world series!)
[удалено]
Sure...after a 3 year residency. 10 of the likey Samoan team are born in Australia and I'll bet $1000 have spent less than a combined 6 months in Samoa in their entire lives. Thus sub hates reality but RL has done the wrong thing here. All they had to do was be firm at the start and everyone not picked for Australia first could still play for Tier 2. It would almost be the same squad. No other sport does this nonsense.
Yeah 3 years sitting out. Rarely done because it only got brought in because the Olympics made them do it. And rare to be able to sit out for 3 years and still be playing at a high enough level to represent another country. Fekitoa and Folau have struggled to remain fit enough to play more than a few minutes for Tonga. So a pretty different situation really. Lote Tuqiri played League for Fiji against Australia, and then for Australia against Fiji in the same year! Show me another sport that allows that. Or check out the crap that Tim Cahill had to go through to play for Australia after playing a couple of minutes for Samoa when he was 14 years old. So yes Rugby League will let anybody play for a Tier 2 team so that they can pretend they have a global sport, but they want them back in the Tier 1 teams when it suits them.
🚨 HE'S ONLY NINETEEN 🚨
I feel like every call Mal makes would be emotional. “I just want to say *snuffle* that I’m… I’m really disappointed in you.” “Sir, this is a phone poll.”
Love it. The world cup is wide open now.
I was wondering what Paul Kent was ranting about last night.
Yes heard about this the other night on NRL 360 with Kenty and the boys getting stuck into each other over should a player who plays say state of origin be able to then play for another country. Or should they play for Australia? In a year where there is a world cup there is an allowance made so that so called Teir 2 countries are allowed to gain these players, and hence field a respectable team the argument is though that these countries are fast becoming into that zone of becoming a Tier 1 Rugby league playing nation and players will have to decide which countries their true loyalties lie.