‘A marked player’: Is Suaalii being underutilised for the Waratahs?

Analysing NSW’s impressive victory over the Fijian Drua last Friday, one statistic next to Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s name stood out.

According to World Rugby, the centre made 0.04 carries per minute – the lowest of any Waratahs player. Suaalii also made at least eight decoy runs in the 23-point victory and largely struggled to exert an influence befitting his ability.

His performances in the first two matches of the Super Rugby season have prompted rugby observers to question whether Suaalii – at $1.6 million a season – is being underutilised by the Waratahs.

The answer? It’s complex.

The apprenticeship continues

Suaalii’s rugby CV is growing, but he remains a work in progress. He is 22 years old and has played a total of 27 professional rugby games for the Waratahs and Wallabies. Six of those were as a fullback for the Waratahs, a position some believe could still be his strongest.

But the Waratahs’ centre stocks are shallow right now, with Henry O’Donnell taking time out of the game and George Poolman having only recently moved from the Force. By contrast, there is plenty of competition for spots at fullback and wing.

NSW also have two Wallabies in Harry Potter and Andrew Kellaway to call on as outside backs, alongside the consistently impressive Triston Reilly, while rookies James Hendren and Sid Harvey have impressed onlookers.

Suaalii’s regular position for the Wallabies is at outside centre, where he has benefited considerably from having Len Ikitau alongside him in the No.12 jersey. For the Waratahs, he is learning a new gameplan in attack after an intense international season under Joe Schmidt.

In the example below, Suaalii’s handling error after a pass from Max Jorgensen is a sign of backline rust that will have to be shaken off as soon as possible.

Beating the double- or triple-team

In a 1998 interview with ESPN, Michael Jordan said that being double-teamed was the ultimate compliment. While not quite in the same league as the American basketball legend, Suaalii’s name has been underlined on opposition coaching whiteboards as a key attacking threat since he was a teenager in western Sydney.

His eight decoy runs on Friday night did not attract the sort of praise lavished upon tryscoring star Max Jorgensen, but they did consistently force Drua defenders into a manic guessing game of “should I stay or should I go”.

Suaalii’s presence can cause havoc in open space, and by constantly calling for the ball he can instil a split-second of doubt in defences as the second or third receiver.

After 36 minutes, Jorgensen’s try was ultimately down to a combination of world-class footwork and a beautifully weighted skip pass from Lawson Creighton, but it also showcased the range of strike weapons available to the Waratahs beyond Suaalii.

Space remains at a premium

In a recent interview with this masthead, Waratahs attacking coach Mike Catt admitted he needed to work on helping Suaalii find more space. On the evidence of the Drua match, it remains a work in progress.

Suaalii is considerably bigger than his centre partner Joey Walton, and happily puts his hand up to take close, tough carries. But if overused, that strategy wastes the diverse skill set of the former Roosters back.

Against the Drua, Suaalii was available outside with space to accelerate several times, but his teammates consistently took other options.

On 75 minutes, halfback Teddy Wilson makes a break with both Suaalii and Creighton available on his left-hand shoulder. Wilson backs himself to run before being taken down by cover tacklers, with Suaalii arriving and doing a poor job as a makeshift halfback with a sloppy pass.

The brief passage of play highlights the significant challenges Suaalii faces as an outside centre and the need to sharpen his skills all over the field.

Better to give than receive

Suaalii made just eight passes against the Drua, but there were examples of his ability to draw defenders and distribute effectively with fast hands.

Jorgensen was ultimately denied a second try after the TMO ruled a marginal forward pass by James Hendren to back-rower Leafi Talataina, but Suaalii was at the centre of the build-up.

Speaking to media after the game, Waratahs coach Dan McKellar said fans and media should continue to temper their expectations of Suaalii.

“I think everyone comes to a Waratahs game or a Wallabies game and just wants Joseph to make 10 line breaks and score three tries,” McKellar said. “That’s just not reality. He’s a marked player.

“If I’m coaching against Joseph Suaalii, I’m talking about him all week. So I’m sure that Jacko [Drua coach Glen Jackson] and the Fiji boys would have been no different.”

The role of the outside centre is primarily as a distributor and a defensive leader, and the chance to run with the ball into space can become a rare luxury. Suaalii’s defence in particular has improved, and he didn’t miss a tackle against the Drua.

The scrutiny will remain on Suaalii when the Hurricanes visit Sydney next Friday as he continues his steep learning curve in rugby.

Watch every match of Super Rugby Pacific live and exclusive on Stan Sport.