Sydney Roosters teen sensation Joseph Suaalii joined the Future Blues for a training camp at the NSWRL Centre of Excellence this weekend and according to Brydens Lawyers NSW Blues captain James Tedesco, he’s put on the size to help his body with the rigours of another NRL season.
“We all know Suaalii’s a freak but he had that injury which was a big surgery for him and he’s on his recovery now,” Tedesco told nswrl.com.au.
“He’s looking huge as well, he’s only 18 years old and he’s looking about 105-110 kilos.
“He’s only going to get better, so we’ve just got to keep him healthy.”
Suaalii had plenty of hype around him before his NRL debut in Round 11 against the Brisbane Broncos but Roosters coach Trent Robinson has been vocal about slowly easing the 18-year-old into becoming a week-in-week-out NRL player.
Suaalii featured in five NRL games in 2021 scoring one try and making two linebreaks, eight tackle busts and an average of 83 running metres. On the defensive side, Suaalii finished the year with a tackle efficiency of 85.1%.
Joining Suaalii at the Future Blues camp is Roosters teammate Egan Butcher, who had an impressive debut season in 2021.
While Butcher has been in around the NRL squad in the last few years, he took his opportunity with both hands after the Roosters squad was decimated with injuries.
“Egan is a huge improver, he’s been in our squad for a couple of years now and he’s always had potential but has had a few injuries so couldn’t work his way into it, although last year was a real breakout year for him,” Tedesco said.
“He played more and more games for us and got better and better every game.
“I’m close with him too so I’m excited to see how he develops.”
Butcher finished the season with 15 NRL appearances, one try, one linebreak assist, 64 average running metres and a tackle efficiency of 94.6%.
In 2021 Butcher also featured in seven games for North Sydney Bears in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup where he finished with 12 tackle busts, 8.9 hit ups per game, six offloads, 81 running metres per game and a tackle efficiency of 94.7%.
