He was a schoolboy rugby sensation, but there was a problem. He was better at basketball

The Age

19 hours ago

They likely also know the vaunted power forward has chosen the US college system as the next manoeuvre towards the big time.
He left this week to join the Pittsburgh Panthers in America's NCAA competition – a well-tramped pathway to the NBA. It has taken longer than expected to get over there, Siulepa explains, because of the Trump administration's crackdown on foreign student visas.
But over there he now is, following in the footsteps of friends Luke Fennell (Syracuse) and Jacob Furphy (UConn). There are other footsteps he is following, too, like those of 18-year-old Bryce James, son of LeBron, who has joined the Wildcats at the University of Arizona.
Fennell and Furphy, also national teammates at this year's Under-19 World Cup, 'put in my head that it's a good program and way to go about things'.
'There's a lot more money as you start in college, and I was just thinking smarter with setting myself up in the future,' says Siulepa. 'Then having rugby as a back-up is always great, so that's what I looked into the most.'
The cash is certainly enticing. College sport is entering its big-money era since a ruling that colleges and universities in the NCAA's top division will be allowed to directly pay athletes for the first time, within an initial salary cap of $US20.5 million per school. Since 2021, there is also much more to be made through name, image and likeness (NIL).
Siulepa speaks about wanting to give back to his family, who 'poured so much' into his career, and particularly his mum for 'just sacrificing a lot, taking me to training when she's tired, long nights and stuff like that'.
But he clarifies money is not the only deciding factor.
'I've trained really hard in basketball and guess I was further along as opposed to rugby, so not putting it to waste and giving it a crack. It's a hard choice. I'd say I enjoy rugby just as much, but thought I'd just put all my eggs in one basket [with] basketball. Whereas I think there's more of a back-up plan in rugby than vice-versa – going [with] rugby and then try and go back to basketball.'
This is what Siulepa told Schmidt and Kiss.
'They pitched to me that rugby's always going to be here, and touched on other players that came back to rugby late, like 25, and still killed it. So just giving me reassurance that rugby's still a pathway for me and that if I came back I would still be a decent player, I guess.'
If 'decent' translates as one of the strongest GPS prospects to date, that is. But the faint upward inflection in 'I guess' hints at the bizarre dichotomy of being very talented and also a teenager. You get the sense Siulepa is aware he possesses the raw elements of what it takes, but that he is not quite grown-up enough to digest some of the external commentary about that.
And this dual-sport dance has not been without such commentary. 'It has its moments,' he says. 'When I lost my JackJumpers contract, that was hard, but it just gives extra motivation. You've got to be your own biggest critic if you want to make it.'
Last year he signed a Next Stars contract with the NBL's Tasmania JackJumpers, and then returned to Brisbane soon after to finish school (for his mum) and see out his youth rugby career (for him).
The club released him, with co-chair Steve Old citing rugby injuries Siulepa had brought to the club, saying he continued to play rugby against their wishes and concluding he was not '110 per cent committed'.
'The JackJumpers happened at the end of the school year, like term three, so I came back more for just wanting to be a kid and finish school,' Siulepa says. 'You don't really realise how important that is until you go away.
'They were more pitching to me about coming early and becoming a pro, and in my head it was leaving my friends behind in something that I had unfinished business with, which was the [rugby] season which had already started. So I went back home just to finish an opportunity I'll never get again.'
The expectation was that, after graduating, he would attach himself to another NBL team and spend his pre-draft career in Australia like Josh Giddey did (Adelaide 36ers) and Dash Daniels – the 17-year-old younger brother of Atlanta Hawks' Dyson Daniels – is doing now (Melbourne United).
But some recent NBA-related 'manifesting' has led him to Pitt, drawn to the routine, accountability and personal development and also to coach Jeff Capel's fun but 'straight-up' persona. 'He doesn't really lie to you,' he says. 'We had a Zoom and it was talking about how I could get better and how I'm not going to just walk in and be a starter – earn my spot, start on the bottom, work my way up.'
The consensus is Siulepa has what it takes, confirmed some six weeks ago by a breakthrough performance at the Under-19 World Cup in Switzerland, where he averaged 18.9 points and 8.1 rebounds and posted a pair of double-doubles, including 19 points and 12 rebounds against a stacked US side.
As a physical specimen weighing 100kg and standing two metres tall with a reach of 2.6m, he holds the upper hand over grown men and has the on-court aggression to level basically anything in his path. Likened to a young Ben Simmons, he is a highlight machine in the making, and could probably pursue NFL if that way inclined.
But there are plenty of critical reviewers who point out a limited repertoire lacking in touch and an in-between game, with no pull-up or floater or much refined technique.
Siulepa acknowledges this when asked in which facets his game needs to improvement. 'Obviously, everyone says everything,' is the reply, though he is a willing subject ready for Capel's moulding.
Would Kefu say similar?
'I dunno,' he replies, then chuckles, 'I'm dating his daughter – I live in his house.'
Siulepa and Lucia – who will live and study with him in at the University of Pittsburgh – both attended Brisbane State High School and got together ('she gave me a chance') not long before her famous father started coaching the First XVs.
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It made for a 'pretty nervous' pre-season and a half-smiling 'be careful, mate' chat, later growing into a strong bond with both Kefu and wife Rachel. The pair is a valuable source of guidance in a complicated sports industry for a young man Kefu believes 'keeps a lot inside'.
'One thing that I have noticed about Roman, there's a lot of people around him that not only speak highly of him, but generate a lot of interest around him that probably doesn't need to be [there],' says Kefu, who also grew up playing both basketball and rugby before his father, former Tongan international Fatai Kefu, chose the latter for him.
'There's probably some naysayers out there, and I think he's always trying to prove them wrong. He also wants to prove to himself that he can achieve what he wants to achieve. Social media puts a whole lot of set of new set of pressures on him as well.
'The Roman I see at home is a quiet kid, hardly says boo. He just goes about his business. We have a fist bump here and there, a hug here and there, but he doesn't really talk about how he feels much.
'But when he gets motivated to do something on the field, watch out. Because some of the stuff I've seen ... from people saying, talking, chirping at him, is unbelievable.
'I've seen him run a whole length of the field to score a try. In GPS rugby that's unbelievable, you don't see that often. The guys who can do that, they play for the Wallabies, or they're superstars of [the] NRL.'