Red alert for Suaalii: Why Wallabies must work to prevent another Reece Walsh moment
And we've been there before, of course.
Suaalii's debut in State of Origin last year was one to forget for the youngster, when he mistimed an aggressive shot on Reece Walsh and with that right arm also tucked in low, hit him late and in the head. The Maroons star was knocked out and Suaalii was sent off just eight minutes into the game.
The obvious worry for Schmidt is something similar happening early in one of the Wallabies Tests against the British and Irish Lions in July.
The Lolesio shot wasn't a one-off, either. Suaalii's risky tendency to stay upright and hit chest-on-chest was seen several times on the November tour, and he was lucky to escape scrutiny for a no-wrap tackle that collected Wales flanker Jac Morgan in the head.
Suaalii has been doing plenty of work with Waratahs defence coach Locky McCaffrey in lowering his body height, and no-one will want to dial down aggression.
But Lions Tests are won and lost by the finest of margins, and the impact of losing a player for a tackle-gone-wrong was seen when another star code switcher was sent off in a recent Lions series.
Sonny Bill Williams was red carded in the second Test of the All Blacks-Lions series in 2017, for collecting Anthony Watson in the head with an upright, shoulder-to-head tackle. After winning the first Test comfortably, the All Blacks went on to lose the second and then draw the third.
It is worth remembering Suaalii is only nine games into his professional rugby career, and it takes time to change heat-of-battle instincts. Barring the odd crackdown, the NRL's tolerance level for high contract is far different.
But you can also be sure Schmidt and defensive coaches will put plenty more work into lowering Suaalii's target zone, and use of arms, before the start of the Lions series.
It will be a must, because Suaalii will be asked to do more tackling for Australia. Wright and Suaalii's battle of the no.15s was a cracker but based on the season to date the Brumby and incumbent Wallaby won't be unseated by his NSW rival.
Wright - who ran 180 metres and beat nine defenders at GIO Stadium - and Suaalii both average about 115 metres per game. But Wright is a superb linkman and alternate playmaker, and is peerless in attacking through defenders in the middle of the field.
Loading
With ample wing depth, and no inside centres making irresistible cases, Len Ikitau is stay at no.12 for the Wallabies, with Suaalii at no.13, where he can run lines and ride contact.
But the Lions will also be poring over tape and setting plans about how to catch him defensively.
And you can be sure a trap for Suaalii to race in with a heart-in-mouth shot will be part of the plan.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
8 minutes ago
- ABC News
InZane Rugby League: Billy Moore - We don't need the Pasifika players in State of Origin
On Inzane Rugby League this week - Zane Bojack and Sam Williams are joined by Quentin Hull and Maroons legend Quentin Hull for a rugby league round table discussion on International eligibility. They also debate if the match fees for international football need to be increased from $3000 to match the $30,000 available for State of Origin. Sam and Zane also discuss the error rate of Reece Walsh and the ability of Mitch Moses to lift his Eels. Plus are the Melbourne Storm vulnerable without Jahrome Hughes until the play-offs?
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
A rugby Test for the ages - and a decision that will be debated for years
It was, friends — the result aside — rugby at its very best. The second thing to celebrate was just how wonderfully the Wallabies played. I want my Australian teams to bleed for the jersey, to back themselves, to eschew the percentage play in favour of a damn-the-torpedoes, full-speed-ahead approach — and that is exactly how they played from the outset. After losing last week, our blokes started the match as heavy underdogs, criticised by former Lions coach Clive Woodward for having a 'losing mentality,' and there was a widespread feeling that we were simply outclassed. But under the captaincy of Harry Wilson, the Wallabies looked like a different team from the opening whistle. The lineouts worked. The scrums worked. Courtesy of the likes of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini coming into the pack this week, we had so much go-forward in the collisions that the Lions forwards were reeling with every clash. Loading In the backs, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Tom Wright and Max Jorgensen made break after break. With 10 minutes to go before half-time we had gone out to an 18-point lead, 23-5, courtesy of fabulous tries to James Slipper, Jake Gordon and Tom Wright - and it really looked as if not just a win but a blow-out win was on the cards! Even when the Lions came back with two tries of their own just before half-time, hope sprang eternal. Still, the Wallabies didn't back off, tackling themselves red-raw as the Lions launched raid after raid. Halfway through the second half, the Australians even had the line wide open for what might have been the winning try, only for the ball to be lost in heavy contact after Suaalii made a great break. It all came down to the final minute, with the Wallabies clinging to a 26–24 lead — only for the Lions to go over in extremis, in the corner. Many felt Lions flanker Jac Morgan's pulling down of Carlo Tizzano at a ruck just before Hugo Keenan scored, should have seen the try disallowed. Maybe. Maybe not. The ref said it was a legitimate try, and so be it. That technical loss aside, there was victory off the field in having staged such a match at the MCG — before a Lions world-record crowd of just over 90,000 — with many Victorians seizing the rare opportunity to witness a game of such global significance. With that in mind, I'll leave you with the words of Mr AFL himself, Eddie McGuire, who texted John Eales and myself immediately after the match ended. Folks, here's… Eddie!' 'What an amazing night for your code. 90,000 at the MCG! 'Record. Amazing game,' McGuire messaged. 'Not sure why we didn't get the last penalty. Ref has no idea about setting up a huge result and a big final game. Another effing tax auditor ruining the game!! 'Almost the perfect result. Still an amazing night. You should be very proud of the rugby culture. A week of joy. More please!' More to come, Eddie. It will be at the Olympic Stadium, next Saturday night. The Australians will be waiting for the Lions. They're a team that has grown before our eyes over this past week, a team to be proud of. They will be even better next week, and if there is a rugby God, this time it will go our way! Either way, the second Test was one for the ages and congrats to the British and Irish Lions and their supporters on a magnificent win.
The Australian
9 hours ago
- The Australian
First Nations and Pasifika Invitational side provides blueprint for Wallabies
If the Wallabies do lose the match, questions will need to be asked about how a hastily-assembled First Nations and Pasifika Invitational side could rattle the Lions, losing a 24-19 nailbiter, when Joe Schmidt's Test side couldn't. Schmidt has had over a year to prepare his squad so there are no excuses for not delivering when a team packed with players he discarded almost pulled off by showing a bit of ticker and bashing their opponents. The inquisitions can wait because for now, the most urgent conundrum facing the Wallabies is whether they are tough enough and brave enough to stand toe to toe with the Lions after they didn't answer the bell in last weekend's series opener in Brisbane. There were some mitigating circumstances – they missing some key players and were undercooked after playing just one lead-up match – but there's no cop outs this time. When you take away the smoke and mirrors, rugby remains a simple game that rewards courage as much as skill and the Wallabies need to be prepared to put their bodies on the line the way the FNP did. 'You need to take it to them, like head on,' the FNP captain Kurtley Beale said. 'There were patches there where we had the momentum and the Lions were kind of taking a backward step. 'These boys, they love physicality and playing rugby, and you need that physicality to lay the platform for your backs to play off.' Beale's own frustration is different to many of the other FNP players who Schmidt shunned because he played in the Lions' last Test series in Australia. At 36, Beale was never in the frame to play a Test this time but a lot of his teammates were and that annoys him. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto has more reason than most to feel duped because he's played three warm-up games against the Lions and caused them no end of trouble each time. Driven in part by his desire to prove the national selectors wrong, he's done more than anyone else to expose fault lines in the Lions with his powerful ball running and wrecking-ball defence. 'We play a combative game and there's going to be times when you dip in and out of the physical battle,' he said. 'There are times when we lost the battle. I got bashed a few times. 'But that comes natural to us, the physicality. We love those conditions. I think we put in a performance that we should be proud of.' Flanker Charlie Gamble, who was named man of the match despite being on the losing side, said the state and invitational sides had already shown the Lions were not unbeatable so it was now up to the Wallabies to finish the job. 'The Tahs and the Brumbies really showed that if you shut time and space down with their team that they create errors,' he said. 'They're not superhuman. They make errors and we showed that physically. 'It's in our First Nations and Pacific culture. We showed that if you can obviously put a couple bodies in there and hurt them a little bit, it definitely rattled them. 'I think the Wallabies can take a bit of that.' Gamble was another player unwanted by the Wallabies but ready to step up anytime, if he ever got the call from Schmidt. 'I won't stay awake,' he said. 'I'm always ready when it happens, if it happens. If it never happens, it is what it is … maybe one day, we'll see. 'If I do get an opportunity, then I'm just going to have to take it. It might never happen, but let's keep myself fit and see what happens.' Rugby Union The man at the centre of the most controversial call in Wallabies vs Lions history has admitted he was nervous of being penalised after watching a replay of his cleanout on Carlo Tizzano. Rugby Union Having blown an unassailable lead and the series against the Lions, the Wallabies now face a brutal reality check about their failing tactical approach, writes Julian Linden.
