Roosters star Angus Crichton has taken to Twitter/X to defend Joseph Suaalii after his standout man-of-the-match debut for the Wallabies.
Crichton posted a photo of Suaalii making a pass, edited with knives over the ball, captioned, “Congrats to the Wallabies and my boy Jsu for blocking out the noise, huge win, shut a lot of people up.”
Suaalii delivered a perfect assist to Tom Wright for the first try, setting the momentum for the Wallabies, who went on to score five more tries against England on Saturday.
Despite only six weeks of preparation since his switch from rugby league to union, Suaalii proved he was ready to contribute significantly to the team.
His starting position as outside centre sparked initial controversy, as he entered the Wallabies lineup with no professional rugby union experience.
However, Suaalii's dominant debut quickly silenced critics as he showcased his potential at the international level.
Suaalii's transition to rugby union came with a multimillion-dollar, three-year contract with Rugby Australia, reportedly valued at nearly $2 million annually, with discussions of a potential two-year extension.