Aussie Pro Rugby
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‘Joey is all anyone is talking about’: Inside the deal that delivered rugby its new face
All eyes are on the Wallabies thanks to Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, but Hamish McLennan’s pursuit of the Roosters star sparked a boardroom split at Rugby Australia. This is how the deal went down – and how much it will cost RA.
McLennan loved a "verbal commitment".
It’s been widely speculated that McLennan was able to secure verbal assurances from private benefactors linked to the Australian Rugby Foundation (ARF), an arm of RA established in 2014 to attract greater private investment.
McLennan’s pitch to the board was that Suaalii’s costs should be roughly divided by three and financed by the Wallabies, NSW Waratahs and the ARF.
It was based on a verbal commitment from a wealthy benefactor – a close contact of McLennan – who was willing to put in close to $500,000 a year to help fund Suaalii’s salary.
Any financial assistance McLennan was banking on disappeared when he was removed as chairman. The funds have not materialised nor been sourced by the current RA administration, leaving head office (which now also owns the Waratahs) to cover Suaalii’s multimillion-dollar deal from its own coffers.
Waugh insists RA has the means to finance Suaalii’s lucrative deal without jeopardising the future of the sport, even though RA recently engaged in brief conversations with the Roosters about a potential loan deal in 2026 to ease the financial burden of his contract.
“My view on where we are financially is that we have a revenue challenge more than a cost challenge,” Waugh said.
“What we need to do is drive interest, and drive an audience and drive the revenue line by attracting commercial partners and connectivity to the public. Between now, the Lions and the World Cup we need to maximise our revenue. Athletes such as Joseph allow us to maximise our revenue.
“We’re disciplined in here around our finances. We’ll fund [Suaalii’s contract] through whatever means we need to, to meet our financial obligations in our contracting model.”
When RA announced it had won the signature of Suaalii, it was only spruiked as a three-year deal. But last month this masthead reported that the contract also included a secret clause – worth between $3.5 million and $4 million – that could extend Suaalii’s time in rugby union until the end of 2029.
The deal struck by McLennan and Waugh – and signed off by the board – included a player option that gave him the right to trigger two further years on his contract at the value of at least the amount of the third season of his deal.
It could take the contract’s total value to almost $8.5 million over five years. The revelation of the player option – worth nearly $500,000 more per season than that of the highest-paid player in the NRL (Kalyn Ponga) ended the Roosters’ interest in pursuing a deal to bring Suaalii to rugby league.
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Tahs 2025 squad by position:
Dan McKellar – Head Coach
Mike Catt – Assistant Coach (attack)
Lachie McCaffrey – Assistant Coach (defence)
Dan Palmer – Assistant Coach (set piece)Hooker:
Dave Porecki, Julian Heaven, Ethan Dobbins, Mahe VailanuProp:
Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou, Isaac Kailea, Siosifa Amone, Dan Botha, Tom Lambert, Adrian Brown, Brad Amituanai, Jack BarrettLock:
Miles Amatosero, Hugh Sinclair, Fergus Lee-Warner, Ben Grant, Angelo Smith, Ale Aho, Clem HalaholoBackrow:
Langi Gleeson, Charlie Gamble, Rob Leota, Leafi Talataina, Mesu KunavulaScrumhalf:
Jake Gordon, Teddy Wilson, Jack GrantFlyhalf:
Tane Edmed, Jack Bowen, Lawson CreightonCentre:
Lalakai Foketi, Joseph Sua'ali'i, Joey Walton, Henry O'Donnell, Jackson RopataWing:
Darby Lancaster, Triston Reilly, Archie SaundersFullback:
Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway, James Hendren -
From that you could easily pick
1 Bell
2 Porecki (captain?)
3 Tupou
4 Sinclair
5 FLW
6 Leota
7 Gamble
8 Gleeson
9 Gordon
10 Edmed
11 Lancaster
12 Foketi
13 Sua'ali'i
14 Jorgensen
15 Kellaway16 Heaven
17 Kailea
18 ?? Amituanai I think - reserve THP a little thin...
19 Amatosero
20 Kunavalu
21 Wilson
22 Creighton
23 O'Donnell -
@NTA said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
From that you could easily pick
1 Bell
2 Porecki (captain?)
3 Tupou
4 Sinclair
5 FLW
6 Leota
7 Gamble
8 Gleeson
9 Gordon
10 Edmed
11 Lancaster
12 Foketi
13 Sua'ali'i
14 Jorgensen
15 Kellaway16 Heaven
17 Kailea
18 ?? Amituanai I think - reserve THP a little thin...
19 Amatosero
20 Kunavalu
21 Wilson
22 Creighton
23 O'DonnellA very strong 15 but no real depth to speak of. If they can all stay fit, should be pushing for a top four finish.
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@NTA said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
From that you could easily pick
1 Bell
2 Porecki (captain?)
3 Tupou
4 Sinclair
5 FLW
6 Leota
7 Gamble
8 Gleeson
9 Gordon
10 Edmed
11 Lancaster
12 Foketi
13 Sua'ali'i
14 Jorgensen
15 Kellaway16 Heaven
17 Kailea
18 ?? Amituanai I think - reserve THP a little thin...
19 Amatosero
20 Kunavalu
21 Wilson
22 Creighton
23 O'DonnellImagine 18 to be Siosifa Amone.
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Australian rugby has called on some of the country’s leading investors and fund managers to help fund every level of the game.
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I've often thought that, upon winning the lottery, I could set up an investment account that puts any returns into our club e.g. Win $20M, put $1M into the fund, generate ~6% per annum = $60k to run the club.
Would more than cover our expenses.
Why aren't all the Good Rugby People doing this with their white collar corporate power structures?
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(And, of course, should anyone here have made enough money on PolishChicksRUs.com - please consider setting up an annuity for Renegades Rugby. We only need about $20K so that's a lazy $330K starter)
