Why Sydney Roosters teammate Joseph Manu should inspire Joseph Suaalii

“It’s important to start the year and first fix the roll in the center so I can build my fitness. The role requires a lot of movement work. I’ll come back to that [role] soon. I enjoy it.”

Suaalii has often spoken about Manu, 26, being a mentor to him, but Manu said any discussions of a position change with the Rugby Australia goal have been limited.

“He will definitely be someone who is always on the ball,” said Manu. “He is also young and has a long road ahead of him. It’s up to him what he wants to do. I will definitely support him.

“I like to see him in the centers. He had these strong yardage carries on the wing, but now he’s able to bring a little bit more into the game.”

Suaalii had some nice touches in attack against the Warriors on Saturday but almost missed a try ignoring Tedesco inside.

Tedesco said of that Suaalii moment: “After the game, he apologized for not being a match for me and I said, ‘Dude, it’s all good’. He bet on himself, he always has, and I’m sure he scores 99 percent of the time with that try. There’s no drama there.

“He’s still learning the center role. He only had one preseason there and now a couple of games.

“He was pretty dominant at the weekend. He’s learned a lot from Joey Manu, they’re both great ball runners and having those weapons outside of our spine is pretty dangerous.”

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Manu, who excels for New Zealand every time he plays full-back, could emerge as a five-eighth option for Roosters should Luke Keary retire late next year.

Meanwhile, the Roosters confirmed the signing of Parramatta’s Nathan Brown for the remainder of the year, with the red-hot forward billed as “older, bigger Victor Radley.”

“He strengthens our forward package and will be a great addition,” said Lindsay Collins, one of the club’s few fit tall men who excelled against the Warriors.

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