The Waratahs have launched a probe into the contributing causes of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s costly hamstring injury, which was suffered during an innocuous pre-game run through and will keep the $1.6 million centre out for more than half the Super Rugby season.
The investigation into Suaalii’s injury emerged as Waratahs coach Dan McKellar responded to the Tahs’ massive loss to the Hurricanes by making eight changes to the starting side to meet the Reds on Saturday, including Jack Debreczeni starting at No.10 and Wallabies star Andrew Kellaway being dropped entirely.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in the moments before he suffered a hamstring injury in the Waratahs’ warm-up.Credit: Getty Images
In an interesting twist, McKellar also turned to another squad member with NRL experience to replace Suaalii in the No.13 jersey, naming former Wests Tigers flyer Triston Reilly in the midfield.
“It’s obviously disappointing to lose any player to injury and to have ‘Su’ on the sidelines at this stage. The next person’s just got to step up and get on with it,” McKellar said.
Suaalii went down during the Waratahs’ warm-up ahead of the Hurricanes clash at Allianz Stadium in what appeared to be a straightforward solo sprint. Suaalii is expected to be sidelined for up to two months, meaning he could miss at least half of the Waratahs’ season for a second straight year. He played seven games last year due to toe and jaw injuries.
Losing a highly paid marquee player is disastrous for the Waratahs, on and off the field. And it’s particularly frustrating given Suaalii suffered a soft-tissue injury, which clubs generally regard as avoidable and guard against by monitoring player workloads with GPS technology.
Sid Harvey has been given a starting debut for the Waratahs.Credit: Getty Images
Players will commonly be pulled out of training if they are deemed to be at risk of tearing a fatigued muscle.
Asked if there had been an internal review to understand how and why Suaalii got injured, McKellar said: “Yeah, definitely. There’s a whole lot of research.
“S and C [strength and conditioning] and medical staff really take injuries like that personally, because they put so much time and care into the players. When an injury like that happens, it’s probably more upsetting for them than it is for Joseph, to a certain extent.
“[Physio] Ed Hollis and [head of athletic performance] Tom Carter have done a tremendous job in terms of soft tissue injuries. At the moment we’ve got three players on the injury list. One just happens to be the highest profile player.
“I always go back and look through training loads to make sure we didn’t expose him. One thing that we’re big on is [training] individualisation, and making sure what Joseph needs is very different to what the next player needs and the next player, so that we avoid injury.”
Triston Reilly on the charge for NSW.Credit: Getty Images
McKellar gave the Waratahs the weekend off after being thrashed 59-19 – “two long days to be honest” – and said the team had responded well since returning to training.
McKellar has made eight changes to the starting side to meet the Reds at Suncorp Stadium, with Reilly shifting from the wing to replace Suaalii and impressive rookie Sid Harvey given his starting debut in the No.11. Debreczeni replaces Lawson Creighton at five-eighth and Jimmy Hendren returns at No.15 in place of Kellaway, who only came in for his first game last week. Now seemingly out of favour and off contract later this year, Kellaway’s future looks clouded.
Flanker Clem Halaholo and lock Angus Blyth were both promoted to the starting forward pack.
McKellar said Reilly had trained at No.13 over summer and played the spot for the Junior Wallabies. The 27-year-old, who made his debut for NSW in 2020, also spent two years at Wests Tigers and played four NRL games at centre in 2023, including a game against Suaalii and the Roosters.
“He’s a very, very good defender for us and understands how we want to defend. We have full confidence in Tristan,” McKellar said. “He’s not a player that I’ll be worried about on Saturday night.”
The bench performance of Harvey impressed McKellar so much he gave the Aussie sevens player a start over Kellaway and Test winger Harry Potter, who returns from injury on the bench.
“He’s just got this air of class about him, Sid, both as a footballer and as a human being. He’s got time, very composed, doesn’t get rattled,” he said.
McKellar defended the Waratahs’ defence – and defence coach Locky McCaffrey – by saying the 59 points conceded against the Canes was mostly a result of having to defend too much, after turning the ball over repeatedly and aimlessly kicking away possession.
“Last week we turned over the ball 21 times and we kicked the ball eight times, which put us under immediate pressure,” he said. “When you’re doing that, when you’re inaccurate and inefficient, it puts your defence under stress. We won’t be throwing the baby out of the bathwater, that’s for sure.”
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