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Report: Rugby Australia targetting Origin star with fresh NRL raid to boost Wallabies

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Rugby Australia is reportedly looking to sign multiple NRL players including an Origin star in a bid to boost the Wallabies ahead of the 2025 Lions tour and the 2027 home Rugby World Cup according to a report by Fox Sports.

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The Wallabies have successfully recruited league targets in the past, more recently developing wing Tom Wright while former Storm winger Suliasi Vunivalu made his Wallabies debut in the third test against England over the weekend.

On the ‘hit list’ for Rugby Australia is NSW Blues five-eighth Matt Burton, who was involved in a stoush with Queensland Maroons centre Dane Gagai in the final Origin decider, who is a former schoolboy rugby player who can play multiple positions.

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All Blacks players react to third test against Ireland

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All Blacks players react to third test against Ireland

His spiral bomb in the third Origin captivated audiences globally as one of the highest kicks ever made in either rugby code, highlighting the potential of his kicking game should he move to union.

Burton’s current NRL deal with the Canterbury Bulldogs expires at the end of this year and he is reportedly unwilling to re-sign with the club on a one-year deal but he is expected to come with a hefty price tag of $1 million plus a year for a code switch.

“Burton is on the hit list created by Rugby Australia’s high performance committee for Andy Marinos,” McLennan told Fox Sports Australia.

The other candidate floated as a target is former Australian schoolboy Joseph Suaalii, who was involved in a bidding war between NRL clubs and Rugby Australia as a teenager attending King’s College in Sydney.

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Suaalii has a background in Union have played at high school and he represented the Australian schoolboys rugby union side in 2019 as a 16-year-old but opted to sign with the Roosters in 2020.

Rugby Australia established a ‘Fighting Fund’ in 2018 to help retain some of the brightest young talents coming up through the game in order to try and compete against NRL clubs but missed out on Suaalii the first time around.

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Nickers 19 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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