Sualauvi Faalogo, Melbourne Storm, contract, 2024, 2025, club option, Frank Ponissi, will he play, Craig Bellamy, Ryan Papenhuyzen injury،
The Storm are set to double the contract value of rookie fullback Sualauvi Faalogo after his torrid Test debut on Saturday night.
Samoan star Faalogo was close to the best player on the field, despite Australia racing to comfortable 38-12 victories in the first match of the Pacific Championships.
The 20-year-old has only played one NRL game – when he scored a brace against the Broncos on Round 27 – but he didn’t look out of place at all against the champions. world.
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Faalogo is currently under a development contract and made $60,000 this year, but that amount is expected to at least double in 2024.
Storm general manager Frank Ponissi said foxsports.com.au the wheels are in motion to move Faalogo into the top 30, meaning he will earn at least the NRL minimum salary of $120,000 next season.
Ponissi also confirmed that Faalogo was locked in thanks to a 2025 option in favor of the club.
“We expect him to be in our top 30 (next year). He’s a star, but an even better young man,” Ponissi said.
If this had been a mutual option, Faalogo would have hit the open market on November 1st and likely sparked an all-out bidding war.
Similar to when a football player announces themselves to the world with an incredible performance at a major tournament, Faalogo has prompted the NRL to stand up and take notice.
It means Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy finds himself in a real tough spot after the young gun exploded onto the world stage.
NRL champion Corey Parker has addressed the elephant heading towards the Storm dressing room in 2024.
He asked how Bellamy finds a place for Faalogo next season at a club already stacked with talent at the back.
Ryan Papenhuyzen, Xavier Coates, Will Warbrick, Nick Meaney, Reimis Smith, Dean Ieremia and Kane Bradley are already signed up.
Faalogo made his NRL debut off the bench in the final round of the season and scored just moments after entering the field in the 34th minute.
The speedster scored again in the second half to secure the victory and coming off the bench he finished with 109 meters from 10 carries, seven tackles and two line breaks.
Papenhuyzen started that night before a horrific ankle injury ended his season, but the Melbourne fullback – who is signed until 2025 – is expected to recover in time for the year’s opener next.
“Let’s put it into perspective, he played an NRL game against a depleted Broncos team at Suncorp Stadium, he came off the bench and absolutely changed the game and lit up the stadium,” Parker said.
“He has now stepped onto the big stage against the biggest players Australia can choose from and he has absolutely held his own.
“This guy here has certainly announced himself, the question is where is he playing for Melbourne? He’s an incredible talent and we’ve seen what he can do, but he’s behind so many good players.
Faalogo makes an impact on the big stage | 01:35
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Against the Kangaroos, Faalogo started at fullback and finished with 163 meters on 14 carries which produced 11 tackles and offloads and one line break.
“He’s obviously a kid who’s just a natural footy player, with high instincts and speed, so yeah, he caused a bit of chaos for us,” Australia captain James Tedesco said.
“He was just playing with a lot of confidence… every time he had his hands on the ball he looked very dangerous, it was great to see.”
Football IQ, flair and confidence are the few intangibles that can’t be measured and coaches love the select few players who are lucky enough to have them.
Samoa coach and Panthers assistant Ben Gardiner said he was not surprised by Faalogo’s dream Test debut.
“He just supports himself,” Gardiner said.
We’ve been talking about supporting you all week, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve played a test match, an NRL match or 200 NRL matches, everyone here is equal, and when you go about your business, do do your best, and you are representing your country, so do your best.
“That’s him, that’s his style – I didn’t really expect much else from him tonight to be honest.”
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