Eddie Jones' NRL hit list features Kiwis star

Eddie Jones has included a star Kiwi league forward on his hit list of players to boost a Wallabies rugby revival.

Controversial Melbourne Storm giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona is among Rugby Australia’s NRL targets, according to News Corp.

The top priority is the Roosters’ incredible outside back Joseph Suaali’i.

The 19-year-old has long been a rugby target and wowed everyone with his performances at fullback for Samoa in last year’s Rugby League World Cup.

Backs Will Penisini (Parramatta) and Tolu Koula (Manly) are the other players named on the hit list.

New Wallabies coach Jones told the Sydney Morning Herald: “We always want to develop players in rugby first. That’s the No 1 priority.

“No 2 is to get back players who were lost initially from rugby to rugby league. Thirdly, at the right time, is there an opportunity to secure some talent we don’t have in rugby from league?

“I’m sure the allure of playing in a home Rugby World Cup might be something to attract them back.”

The 26-year-old Asofa-Solomona played rugby in Upper Hutt as a kid and for Wellington College.

He is off-contract with the Storm at the end of this season and reportedly met with now-sacked Wallabies coach Dave Rennie in 2021.

Comments from cross-code Wallabies wing Suliasi Vunivalu last year further suggested Asofa-Solomona might be open to a switch.

“When I was at [the Storm] with Nelson we talked about spending a couple of years in rugby league and then (heading) back to union, and it happened for me,” Vunivalu said.

Asofa-Solomona — who is of Māori and Samoan heritage — was the most vocal of New Zealand loyalists when a handful of players chose a switch to Pacific league nations in recent years. He was part of a disappointing Kiwis campaign at last year’s World Cup.

The 2m, 115kg Asofa-Solomona is an impossible-to-miss figure in the NRL.

His aggression has drawn criticism and he was charged and fined multiple times by the NRL in the 2022 season.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission