![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c6acc0581c14a7477781e092516e1810bef13f2c.png\")
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March 20, 2026 \u2014 5:30am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Sua Fa\u2019alogo might be the most bashful man ever put in charge of a boombox.<\/p>\n Melbourne\u2019s budding NRL superstar still speaks Samoan at home as his first language. Having a recorder jammed under his nose or a camera in his face, and being asked to talk himself up by a stranger, is hardly his idea of a good time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n But everything else is.<\/p>\n Rugby league\u2019s newest must-watch talent is in charge of belting Melbourne\u2019s wheelie bin throughout every Storm victory song. He\u2019s louder than Melbourne\u2019s requisite stereo at each training session, emulating old club favourite Josh Addo-Carr\u2019s ability to be heard long before he\u2019s seen.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you need that type of character in a footy team,\u201d veteran Storm football manager Frank Ponissi says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re training and slogging away for 10 months a year, Sua is the upbeat, happy-go-lucky kid with a permanent smile just painted on his face. He brings our energy every day, and every team needs that\u201d.<\/p>\n Fa\u2019alogo is the game\u2019s newest 175-centimetre, fast-stepping, headgeared hype man, with a hat-trick in 12 minutes from his last start against the Dragons.<\/p>\n After an especially narcissistic NRL news cycle this week, Fa\u2019alogo\u2019s joyful, all-stepping, all-smiling approach to the game is what we all need. A mouthwatering, sold-out AAMI Park showdown with Brisbane\u2019s Reece Walsh is pass the popcorn stuff this Friday night. So too, Gorden Tallis\u2019s week-long bluster about how Adam Reynolds\u2019 ribs held up while sitting on a TV panel and Bronson Xerri\u2019s dummy-spit<\/a> at being switched from one side of the field to the other.<\/p>\n Because, Fa\u2019alogo says, \u201csometimes you\u2019ve just got to have fun playing footy. I try and remember that.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been a positive kind of person. And I like to bring the energy for my teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the energy man but I don\u2019t know how to really say that, I\u2019m just really happy to be playing footy, and I\u2019m really grateful for the opportunity to be with Melbourne.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Fa\u2019alogo strikes as a personality player \u2013 in the same way Latrell Mitchell\u2019s passion rears in physical contests, a probing Nathan Cleary kick betrays his methodical magic and Walsh\u2019s natural showmanship<\/a> shines brightest whenever a game is on the line.<\/p>\n Every hot-footed hop, goose step<\/a> and leap for the try line from Fa\u2019alogo is the rugby league embodiment of that permanent smile.<\/p>\n The \u201cenergy man\u201d has lit up the opening two weeks of 2026 and joyfully left a slew of Eels and Dragons defenders in his wake with ducking, weaving, bouncing and bursts of running rugby league.<\/p>\n Fa\u2019alogo and his teammates, coach Craig Bellamy and Storm officials are chuffed with his rapid progress on several fronts.<\/p>\n Not least because enthusiasm is infectious. And vital given Fa\u2019alogo is a genuine product of Victorian rugby league.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not the first. But after arriving in Melbourne from Samoa at age nine<\/a> and playing Australian Rules football until he was 13, Fa\u2019alogo is probably already Victoria\u2019s most influential NRL export.<\/p>\n Melbourne have significantly increased their investment in junior pathways, bringing under-age sides in-house and playing under the Storm banner rather than linking with feeder clubs in NSW and Queensland.<\/p>\n Victoria\u2019s best under 16s compete in the Sua Fa\u2019alogo Cup while Melbourne\u2019s under 17s, 19s and 21s aim to be predominantly filled by local players.<\/p>\n Last year they won the Jersey Flegg (under 21s) title against every NSW club and this year\u2019s SG Ball (under 19s) are undefeated atop the ladder.<\/p>\n \u201cNot to put too much pressure on Sua, but he\u2019s a huge part of our local juniors program and a great example of what we\u2019re trying to achieve with it,\u201d Ponissi says.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the type of player who can be that inspirational figure for Victorian kids discovering league. Especially because Sua\u2019s best attribute is probably his patience.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of young players want everything all at once. But Sua\u2019s waited and worked for his shot, and he deserves everything he gets.\u201d<\/p>\n As is Bellamy\u2019s way, he appreciates most the significant improvement in Fa\u2019alogo\u2019s fitness after \u201cI reckon I would have beat him in the [2025] pre-season.\u201d<\/p>\n Skipper Harry Grant values the 23-year-old\u2019s strides in organising Melbourne\u2019s defence<\/a> from fullback and toughness.<\/p>\n Look no further than the shot he shook off from Dragons winger Christian Tuipulotu on Saturday as he set up Will Warbrick\u2019s opening try.<\/p>\n But even with his thousand-watt smile and mile-a-minute footwork, patience might just be Fa\u2019alogo\u2019s greatest virtue.<\/p>\n In an age when emerging players will shift clubs without a second thought to play regular NRL, Fa\u2019alogo chose to wait behind Ryan Papenhuyzen<\/a> for three years to get his crack at fullback.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Melbourne chairman Matt Tripp had a handshake agreement with Fa\u2019alogo\u2019s management two years ago, the rising star could go to market if Papenhuyzen remained long-term at the Storm.<\/p>\n Instead of rivalry, firm friendship was fostered between the two No.1s.<\/p>\n \u201cPaps played a couple of games with Sua before he made his NRL debut, they lined up together at Sunshine Coast Falcons,\u201d Ponissi recalls.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Paps came back to us saying, \u2018You\u2019ve got to pick him in first grade. He can seriously play\u2019. Paps was one of his great supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article And when Papenhuyzen did eventually step away from rugby league after last year\u2019s grand final loss to Brisbane, a strong pre-season presented Fa\u2019alogo with the grand stage he deserves.<\/p>\n Especially because despite his obvious ability to thrive in the NRL\u2019s land of giants, Melbourne never really had to fear Fa\u2019alogo taking flight.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Paps was here I knew I had to wait and I knew I wasn\u2019t always going to get an opportunity to play,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that was OK. I just didn\u2019t want to go anywhere else. I wanted to give back to the Storm. They gave me my first opportunity, and I want to repay that. I wouldn\u2019t be the player I am now without them.<\/p>\n \u201cI get coached by Billy Slater every week and he\u2019s the guy I looked up to as a kid. I\u2019m still shocked I get to work with him.<\/p>\n \u201cStaying patient was important to me and the Storm culture is important to me. I love it, they\u2019ve done so much for me and my family. Everything about the club and the coaching staff, it just feels like a bigger family for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Sua](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/26baadfe6f1ec4f72538530a5a69993b4448f263.jpeg\")
Sua Fa\u2019alogo: keeping the fun in footy.NRL Imagery<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a welcome tonic to petty mudslinging by the Roosters and Rabbitohs<\/a> since the stirring scenes of Alex Johnston\u2019s try-scoring coronation at Allianz Stadium.<\/p>\n![\"Sua](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c7675a45dfeb7282cd86907962181aff7e9cf042.jpeg\")
Sua Fa\u2019alogo, the pride of Samoa.Melbourne Storm<\/p>\n![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/320b0570e8655c131a41231958a16ccf1b684cf57d069daec84bdbec743e9963.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773949213_774_c6acc0581c14a7477781e092516e1810bef13f2c.png\")
Dan Walsh<\/a> is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 20, 2026 \u2014 5:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-551194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}