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Wallaby Jordan Petaia on brink of NFL code switch

Jordan Petaia and (inset) Louis Rees-Zammit (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Jordan Petaia, once touted as one of the best talents in Australian rugby, is at the centre of a tug-of-war between the NFL and Western Force, who are keen to stop him from switching codes when his Queensland Reds deal runs out.

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Petaia, 24, is coming off contract with the Reds and is understood to have been approached by the NFL after catching the eye of scouts who have been looking at potential recruits for their International Player Pathway programme.

If he does opt to move to the United States, Petaia, who earlier this year was touted for an NRL move to St George Illawarra, would become the second international star after Louis Rees-Zammit to join their programme.

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‘This Energy Never Stops’ – One year to go until the Women’s Rugby World Cup

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    ‘This Energy Never Stops’ – One year to go until the Women’s Rugby World Cup

    With exactly one year to go until Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 kicks off
    in Sunderland, excitement is sweeping across the host nation in anticipation of what
    will be the biggest and most accessible celebration of women’s rugby ever.

    Register now for the ticket presale

    Petaia, who was a member of Eddie Jones’ Wallabies World Cup squad last year, won his first cap in the previous tournament in Japan in 2019. A year after being first called up, he scored a try in the win over Uruguay.

    Also catching the attention of clubs in Japan, he has been denied the chance to add to his 31 caps this summer because of a shoulder injury he suffered against Highlanders in the Super Rugby Pacific in April.

    A versatile performer at outside centre, on either wing or full-back, he has emerged as a late target for Western Force boss Simon Cron, who is keen to add more quality to his squad for next season as he weighs up his future.

    A move to Perth could also open the door for a potential switch to the Western Bears. The Bears will join the NRL in 2027 and are already believed to be drawing a list of players that they can target for a move.

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    It is not the first time that Petaia has been linked with moves away from Queensland. He was a target for Top 14 and Premiership clubs before opting to sign a new two-year deal with Rugby Australia.

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    Comments

    3 Comments
    F
    FQ 218 days ago

    god awful, keep promoting NFL and all our talents will go there soon enough. u disgraceful sell outs

    O
    OJohn 223 days ago

    A freak athlete who has suffered under the kiwi coaching of Thorn and Rennie in Australia.

    It would have been great to see him flourish under Les Kiss at the Reds but why, like a lot of Australia's top players, would he bother to hang around to be coached by some Hobbit who lives in Taupo ?

    B
    Bull Shark 223 days ago

    lol. You’re hilarious.

    B
    Bull Shark 223 days ago

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    J
    JW 47 minutes ago
    'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

    Well a) poor French results doesn’t seem to effect the situation much. In fact one of the reasons given for this selection policy is that the French don’t tune in for foreign rugby content on the other side of the world, at a time when theyre not having their vino. So who would know the results? And b) this is the crux of the matter, they are legally abided to play them as part of WRs tier 1 reciprocal tours programme. The only real choice for the SH team is to treat it the same, which is fine when teams are happy to do that, but the AB’s have a totally anthesis policy/mentality so would never use the games in the same way.


    So alligned with b) the only real option is to complain to those in control. I suspect that’s why weve seen France reneging on the practice, and you can only be left to think that if they hadn’t reneged, WR would have done something more drastic about it. Which of course would mean not just telling them to bugger off when they want to tour, it’s no one playing them (from t1 at least) at all (assuming they have no interest in scheduling match’s outside the windows, like Ireland and NZ are doing).


    Then of course that means no involvement of France in the Nations Championship. Which means they are automatically the last ranked team in 6N to qualify, so the actual worst team in 6N gets to compete in it, making a mockery of the promotion and relegation WR wanted to happen between T1 and T2 for qualifying purposes. Yup, b) is just something nobody wants to happen. Well done FFR and LNR for making the tour work instead (how well is yet to be seen).

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