Wallaby-in-waiting Tane Edmed says the national playing group won’t hold any grudges with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii about the former NRL star’s mega deal to join Australian rugby.

Eighteen months after signing a $9 million deal to switch codes over five years, Suaalii finally hit the training paddock with his new teammates on Monday after finishing up with the Sydney Roosters late last month.

The deal threatened to add a complex layer of tension within the playing group, with around half of the 60-odd players called into Joe Schmidt’s two training hubs this week earning less than $200,000.

Indeed, veteran journalist Phil Rothfield even claimed earlier this month that the playing group could strike on the eve of next year’s $100m Lions series.

But Edmed, who will play alongside Suaalii at the Waratahs next year and is poised to be selected in Schmidt’s Wallabies squad for next month’s grand slam Spring Tour, said the former Australian Schoolboy’s character had ensured his new teammates would embrace him.

“Oh, man, I think he’s earned it, to be honest with you,” Edmed told reporters on Tuesday.

“No one’s going to hold any hard feelings against him for it. He’s earned that.

“If he came in here and he wasn’t a good bloke and he probably didn’t work that hard, we’d probably be like [shrugs shoulder], but, mate, he’s a great man, super mature.

“You can tell why he’s gotten to the level that he has because he’s not just a talent. You can see he wants to work hard.

“We’re all happy to have him. I think he’s going to be a massive asset to the Waratahs and then hopefully the Wallabies in the future.”

Although Suaalii’s high-profile code switch has garnered the majority of the headlines, Edmed’s return to the national landscape is perhaps just as significant.

With the fly-half position still far from resolved nine months out from the Lions series, Edmed has the chance to be the late mover for next year’s showpiece event.

After weeks of conversations with Schmidt, it’s believed Edmed is firming for a maiden call-up to the Wallabies squad where they will take on England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland – the four nations that will make up the Lions.

The 24-year-old lost out to close mate Ben Donaldson for a place on Dave Rennie’s Spring Tour squad in 2022.

Despite a couple of promising performances since then, Edmed lost some ground to his rivals over the past two years after an injury-plagued 2023 and a frustrating season in 2024 where the Waratahs struggled on and off the field.

But a refreshing campaign in the National Provincial Championship with North Harbour, where the fly-half was the competition’s highest point scorer during the regular season, has helped put him on the selection radar.

“It was really big for me,” Edmed said.

“The biggest thing was I just wanted to play more footy. I love playing footy, and it was a good opportunity to get over there and play some big minutes and obviously learn from different environments just like I’ve done here.

“That was probably the biggest thing. I just want to develop my game, expose myself to new perspectives, new coaching, new players, and then at the same time just really enjoy it. I think it was really good for that, but I’m happy to be back home.”

Edmed knows the free-flowing, high points scoring NPC is not remotely close to the tight, grinding and gruelling nature of international rugby, but the Waratahs playmaker says the competition helped build his confidence.

“I’ve always known I’ve had the ability. It’s always been there, but as I said, it’s pretty crazy what a new environment can do, a fresh start and a new perspective,” he said.

“I think it definitely helped me confidence-wise to see that I can do that. But at the same time, I’m also very aware that NPC is not Super, it’s not Test-level rugby, so, obviously, there’ll be challenges still ahead, but it definitely made me more confident in my own abilities.”

With Donaldson and Lynagh to join for Thursday’s two-day camp involving Reds and Force players in Brisbane, Edmed said he had enjoyed training alongside Schmidt’s preferred No.10 to date Noah Lolesio.

“Obviously, you don’t want to give too much away within your states, but everyone’s trying to get better here for the sake of Australian rugby, so we’re all happy to help,” he said.

“Noah’s been awesome showing me the attack plan and all that sort of stuff, and everyone’s here to get better, so it’s a really, really positive environment.”

After striking up a lethal combination with New Zealand gun Shaun Stevenson, Edmed said he was already licking his lips about combining with Wallabies regular Andrew Kellaway and Suaalii, whose long-term preferred position remains far from clear.

“That’s the bottom line. Super excited,” he said.

“It’s the first time I’ve kind of had a chance to train with Kels. And then to see Joey, he’s slipped in really nicely. I’m really excited about what he can do once he learns, I guess, the intricacies of rugby, which won’t be too foreign to him.

“But it makes me super, super excited about the Waratahs next year, along with the new coaching group. Obviously, there’s some awesome experience there. So I’m really keen to get into it with the Tahs boys.”

One of those coaches is Mike Catt – the former World Cup winner turned England and Ireland attack coach – and Edmed said the lines of communication were already up and running.

“I was talking to Dan [McKellar] a little bit and Mike Catt as well, kind of what they’re looking for from their five-eighth and trying to work on that while I was over there,” he said.

“And same with Joe, get those work-ons that were given to me and trying to work on those while I was over there. They were awesome for me while I was there as well.”