New Waratahs coach Dan McKellar says the club is still deciding what position Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is best suited to ahead of his Super Rugby debut.
Off the back of Suaalii's impressive performance for the Wallabies during last year's spring tour, in which he starred in the centres, the Waratahs are keeping their options open with the $6m rugby league convert.
Asked which number jersey Suaalii could be expected to don at club level, McKellar said the coaching staff were still weighing up their options.
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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at a training session at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra last year. Alex Ellinghausen
"I've given him time in a number of different positions, so nothing is locked in," he told 2GB's Wide World of Sports radio.
"He's certainly got value across [the field]. You can play him on the wing, you can play him at 13 like he did on tour, you can play him at fullback. So, it's wherever he is going to be best suited for the team and obviously where we can build the game around him where he is going to get plenty of touches of the ball.
"The last thing I want is Joseph being in a position, or a game, where the ball just isn't coming to him.
"He's a threat with ball in hand and as coaches, we need to be smart and tactical on how we ensure that occurs.
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"I'm giving him some time on the wing and some time at 13 and some time at fullback and we'll make a decision over the next couple of weeks."
While Suaalii was played across the backline in his first taste of Test rugby, McKellar is adamant he will not be influenced by Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt on where to play the 21-year-old.
Jake Gordon, Dan McKellar and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii of the Waratahs. NSW Waratahs
"Joe's not going to tell me [that] he wants him to play here, or there, or wherever," he told media at a press conference on Tuesday.
"He sees the benefit, as Joesph sees the benefit, in training in different positions and just continually improving his knowledge."
The Waratahs appear good on paper after a busy off-season but are rebuilding following a wooden spoon finish that led to former coach Darren Coleman's axing.
"I want us to be a team that's really clear on who we are, what we stand for and what's important," McKellar said.
"Any team that I coach, I'll always certainly drive the effort areas, the things that people in the grandstand don't see but we as a group, we value it.
"Ruthlessness — it's a bit of a buzzword I suppose — but I just want us to be a team that's clinical and when we're getting out of our half, we know our roles, we play our roles and we release pressure from ourselves and apply pressure to the opposition."
Suaalii trained at fullback in sweltering temperatures on Tuesday ahead of the Waratahs' trial match against the Brumbies on Saturday.
McKellar confirmed that Wallabies-contracted players could expect to get a run as the side aims to build combinations.
The Waratahs' Super Rugby campaign gets under way against the Highlanders on Friday, February 14.