Angus Bell has rubbished suggestions that Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s immediate Wallabies call-up has “cheapened the jersey”, labelling criticism levelled at the NRL convert as nothing but “fluff”.

More than a week after Joe Schmidt named a 34-man squad for the Wallabies’ grand slam tour, Bell and his teammates, including Suaalii, departed Sydney on Thursday evening to London aboard their Qatar Airways flight.

One night earlier, the Wallabies attended the Rugby Australia Awards as they watched Rob Valetini take home his second John Eales Medal.

Suaalii’s presence wasn’t missed, as the 21-year-old coolly mingled with sponsors and rugby officials inside the Ballroom at Royal Randwick Racecourse with all wanting a slice of rugby’s new $1.6 million-man as most of his teammates stuck to themselves at the tables.

Barely a day hasn’t gone by with Suaalii’s name in the media, with his celebrated arrival drawing as many headlines as when he first signed his mega million-dollar deal with Rugby Australia.

That theme continued when a News Corp journalist lashed Schmidt’s decision to call up Suaalii from the outset, saying it “cheapened the jersey” and was the latest in a long list of poor decisions by Rugby Australia since Eales famously lifted the Wallabies’ second and most recent Webb Ellis Cup in 1999.

Speaking to reporters, Bell, who played alongside Suaalii at schoolboy level and was tasked with making the NRL convert feel comfortable by rooming with him over the past week in Sydney, blasted the comments.

“No, not at all,” said Bell when asked about the “cheapening the jersey” comments. “I think all that stuff is just fluff of people trying to make headlines.

“Look, we don’t listen to that stuff and the proof’s in the pudding, as soon as he steps on the field you’ll see how ‘cheap’ the jersey is.

“He’s an insane athlete, you look at the way he moves, the way he touches footies, the way he can kick; he’s got every attribute to be a world-class rugby player, not just in Australia, but probably one of the better ones in the world, and he’s only 21.

“He’s super impressive and a super humble guy, and I’m just looking forward to him [proving] people wrong. He’s very driven and he wants success, which is something we’re trying to find. Joey is going to be a star, we all know that, but he’s transitioning so well and training really well, too.”

Given the hefty $1.6m per-year deal Suaalii is on – the next highest paid player in Australia is Taniela Tupou on around $1.2m – there had been suggestions that the league convert’s arrival would cause a stir inside the Wallabies camp.

Another News Corp columnist said a player strike ahead of next year’s British and Irish Lions series could occur.

But Bell, who is rated as one of the Wallabies’ best young talents and a clear first-choice prop, said the team had welcomed Suaalii’s arrival.

“Everyone’s so accepting, any bloke who comes into the team and has the right mindset and the right attitude is welcomed,” Bell said.

“And Joey’s probably the best version of that; great attitude, he wants to train hard and work hard for the people around him, and we’re just excited to have him in and around the squad.

“He’s fit in straight away already so far, he’s done everything right and I’m sure he’ll keep doing that.”

Although Hunter Paisami is expected to miss at least the first Test, Suaalii isn’t expected to be rushed straight into Schmidt’s side to take on England at Twickenham on November 10 AEDT.

Instead, Schmidt is expected to pick a similar side to the one that lost to the All Blacks in Wellington in late September.

Bell, who was yellow carded against England for a tip-tackle on his first visit to the famous venue, said the Wallabies were eager to start their grand slam tour on a high.

“It’s extremely exciting, obviously we haven’t had one for a while, and it’s a great test before next year with the Lions tour,” he said.

“So we’re really excited to test ourselves against the best teams in the world, we’re looking to come away with four wins.

“We’ve got a few fellas back from different things, so we’re excited for that and look we’re just going to go over there and put our best foot forward, and keep building as a team.”

As well as Samu Kerevi, the Wallabies will welcome back Will Skelton to the fold.

The French-based lock hasn’t played for the Wallabies since breaking down as captain during last year’s horror World Cup campaign.

The lock’s injury came just 24 hours after Taniela Tupou also broke down at training, leaving their World Cup campaign in disarray after their first-up win. The Wallabies never recovered.

But Bell, who said he felt just as prepared heading into the World Cup as this year’s end of year tour, said the prospect of having a fully fit Tupou and Skelton could prove to be a game-changer for the Wallabies who head to the United Kingdom with a 4-5 win-loss record under Schmidt.

“It did have a massive effect, but those guys are fixed and have worked really hard in the gym to rehab those injuries and I’m just looking forward to having them all on the field at once. It will be awesome,” Bell said.

“Will’s a very good player, obviously his set-piece is world class and that’s his point-of-difference – you can see that when he plays over in France, too.

“It’s an exciting time to potentially have him and Nela [Tupou] together, which is almost over 300kgs on the right side of your scrum, [that’s] a nice thing to have and tap into.

“As a bloke who’s on the left, it’s obviously exciting because the scrum is helped immensely by those inclusions. But whoever’s in that position will be looking to do a job, whoever Joe decides to pick will do that job for us.”