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World Cup star Mark Nawaqanitawase has become the first incumbent Wallaby to defect to rugby league in two decades after signing with the Roosters on a two-year deal from 2025.
Nawaqanitawase informed Rugby Australia, NSW Rugby and his teammates on Wednesday night he had agreed to terms with the Bondi club and will switch in the NRL after his rugby contract ends in 2024.
The 22-year-old’s move to the Roosters will effectively be a swap with rugby-bound Joseph Suaalii, who was poached by Rugby Australia at the start of the year on a deal with an estimated $1.6m a year.
As revealed by this masthead last month, Nawaqanitawase first met Roosters coach Trent Robinson and club supremo Nick Politis four weeks ago, with the Tricolours looking to sign a big physical winger to cover the departures of Suaalii and Daniel Tupou.
In a rolling state of crisis with the departures of Eddie Jones and chairman Hamish McLennan, Rugby Australia attempted to convince Nawaqanitawase to stay with a new deal but even the lure of the British and Irish Lions in 2025 on home soil wasn’t enough to keep the dynamic 100kg, 192cm winger in rugby.
Nawaqantiwase’s agent Andrew Fairbairn confirmed the Roosters deal after an “emotional” decision, and that he wasn’t closing the door on a return to rugby ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Australia’s Mark Nawaqanitawase is on his way to the NRL.Credit: AP
“This has been an intense process for Mark and his family, which has taken some time to navigate,” Fairbairn said.
“At 23, Mark feels now is the best time to stay in Australia, but have a new experience in the Roosters program for 2025 and 2026. Trent Robinson has a long line of success with working with rugby union talent – which ultimately was the catalyst in Mark’s decision.
Mark Nawaqanitawase leaps high against Georgia in the Rugby World Cup.Credit: Getty
“Mark has been highly developed as a player and person by the NSW Waratahs and Rugby Australia since 2018. He has come through a pathway from St Pats College, Eastwood, Australian 20s and Australian sevens. He is where he is today with all the hard work and support of his various teammates and coaches, at amateur and professional level.
“A lot of good people, including the fans, have been involved in Mark’s journey, which has made this decision an emotional one. We hope the door will be open for Mark to return to the Wallabies fold in the future.”
Mat Rogers was the last player to sign with rugby league while a current Wallabies player, when he signed a deal to return to the NRL with the Titans in 2006. It was originally a deal for 2008 but Rogers was released from his contract in 2007.
The last Wallabies player without an NRL background to defect was lock Garrick Morgan in 1994, who signed with the South Queensland Crushers for 1995 after playing in the George Gregan tackle Test at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The loss of Nawaqanitawase is one last hammer blow for Australian rugby after a horror year that saw the Wallabies crash out of the Rugby World Cup in the pool stages for the first time, and Jones and McLennan depart in messy circumstances.
In a dire season, Nawaqanitawase was one of the Wallabies’ best, with power running and athletic aerial talent that saw him compared to Israel Folau when he first emerged on the scene in 2020.
Mark Nawaqanitawase scores a try for the Waratahs in 2022.Credit: Getty
Rugby Australia will be ruing its decision to not lock down Nawaqanitawase on a long-term deal earlier this year when they had the chance. In an interview with this masthead in May, Nawaqanitawase said he wanted a long-term deal with RA but the code was not willing to extend his deal beyond 2024.
“I would have liked more; I’d love to stay here as long as I can,” Nawaqanitawase said at the time. “With certain circumstances, we had to agree on something. The one-year [deal] was the best thing at the time.
Nawaqanitawase played the 13-man game as a junior for both the Concord Burwood Wolves and Leichhardt Wanderers until the age of 14.
His father Sevuloni was a rugby league player, who moved from Fiji to Sydney in 1991 to play for Balmain. As a Year 10 student, Nawaqanitawase also played rugby with future Wests Tigers five-eighth Adam Doueihi in the first XV for St Patrick’s College, Strathfield.
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