“Mark’s a bit of an adventurer,” the Roosters coach, Trent Robinson, volunteered about his departing winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, perhaps the most-liked player in the NRL, after his final appearance.
The 26-year-old has completed rugby league in a little more than two years, having secured a premiership in Sunday’s grand final, to go along with State of Origin and Kangaroos accolades. He finished with an extraordinary 47 tries in 47 NRL matches, including seven in his last four.
An adventurer. It’s a description that should not come as a surprise given Nawaqanitawase’s unorthodox approach to the wing position. Though, yes, the coach was referring to the decision by the code-hopper to sign a two-year contract with Japanese rugby union club Saitama.
“He’s always going to travel and play in those different codes,” Robinson continued. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him back one day. I feel like he’s made a big difference to us. And we’ve also made a big difference to him.”
It has been barely two years since the former – and likely future – Wallaby showed up at Moore Park. Back then, his “arms were painted on” and he “could not tackle”, Robinson joked. The coach was comfortable ribbing his player in public largely because Nawaqanitawase’s brilliance is now without question.
The grand final was more proof. Two tries. Almost two more. At least half a dozen moments that would be the highlight of many other wingers’ seasons. While other Roosters were booed by the stadium filled largely with Newcastle supporters, the cheers for Nawaqanitawase emphasised the impact this extraordinary athlete has made in his two full seasons in the NRL.
“When he gets the ball, you sort of go: ‘OK, um, what’s going to happen here? What can he do?’,” Robinson said. “When other people get the ball in the same situation, you sort of know what’s going to happen. When Mark gets it, there’s like this energy that ‘OK, he can do something here’, always. And he believes he can do something always.”
In the first half he leaped so high for a ball, when he came down his knee hit the face of Greg Marzhew, rotating Nawaqanitawase towards the touchline. The angle of his re-entry was exacerbated by the impact of Kalyn Ponga, forcing the winger’s reaching arm to drop the ball for his first near-miss.
Not long after, Nawaqanitawase’s aerial dominance was obvious again, when the winger easily batted back another kick towards his teammates. What followed was the highlight of the match, and the Roosters winger was central, even though it was Ponga who had picked up Nawaqanitawase’s deflection to run the length of the field for a Newcastle try.
These were warning signs for Nawaqanitawase’s ensuing explosion. A ball from Rob Toia bounced towards him, and he kicked it forward three times, the kind of touch that would be ridiculed in the round ball game unless it led to a goal. Sure enough, the winger regathered for the crucial first Roosters try after a bewildering first half they had dominated without – until then – reward. It was a frankly ridiculous four-pointer, that looked borderline accidental. But that’s Nawaqanitawase, on a crusade to upend expectation.
His presence in a Roosters team not widely liked helped ease the sadness as the Tricolours edged out the underdog Knights. Newcastle’s forwards were slowly undone by the assault, and their famous strike-from-anywhere attack led by Ponga had been quelled by the sliding Roosters centres Billy Smith and Toia, keeping the Knights to just two linebreaks.
Another Nawaqanitawase try followed in the second half, and the winger came close on two more occasions. Even when he was not within reach of the line, the late offloads and audacious kicks, a tiptoe down the sideline, even the tough carries for which he has increasingly become known, were each a decoration to his own farewell party.
The NRL world is partly in mourning about his departure, while the remainder are in disbelief union might have got one over them. His contract with Saitama, with a reported annual salary of $1.4m, was eye-watering when it was first revealed in January. After his exploits in recent months, it’s starting to look like a steal.
Of course, Robinson wants Nawaqanitawase to return to the Roosters after his two years in Japan, which neatly bookend next year’s home Rugby World Cup. Even if he does not come back to the NRL, however, the past two years will not soon be forgotten. They are a testament to the freakish brilliance of a player of his own protoype.
“I’m just trying to think of a winger that’s had as bigger impact,” Robinson said. “What Mark’s done from the wing, wingers touching the ball in so many different types and styles and that. I hope he’s created another generation of those types of players.”
