When Mark Nawaqanitawase signed with the Sydney Roosters ahead of the 2025 season, it was framed at the time as a significant loss for Australian rugby union and an intriguing gamble for the Roosters. A proven union talent with electric footwork and aerial ability, but entirely unproven against the speed, structure, and physicality of the thirteen-man game. Two seasons later, as he prepares to play what will be his final match in rugby league, that gamble looks like one of the shrewdest pieces of recruitment either code has seen in years.

The numbers alone tell an extraordinary story. Across 45 NRL appearances, Nawaqanitawase has scored 43 tries, including nine doubles and four hat-tricks. In his first full season in 2025, he finished as the competition’s leading try-scorer with 24 tries in 23 games, a stunning return for a player who had never played a single game of professional rugby league before that year.

One of those tries, an audacious chip-and-chase against Canterbury that flirted with the touchline, went viral as the try of the decade. He backed it up with a four-try haul against Melbourne and a hat-trick against the Dolphins. Within twelve months of arriving from union, he had been named in the Rugby League Players Association’s Dream Team, made his State of Origin debut, and pulled on a Kangaroos jersey for Australia against England at Wembley.

What makes the adaptation so remarkable is not just the scoring output, but how quickly the raw athleticism translated into genuine rugby league instinct. Union wingers and NRL wingers are not interchangeable, the kicking games, the defensive line speeds, the structure around ball movement all differ significantly. Nawaqanitawase closed that gap almost instantly, crediting the physical demands of league itself for making him a better all-around athlete.

Now, that chapter is closing exactly as it began, suddenly, and on his own terms. Nawaqanitawase informed the Roosters over a year ago that he would not be extending his contract beyond the end of 2026, turning down further NRL riches to pursue a return to the Wallabies ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, to be hosted on home soil. He has signed with Japanese club Saitama Wild Knights as the bridge back into union, with a Wallabies recall the clear long-term target under incoming coach Les Kiss.

That means Sunday’s grand final will be Nawaqanitawase’s final game in rugby league, at least for now. He has been careful not to close the door on a future NRL return once the World Cup dream is realised or exhausted. For now, though, he has spoken about simply wanting to cherish every remaining moment with his teammates, conscious of how fleeting this chapter of his career has become.

Whatever happens on the biggest stage of the season, Nawaqanitawase leaves rugby league having done something remarkably rare, walking into a completely new sport in his mid-twenties and becoming, almost immediately, one of its most dangerous and dynamic players. The Roosters got two years of him. It might be the best two-year rental in the modern era of rugby league.