{"id":178518,"date":"2025-09-29T21:57:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T21:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/178518\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T21:57:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T21:57:08","slug":"matty-johns-and-cooper-cronk-says-mark-nawaqanitawase-has-to-be-picked-for-kangaroos-what-will-happen-if-he-isnt-code-switch-matty-and-cronk-rugby-league-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/178518\/","title":{"rendered":"Matty Johns and Cooper Cronk says Mark Nawaqanitawase has to be picked for Kangaroos, what will happen if he isn\u2019t, code switch, Matty and Cronk, rugby league news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Roosters star Mark Nawaqanitwase must be selected by Kevin Walters for this year\u2019s Ashes Tour despite his impending exit from the NRL according to a pair of rugby league greats.<\/p>\n<p>Nawaqanitwase has enjoyed a stellar 2025 campaign in his first full season of NRL, with the winger rocketing into serious contention to earn a spot in the Kangaroos\u2019 squad. <\/p>\n<p>Despite his early success in the sport after switching from rugby union last year, Nawaqanitwase has already confirmed he will head back to the 15-man code when his contract with the Roosters finishes at the conclusion of the 2026 season. <\/p>\n<p>Watch every game of the NRL Telstra Premiership Finals Series before the Grand Final, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kayosports.com.au\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>WHAT&#8217;S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n<p>The 25-year-old harbours a strong desire to represent the Wallabies in a home World Cup in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Fox League\u2019s Matty Johns and Cooper Cronk both believe Kangaroos selectors should consider selecting Nawaqanitawse even though he plans to leave the sport for a rival code, pointing to the positive impact the talented dual-sport star has had on the NRL.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s talk because they won\u2019t select him because he\u2019s going to union. Select him, he deserves to go,\u201d Johns said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a beacon for other union players and go, \u2018look what it\u2019s done for this guy\u2019s profile, he\u2019s been a success story, I might just give this sport a crack.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he wants to play for the Wallabies, go on, but he will come back because of the experience,\u201d Cronk added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t pick him now and those things then he\u2019ll go, \u2018well, you know what (and might reconsider coming back).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The high-flying Nawaqanitawase led the NRL in tries this season.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Nawaqanitawase\u2019s sensational rookie season was one for the ages.<\/p>\n<p>He led the league in tries (24) and was voted by his peers as the RLPA Rookie of the Year award.<\/p>\n<p>If it wasn\u2019t for a controversial mid-season rule change that ruled him ineligible for it, he\u2019d win Wednesday night\u2019s Dally M Rookie of the Year with the ears pricked.<\/p>\n<p>Nawaqanitawase is hoping he receives a call from Walters in the coming days and add his name to the short list of players who have represented Australia in league and union. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very lucky to have represented the Wallabies already,\u201d he said, \u201cAny time you can represent your country is so special. I was lucky enough to go to the Paris Olympics,\u201d he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.codesports.com.au\/nrl\/mark-nawaqanitawase-reveals-uncomfortable-chat-with-nick-politis-where-he-quit-rugby-league\/news-story\/e75d0d65a86ca61710a5910af9d2b23b\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Code Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo play for the Kangaroos would mean so much to myself and my family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI haven\u2019t heard anything but I\u2019m still training and if I do get a call up I\u2019ll be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nawaqanitawase also revealed he is keeping his options open regarding his future. He\u2019s certainly willing to consider a move back to the Roosters after the 2027 World Cup &#8211; potentially to replace James Tedesco at fullback &#8211; but doesn\u2019t want to think too far ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing is permanent. I\u2019m still in the process of looking at rugby opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m open to anything but again, I\u2019m just worried about next year doing the very best I can for the Roosters. That\u2019s so far away. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd another thing, you\u2019ve got no idea of the talent that\u2019s coming through at the Roosters the academy and upwards. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I do come back, they\u2019ll be hard to get past.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roosters star Mark Nawaqanitwase must be selected by Kevin Walters for this year\u2019s Ashes Tour despite his impending&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":178519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-178518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}