{"id":424376,"date":"2026-01-20T00:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T00:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/424376\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T00:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T00:59:09","slug":"mark-nawaqanitawases-next-move-revealed-with-huge-rugby-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/424376\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Nawaqanitawase\u2019s next move revealed with huge rugby contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dual-code international Mark Nawaqanitawase has secured a lucrative two-year deal worth more than $2 million with a Division One Japanese rugby club, turning down strong interest from France in the process according to reports at The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old will see out the remainder of the NRL season with the Sydney Roosters<\/a> before departing for Japan ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home soil.<\/p>\n

The Roosters have left the door open to a potential return once Nawaqanitawase\u2019s Japanese contract expires, keeping alive hopes of a future comeback to the NRL.<\/p>\n

Nawaqanitawase\u2019s market value has surged following a breakout first season in rugby league, where his athleticism, finishing ability and aerial dominance translated seamlessly to the 13-man code.<\/p>\n

MORE: RLPA and Clint Newton slam handling of Zac Lomax contract stand-off<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite his rapid rise in the NRL, the former NSW Waratahs winger had long planned a stint overseas, having previously spent four seasons in Super Rugby.<\/p>\n

His profile climbed even further after finishing last season as the NRL\u2019s leading try-scorer, cementing his status as one of the competition\u2019s most damaging outside backs.<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

Japan has become an increasingly attractive destination for elite talent, with global stars lured by lucrative contracts and flexible international pathways.<\/p>\n

Nawaqanitawase informed the Roosters in September of his intention to depart at the end of 2026 as part of a broader plan centred on World Cup ambitions.<\/p>\n

For the NRL, losing a player of Nawaqanitawase\u2019s calibre after just one full season is a blow, though there is strong optimism he will return once the World Cup cycle passes.<\/p>\n

While the Roosters have aggressively targeted cross-code talent in recent years, they have also been among the clubs most impacted by rugby union poaching.<\/p>\n

In successive seasons, Joseph Manu, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and now Nawaqanitawase have all departed Bondi to switch codes, leaving a significant void in the club\u2019s backline.<\/p>\n

Bringing any of those stars back to the tri-colours would represent a major coup, and it remains a long-term focus for the Roosters as they look to reclaim lost strike power in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dual-code international Mark Nawaqanitawase has secured a lucrative two-year deal worth more than $2 million with a Division…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-424376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424376","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=424376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}