![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c6acc0581c14a7477781e092516e1810bef13f2c.png\")
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Updated June 21, 2026 \u2014 9:43pm,first published 8:22pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n If ever there was cause to bring back the fabled marquee player \u201cwar chest\u201d Dave Smith never actually used as NRL chief executive, Mark Nawaqanitawase is it.<\/p>\n The greatest entertainer in rugby league is rugby union-bound at season\u2019s end. Peter V\u2019landys should be moving the chess pieces already. (And who\u2019s to say he isn\u2019t?)<\/p>\n In the Roosters\u2019 27-8 rebound to winning form over Cronulla on Sunday night, Nawaqanitawase\u2019s every touch was must-watch and for opposite number Ronaldo Mulitalo, must-match, by any means or forearm necessary.<\/p>\n A year on from the pair\u2019s eye-catching Central Coast stoush, when Nawaqanitawase sledged and sprayed Mulitalo just weeks after first meeting<\/a> over a Magic Round beer, it was the Roosters flyer prevailing once more with a hat-trick at Allianz Stadium.<\/p>\n Mulitalo finished an enthralling man-on-man contest having words with Roosters trainer Patrick Lane too, before immediately embracing Nawaqanitawase with a cuddle and a smile after full-time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good footy battle, by my summation it\u2019s 2-1 Mark,\u201d Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said after full-time.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re in a contest, they\u2019re going after each other and sometimes Ronnie\u2019s an emotional guy, it spills over. It doesn\u2019t mean he doesn\u2019t respect his opponent. He\u2019s just trying to get to him\u2026 but what does he say after the game? \u2018Well done, you got me\u2019. Ronnie will eat that.\u201d<\/p>\n Before kick-off, Blayke Brailey\u2019s shock return from a broken arm \u2013 20 days after popping the bone back in himself \u2013 had set up a NSW Origin hooking battle with under-pressure incumbent No.9 Reece Robson.<\/p>\n By half-time, neither hooker had a run to their name. Blues fullback James Tedesco did wear brutal, legal contact that left his nose badly broken and apparently bleeding until the end of time.<\/p>\n News also came through from the sideline that rugby-bound teammate Angus Crichton is facing at least six weeks out with a foot injury. If surgery is required, a significantly longer lay-off may mean he has played his last game for the Roosters.<\/p>\n On every other front though, it was Nawaqanitawase and Mulitalo putting on the show.<\/p>\n Fresh from a two-try, somewhat defensively suspect Origin debut, Nawaqanitawase threatened to reprise his stunning MCG touchdown after 11 minutes, only for a toe on touchline and Braydon Trindall\u2019s desperate cover defence to deny him.<\/p>\n Instead, it was veteran prop Lindsay Collins with the spectacular opening try, a 40-metre bust in which he handled twice either side of offloads from Daly Cherry-Evans and Tedesco.<\/p>\n Nawaqanitawase struggled early with an ankle issue, but was fit enough to peg a ball at Will Kennedy and engage in some pushing, shoving and sweet nothings with Mulitalo soon after.<\/p>\n The Sharks winger then added a forearm to Nawaqanitawase\u2019s face to the mix, conceding a penalty for his troubles, which led to the Roosters\u2019 second try when Toia fell on the crumbs of yet another aerial battle on their wing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a part of Ronnie\u2019s game and I think we enjoy watching it when it\u2019s not your team,\u201d Roosters coach Trent Robinson said.<\/p>\n \u201cI really liked the way that Mark reacted to it as well. He stood his ground but also played footy on the back of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nawaqanitawase \u2018footy\u2019 Robinson so enjoyed came next when the cross-code international roamed in-field, his fashionably late offload putting first Connor Watson, then Sam Walker and eventually Billy Smith en route to the try line.<\/p>\n Fittingly, it was Mulitalo sliding over in response a centimetre inside the touchline before half-time, albeit with heavy contact that landed Tedesco on report for his own slide into the Sharks flyer.<\/p>\n Related Article Cronulla trimmed a 14-4 deficit further immediately after half-time, the returning Nicho Hynes piloting a perfect cut-out ball across three defenders for Sione Katoa to stroll over.<\/p>\n As the second half ebbed on, Nawaqanitawase flew high again. With 19 minutes to play, Mulitalo was pinged for bumping him into error.<\/p>\n When Cherry-Evans kicked their way once more, Nawaqanitawase snaffled the match-winner right over the top of his Sharks opposite, before adding another in the final minute as he stepped back inside a scrambling KL Iro.<\/p>\n Nawaqanitawase\u2019s NRL record of 38 tries from 34 outings is now, according to Fox Sports, the best try-scoring strike-rate of any player since 1980.<\/p>\n Mulitalo can attest, despite gallantly keeping up with him, and once the match was won, wearing a few final insults for the road.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ac83e4353210bca68cbac38d61b64b50f0ad70ac.jpeg\")
Mark Nawaqanitawase went round-for-round with Ronaldo Mulitalo at Allianz Stadium.NRL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01f47264c80fc6949b0abba86f76e1c72a3dd9c8.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773949213_774_c6acc0581c14a7477781e092516e1810bef13f2c.png\")
Dan Walsh<\/a> is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated June 21, 2026 \u2014 9:43pm,first published 8:22pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":750838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-750837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750837","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=750837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}