Roosters coach Trent Robinson hoped to have Mark Nawaqanitase by the end of the month

Mark Nawaqanitawase signed a contract to join Sydney Roosters in the NRL for the 2025 season

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Roosters coach Trent Robinson hopes to bring Mark Nawaqanitawase to the club at the end of this month.

The Wallabies star is expected to join the Australian Olympic squad after which he will be allowed to switch to another code early.

Nawaqanitawase signed a two-year contract last December to join the Roosters in 2025. However, after being left out of the Wallabies squad for this month’s Tests, an attempt has been made to expedite his move so he can spend some time playing rugby league this month. season.

Robinson confirmed after the game on Sunday that they were on track to sign Nawaqanitawase for the rest of the season before Monday’s deadline. However, he would only be available at the end of July, when the sevens program ends in Paris.

If the squad is finalised, Robinson insists his star player needs plenty of time to get used to the new sport, with him likely to start in the NSW Cup, where the Roosters currently sit second-last.

“We hope we can continue that, but it’s more that we have the opportunity to get him started,” he said.

“I don’t have an NRL focus for him. I have a move into rugby league and having him train and play reserve grade if possible would be ideal. And then it’s up to him how he adapts.

“The focus is certainly not on NRL. There is no prospect of NRL for the time being.

“We have a place available to do that but we want to get him on the ground first to increase his understanding (of rugby league).

“That gives him a really good picture for pre-season about ‘when I did this or that, I should have moved here’.

“That would really help us adapt to pre-season with him. That would be the goal.”