Nawaqanitawase is joining Japanese rugby union club Saitama Wild Knights in November on a two-year deal reportedly worth more than A$1 million per year after a tremendous three-year stint at the Sydney Roosters that saw him score 47 tries in 47 appearances.
His 46 tries scored across the 2025 and 2026 seasons was the most by any player in the competition, narrowly edging out South Sydney's Alex Johnston (45) and Penrith's Thomas Jenkins (43) to see him leave the league as one of its best active players.
The 26-year-old swapped from rugby league to rugby union as a 14-year-old and began his professional life in the 15-a-side competition with the NSW Waratahs, where he spent four years including a seven-try season in the 2022 Super Rugby.
He scored tries against Georgia and Fiji at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and has returned to union to pursue selection for the Wallabies at the 2027 World Cup on home soil with ambitions to spearhead the Wallabies to a quarter-finals appearance after they missed the final eight in 2023.
The length of his absence from union would make him eligible to represent both Fiji and Italy through his heritage, but has already declared himself a wannabe Wallaby despite Les Kiss' declaration that there are "no promises and no guarantees" of Nawaqanitawase's selection in the World Cup squad, telling both he and fellow defector Angus Crichton that they "have got to come in and do the work".
The Roosters have left the door open for the globetrotting Nawaqanitawase, who Robinson described on Sunday as "an adventurer", to return to the club after his two years in union.
“He’s always going to travel and play in those different codes,” Robinson said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him back one day. I feel like he’s made a big difference to us. And we’ve also made a big difference to him.”
Robinson said Nawaqanitawase's Grand Final performance will be remembered amongst the best, comparing it with Brett Morris' iconic Grand Final of 2019, telling reporters after the match that his time in the NRL was both unique and inspirational.
After the Knights got out to a 12-point lead within half an hour, Nawaqanitawase halved the deficit before half-time with an extraordinary act of composure and footwork to add to an already extensive highlights reel that spans the NRL, State of Origin and Rugby League World Cup.
"It's extraordinary watching him play the game," Robinson said.
“When he gets the ball, you sort of wonder what's going to happen next. What can he do here?
"When other people get the ball in the same situation, you sort of know what’s going to happen.
"When Mark gets it, there’s like this energy that ‘OK, he can do something here’, always. And he believes he can do something always.
"Mark has done things from the wing in touching the ball in so many different types and styles, I hope he has created another generation of those types of players."