Roosters coach Trent Robinson believes Mark Nawaqanitawase can become a dominant player in the NRL if he removes the unforced errors from his game.
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The Roosters suffered a heartbreaking 26-24 loss to the Raiders on Sunday night with the athletic winger scoring a stunning individual try when he sailed past opposite Savelio Tamale to grab the ball above his head and dive over.
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Speaking after the game, Robinson said the former Wallaby was on a fast learning curve in his new code but flashes of brilliance were mirrored by errors in Judgement.
“At the moment, he’s got a choice,” Robinson said.
“He’s such a good player. You know, (he’s) 12 games in, he’s making a fair impact on the game.
“He’s (made) two yardage errors there, his choice, you know, they were both sort of unforced.
“So, I feel like he can have a huge impact on the game just by cleaning up a bit of that backfield and then he’ll become a dominant player in this competition.”
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Robinson said Nawaqanitawase was disappointed after making several poor decisions in attack against the Raiders, but his aptitude for learning and attitude made his trajectory clear.
“He’s a quick learner and he’s hurting in there because of it,” Robinson said.
“I think he’ll get that very quickly, because his technique is very good.
“There’s just a couple of slight tweaks there that he needs to do to fix that up.
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“Then I hope they keep kicking to him because he is such a good catcher, but they’re unforced errors at the moment, and when he stops that, then he’ll be one of the better wingers in the competition.”
Nawaqanitawase, 24, played 11 Tests for the Wallabies and represented Australia in Rugby 7’s at the Paris Olympics before switching codes and joining the Roosters for the second half of last season.
He made one appearance last year and has played ten games so far this season at a mixture of wing and centre, crossing for ten tries in total.
