‘Wouldn’t be surprised’: Roosters coach drops major Marky Mark hint

Daly Cherry-Evans has finished his glittering NRL career the same way he started it in his rookie season, kicking a field-goal and helping lead the Roosters back from a two-try deficit against the Knights in a thrilling grand final on Sunday night.

But it was rugby union-bound sensation Mark Nawaqanitawase who completely stole the show in his final game before switching codes again, scoring a try on either side of half-time to give the Tricolours a dramatic 19-18 victory.

Nawaqanitawase will return to the 15-man code now, but gave Roosters fans moments to savour on the grandest stage and it came as no surprise when he received one of the loudest reactions at the post-game presentation.

Speaking to media after the match, Roosters coach Trent Robinson heaped praise on the departing 26-year-old, who has left an indelible mark across his brief yet memorable two-year stint in rugby league, culminating in the perfect way.

“It’s extraordinary watching him play the game,” Robinson said.

“When he gets the ball, it’s like what is gonna happen here? When other people get the ball in the same situation, you sort of know what’s gonna happen, but when Mark gets it there’s like this energy of ‘OK, he can do something here’.

“Not only has he done it with the skill, he does it with carrying out of the back field, which was always gonna be. His arms were painted on when he came across [from union], he could not tackle, he just wasn’t sure where to be.

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“He cares so much with a smile on his face, it’s been a real pleasure to coach someone with such freedom and care at the same time.”

Asked whether fans could see Nawaqanitawase back in the sport in the future, Robinson hinted that there was a genuine possibility of a return.

“Mark’s a bit of an adventurer, so he’s always gonna travel and play in those different codes – but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him back one day,” he said.

“He’s made a big difference to us and we’ve also made a big difference to him.”

Phil Gould was left in awe of Nawaqanitawase in the decider and said the Roosters “don’t win without his brilliance” in a dramatic clash with the Knights, while fellow league icon Cameron Smith said he was going to miss watching him play.

“He’s a highlights machine,” the Storm legend said.

“Every time he’s around the football something happens. I tell you what, I’m gonna miss watching this bloke every week.

“That first try for the Roosters, which they badly needed, he just made it up on the spot, off the top of his head, and more times than not it ends up in a positive result for his team ... what a player he’s been for our code.”

There was a bizarre bit of drama inside five minutes when a Cherry-Evans’ kick hit the spider-cam, but somehow Kalyn Ponga still managed to catch it.

Billy Smith had a chance to open the scoring in the seventh minute, but was dragged down in a brilliant low try-saving tackle by Dom Young, which set the tone for much of Newcastle’s brave 80 minutes in the decider.

After a nervy start, a controversial high shot from Lindsay Collins gifted the Knights some attacking field position – even if Andrew Johns conceded his former team “got away with one” as replays showed minimal high contact.

Francis Manuleleua then sent the Accor Stadium crowd into raptures, steaming onto a Fletcher Sharpe short ball and racing away to score untouched.

Tempers erupted when Victor Radley copped Ponga’s shoulder to his head, as enforcers Naufahu Whyte and Jermaine McEwen came face-to-face in a fiery melee and took an eternity to be separated from one another.

Ponga escaped without a trip to the sin bin, but was placed on report for the hit.

Nawaqanitawase looked to have first points for the Chooks in the following set, leaping above Greg Marzhew in a clear mismatch, but his try was overturned by Bunker official Chris Butler, who ruled the Roosters winger dropped it

There was a clear plan from the Roosters to target their towering wingers and they perhaps went to the well one too many times, as Nawaqanitawase batted the ball backwards and it was scooped up by Ponga, who ran 95 metres to score.

“Big game players turn up on the big occasions,” Billy Slater said on Nine.

Not to be deterred, the Roosters targeted that same edge with another bomb and this time it paid off, as Robert Toia raced through and caught it, offloaded to the freakish Nawaqanitawase outside him, who soccered it through and dived over.

Marzhew remained under aerial assault early in the second half and came up with a costly error, before Young spilled his lollies on the other wing moments later, allowing the Roosters a chance to build some red-zone pressure.

Newcastle’s goal-line defence continued to show insane desperation as the likes of Sandon Smith and Fletcher Sharpe produced try-savers, but it eventually cracked when Smith dragged multiple defenders with him and planted it down.

The momentum was clearly swinging towards the Roosters midway through the second half and when Smith drew a penalty for a high tackle, Sam Walker was able to nail a goal from wide out and put his side in front for the first time.

Nawaqanitawase extended the lead with 20 minutes to go, polishing off a crazy play that saw a Cherry-Evans’ grubber kick hit the posts and rebound into the hands of James Tedesco, who threw the cut-out pass to the code-hopping star.

The enormity of the occasion started to burn the Knights when it mattered most, as back-to-back errors from Sharpe and Ponga became dagger blows for the travelling fans, who no doubt could feel their fairy tale fading away.

Cherry-Evans looked to have put the final nail in the coffin with nine minutes left, making up for his botched field-goal attempt against Penrith earlier in the finals series to give the Roosters more than a converted try buffer.

Last year’s wooden spooners refused to go away, setting up a grandstand finish when Greg Marzhew slammed it down with three minutes on the clock – but the Roosters stood up in the dying stages to claim their first title since 2019.