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The Sydney Morning Herald reported Nawaqanitawase and rookie Robert Toia are set to fill the void left by the two high profile rugby converts, with Billy Smith injured to start the season.
Smith has been battling a hip injury, with Toia set to earn a long-awaited debut after two ACL ruptures in three seasons halted his promising professional career.
Roosters coach Robinson expects Smith and forward Egan Butcher (ACL) to be fit for either Round 2 or 3.
Nawaqanitawase has just one game on the wing for the Roosters since his switch from the Wallabies, but he scored a brilliant leaping try and has impressed in NSW Cup.
At 100kg, Nawaqanitawase is well equipped to deal with the physical demands of the centre position after spending summer getting up to speed with the wrestling and positioning and played there in the 26-8 trial loss to the Dragons.
The hardest part about switching to rugby league for Nawaqanitawase will be wrestling in defence, given his instincts in the 15-man code were to make a tackle and roll away immediately.
“I’ve had the whole pre-season to get a lot of reps at [centre], so I feel like I’ve come out of that with a lot of confidence in terms of the decision-making and the contact that the centre position will bring,” Nawaqanitawase said.
“Obviously there’s going to be a lot more attack coming my way. Pretty much every day we’re wrestling each other and the contact is pretty full-on.
“Some of the smaller guys – Nat Butcher, Connor Watson – you can tell they’ve been doing it for a while, with the strength they have. And when I get cooked, they know just how to take advantage of it.”
Robinson is also considering Nawaqanitawase as a fullback should James Tedesco get injured or be called up to representative duty.
“[Nawaqanitawase] could play wing tomorrow and he’d be fine, but I want to see what other positions he could adapt to,” Robinson said.
“We’ve played him at centre and fullback, and we’re trialling other positions he could play throughout the season as well. Wing is an easy choice. But he gives us an opportunity at left centre and also as a back-up to Ted [at fullback].”
Toia, 20 is set to replace Manu inside English flyer Dominic Young and played the most minutes in the Dragons trial in a bid to give him game time after two seasons hampered by knee injuries.
“Rob has trained really well, done a good job there so he’ll keep playing there,” Robinson said.
“You’ve always got to have two or three options and guys change sides, but Rob is doing a good job at the moment.
“I don’t think he’s missed a day this pre-season. He’s trained every single day. He’s an intelligent thinker in the game and while he doesn’t say too much, he’s very clear on his role and now he just needs time on the paddock. He’s a very good footballer and now it’s time to play.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl...348636ca7412d1
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