Mark Nawaqanitawase certainly lit up the NRL in 2026.
The Olympian and former Wallabies winger enjoyed a stellar season, winning a State of Origin series with NSW, followed by the NRL Premiership with Sydney Roosters. And that came off the back of a 3-0 Ashes Tour sweep of England.
Rugby league? Completed it, mate.
Back in January, meanwhile, Nawaqanitawase confirmed he would return to rugby after signing a two-year deal to play in Japanese League One. The contract is rumoured to be worth $1.6 million a season, which is almost double what he could have currently earned in the NRL -- or at least what any club would have been willing to pay a winger.
At that time, it was thought the lure of playing at a home Rugby World Cup with the Wallabies had also contributed to his decision to return to the 15-player game. But then came the curve ball, with Nawaqanitawase revealing he was weighing up playing for both Italy and Fiji at next year's global showpiece.
Yep, there's a bit doing.
Stay with us as we attempt to answer some of the key questions surrounding Nawaqanitawase's short- and longer-term future.
Where is Mark Nawaqanitawase playing in 2027?
As mentioned above, Nawaqanitawase is switching back to rugby and will play in Japan's top division with Panasonic Wild Knights, where former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans remains a key figure. The regular season begins on Dec. 12 and runs through to early May across 18 rounds.
His teammates at the club will include Springboks stars Damian de Allende and Lood de Jager, and Australia-born Japan internationals Jack Cornelsen and Dylan Riley.
Why isn't Mark Nawaqanitawase on tour with the Wallabies in the UK?
Nawaqanitawase had made it clear earlier in the year that he intended on taking a break and preparing for his move to Japan instead of joining the Wallabies on their end-of-season tour. Despite more than a tad of gentle encouragement, the 26-year-old has stuck true to that very plan.
The dual international said he wanted to prepare for life in Japan, where he will be living out of home for the first time, and turn up in good shape for preseason, which is understandable given the sizeable investment the club has made in the winger.
Isn't Mark Nawaqanitawase also under contract with Rugby Australia?
No, Nawaqanitawase currently has no link with the game's governing body back in Australia and thus, it could not force him to join his former teammates on tour. World Rugby, the game's global stewards, do have a rule known as "Regulation 9", which says that clubs must release players for international duty within designated Test windows, like the one that will run through the next four weekends.
But it isn't exactly black and white and, ultimately, the final decision comes down to the player themself. There is often pressure on players from their clubs, behind the scenes, not to make themselves available for Test selection.
Is Mark Nawaqanitawase still in Wallabies contention then?
Yes. Wallabies coach Les Kiss spoke to the winger in October to relay that very fact, but the Queenslander also made it clear that Nawaqanitawase had some things to "relearn" following his two-year stint in rugby league, and that Australia had some very good back-three options already.
With the likes of Max Jorgensen, Tom Wright and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii considered automatic World Cup selections, Nawaqanitawase will likely be competing with Harry Potter, Dylan Pietsch, Filipo Daugunu, Treyvon Pritchard and Zac Lomax for three, maybe four positions.
Who will Mark Nawaqanitawase play for at the Rugby World Cup?
Up until last month, everyone just assumed it would be for Australia. He has, after all, already been to a World Cup with the Wallabies in 2023. Nawaqanitawase was one of the few stars for Australia during that failed campaign, one we all thought had left him hungry for another crack at the Webb Ellis Cup with the Wallabies.
But then came the curve ball. Last month, in an interview with Code Sports, Nawaqanitawase's manager Milan Volavola-Shankar revealed that the code-hopper was yet to make a decision about his international allegiance, creating a flurry of chat about the motives behind such a comment and just why the winger might overlook the Wallabies.
It quickly became the talk of the town, with everyone from Kiss, to Wallabies captain Harry Wilson, and all-time great Matt Giteau weighing in, before, finally, Nawaqanitawase himself took to Instagram to address the situation.
"I just thought I would jump on here as there has been a lot of speculation on my future," Nawaqanitawase posted on Instagram. "My only focus right now is moving to Japan in a couple of weeks and connecting with my new team at Saitama Wild Knights.
"I will weigh up my options and make a decision next year on my international future.
"Love, Marky."
Stay tuned.
How can Mark Nawaqanitawase represent another country when he has already represented Australia?
Rugby union has a law which permits a change of allegiance after a three-year stand-down period, for which Nawaqanitawase still has almost nine months to serve, on account of his appearance at the Paris Olympics with Australia in July 2024.
Players can make a one-time switch to another nation in which they were born or in which a parent of grandparent was born. Former Wallabies prop Scott Sio has recently used the law to switch to Samoa, who also recently gained former All Blacks Akira Ioane, Shaun Stevenson and Josh Ioane under the same eligibility clause.
Why would Nawaqanitawase play for Italy or Fiji and not Australia?
Simply, he has a deep family connection to both nations, and says he grew up in a household where the influence of both cultures was prominent.
Italy is probably the most unlikely of the trio of options, given the country is no hope of winning the World Cup, which Nawaqanitawase recently told The Good, the Bad and the Rugby podcast was among his key criteria for country selection.
The same can be said of Fiji, who are, in fairness, probably assembling their best World Cup squad ever and recently unveiled Jake White, a World Cup winner himself in 2007 with the Springboks, as coach. But the Fijians also have an ace up their sleeve, that being the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the lure of rugby sevens.
The Fijians are two-time Olympic gold medal winners and would likely have a good shot at another medal again in 2028, at least more so than the Australia, despite the fact Nawaqanitawase has already been to the Games in the green and gold in 2024, too.
If you were to frame a betting market, though, the smart money would be on Nawawanitawase committing to a Wallabies return. That is no longer a guarantee, however.
When will Nawaqanitawase play for the Wallabies again, if he does commit to Australia?
Australia will host an historic Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup Test against the All Blacks in Brisbane next year, but it is outside a designated World Rugby Test window, meaning Panasonic could refuse any approach for the Australian to play.
Nawaqanitawase's next opportunity wouldn't come then until next July, when the Wallabies welcome Argentina to Australia to open the Rugby Championship.
Where is Nawaqanitawase playing beyond 2028?
That's the other big question and one that will only generate increasing speculation the longer the answer goes unknown. In short, Nawaqanitawase is likely to have multiple suitors.
At the top of the list will be the Roosters, with the two parties having already discussed a potential return to the club where he became an NRL star, with chairman Nick Politis also making it clear he wants the winger back at the club once his Japanese deal is done. Nawaqanitawase has also made it clear an NRL return would only come at the Roosters.
But that could hinge on exactly how much the NRL salary cap increases, and just how Nawaqanitawase performs at next year's Rugby World Cup, when the eyes of the rugby world will be firmly trained upon him.
Star in Australia next October, and Nawaqanitawase's asking price might explode well beyond what the Roosters are prepared to pay him, which some astute judges have already set at around the $1m per season mark. But that's already $600,000 less than what he is rumoured to be getting at Panasonic, and a raft of third-party deals would need to be found to bolster his salary. Cue the Roosters salary-cap jokes.
But it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Nawaqanitawase could command an asking price of close to $2 million a season in rugby, in either Japan or France, from 2028 if he creates the same kind of buzz he did late in the 2026 NRL season at the Rugby World Cup.
That would simply blow the Roosters, and every other NRL club for that matter, out of the water.