The Sydney Roosters are set to receive a significant boost with the return of electrifying winger Mark Nawaqanitawase for their Friday night clash against the Canberra Raiders, but they will be without Cody Ramsey, who has been ruled out due to illness.
Nawaqanitawase cleared to play
Nawaqanitawase has not played since round 9 when he suffered a syndesmosis injury that required surgery, ruling him out of a potential NSW Blues debut. However, after successfully completing Wednesday's training session, he has been cleared to return. Roosters coach Trent Robinson confirmed the positive news.
"Yesterday was the real test for us to make sure that he was right to tick off everything he needed after that syndesmosis (injury). It's looking good for him to play tomorrow," Robinson said.
"In some areas he brings a creativity and a finish that's really important. He's a high-quality player. But then in other areas, that's just a team concept rather than an individual that's going to change it. It's a whole-team concept, so no individual coming in or out (is going to change that). It has been a collective."
Ramsey out with illness
While Nawaqanitawase returns, the Roosters have lost Cody Ramsey, who was a late withdrawal due to sickness. Ramsey's comeback earlier this season after 1337 days out was one of the feel-good stories of the year, but he will not travel to Canberra.
"Cody's actually a bit crook," Robinson said. "We only just found that out sort of half an hour ago, so he won't travel with us."
Focus on ball control
Ball control has been a major focus for the Roosters after they made 18 errors against the Melbourne Storm on Saturday, scoring just one try. That followed 14 mistakes in their Magic Round loss to North Queensland. An animated Robinson addressed the issue in the sheds after the Storm defeat.
"The first thing is to discuss it, and then the second thing is to do it at training," Robinson said. "That's a really key part of the game is talking about it, but training it, and then it's up to us to perform that tomorrow night. It's not the single focus, either. You want to improve that, and we've been pretty good at that this year. The last two games has not been what we wanted, so we talk about it, practise it, and then go out and do it."
Under the new rules in 2026, holding onto the ball has been crucial, rewarding possession and territory. The Roosters have traditionally played an attacking style that sometimes leads to high error counts, but they have shown this season that elite ball movement and high completions can coexist.
"I think we've shown that we can do both," Robinson said. "I go back to the Manly game where it was sort of about 96 per cent (completions). I think we had one (error) in that game, and there's been others throughout that period where we've been able to do both. We've been able to score points but then also control the ball, and that's the game. That's pretty clear what's needed in the game, and our job is to go out there and get it done."
