Roosters Radio | Mark Nawaqanitawase

welcome back to roosters radio and well ladies and gentlemen we have a very very special guest I don't know how many times on roosters radio we've uh been able to invite a current Olympian onto the show but uh there's a first for everything F wow I can't wait this young man will he made his debut uh on the weekend in reserve grade scoring a try had a hand in another but he's just come back from uh Australian 7's campaign we're going to talk all about that but it's a very very warm roosters radio welcome on debut you ready for it Mark Nang hello mate welcome thank you very much thanks for having me mate you've had an amazing year let's kick it off um you know you signed with the club early this year and then um there was the the conversation about coming midseason all the while preparing for a sevens campaign yeah yeah how's it be I'm I'm honestly still trying to get my head around it um like like I obviously just come back but you know I still haven't really you know looked looked back at it it's kind of cuz it's always yeah um but yeah just to think that I've you know played for three different teams this year is pretty funny so so obviously there's the Wes early in the early early yeah then you've had the the sevens and then you got the chks I mean let's talk about the Olympics because it's so recent let's start with um you know what that experience was like St fron you know in front of a full house yeah how was it oh it's um you know I've obviously been fortunate enough to to play there before um but it never gets old um just the uh the passion they have and the I guess the atmosphere of the the the big event of Olympics it it just you know it's pretty special to be a part of um and you know grunning out there every day was um you know just the bars and the adrenaline that you have is it's pretty cool and when the rugby boys in the Village yeah yeah I know how was Village Life yeah we we've heard some negative things yeah there obviously been a few you know few things here and there um obviously the food Hall and the beds and all that but you know like for me personally I couldn't care less where I sleep um so it didn't bother me but um besides that you know the village is pretty cool um you know obviously it's a lot of security um it's like a little suburb um caged off um and obviously there's so many different countries so many different athletes um and to see you know to see the different athletes you know the the big ones that you you hear of you know the sprinters or the tennis players or you know whatever it is um you know just brushing shoulders with them and that it's who were some of the who were some of the stars that you got to see Noah like the you know the spr pretty big Simone biles um it's funny we had one of the boys funny story just got out of the shower and you know he thought no one was you know outside the window but he was you knowed naked and um he looked up he's like oh grabbed his towel has Tak a look at Rafa Nadal just like just giving him like yeah g him a thums up you know he's going around all raapers scene while you know um so it's prettyy like it's pretty cool um you know even you go to the food Hall and obviously everyone's you know welcome in the food Hall and we had um at one point um Queen um Queen Mary from Denmark was was in there so it's like she was with obviously the the Danish but um you know just seeing her in there was pretty cool as well yeah it was crazy hey mate so I mean you've represented Australia as a wabby uh you know you've gone to an Olympics what's the feeling as a player like mentally and what's the difference between representing your country and here in the National Anthem in a in a test match compared to running out as an Olympian oh look they're they're both such big events uh for me and I guess you know for a lot of people but different too right yeah uh in a yeah obviously in a sense they're different but at the same time you know for me when I went into it you know that you're in there to try and win as much as you can so um you know the pressures that you feel kind of similar um you know I still you know that first game we had just from the Olympics like the pressure and just the the nerves that you have from it um it's pretty similar to you know the World Cup as well just cuz you know you want to be able to win every game so you can you know go to the next stage so you know the I'd say they're pretty similar really yeah when you put your colors on for your country yeah a very special moment no definitely the last match we played South Africa for the bronze medal heartbreak yeah talk us through it so close um yeah look oh we started we started well yeah uh and I felt quite like you know I was on the bench and you know I felt comfy cuz you know the boys had been doing so well and um I guess a few things went you know went wrong and then we kind of put ourselves under a bit of pressure um and yeah just you know that that last we they managed to you know score and you know like I said so close but not not just there but um you know we still did better than um you know expected which was good and um boys had a you know good time and and like I said we did well um but yeah just so close but not there I mean Sports such a cruel game when you watch it at the Olympics like that the women's as well you know they got knocked out in that same sort of similar fashion and um just to see the emotions and everything it you know it's definitely you can it's heartbreaking as a fan to watch but must be heartbreaking going through it uh what about the celebrate obviously not celebrations but afterwards did you go out and let your hair down they called celebrations they are uh yeah look I mean with no secrets but did you have a good time yeah always Paris is a lovely city um and yeah was you know we trained uh there was a few weeks of hard training and a lot of preparation so uh you know we enjoyed the the festivity after as well good on you so you jump on the plane mate and you end up in the red white and blue like the transition it was really quick how how's it been for you yeah oh um no it's been it's been it's been really good um you know I've I'm enjoying really enjoying coming in um you know getting to know everyone but um just learning the new game um yeah it's been it's been really enjoyable well it's not new because because look I know you're an old like art Wanderer I think you started earlier at Concor bwood yeah that's right but um I mean so rugby league was your first love then you went to some Pat stra field I'm an old wely college boy so we used to play against you so you were leagy first so I mean was League your first love and obviously your old man came across to play league as well no definitely um you know I it's crazy to like when I look back I can't believe that I have switched like the switch that I made to Union and it's it just feels like I've just been Union my whole life but really I was um I was a big leagy when I was younger um I think did you make this switch around 14 years exactly pretty much yeah as soon as I went because you get in trouble so when I was at wavely if you got caught playing league on a Sunday you get a Sunday detention I don't know if some Pat stord the same kind of deal where there was something like that but it was more so my mom my mom didn't want me yeah my mom mom's a bosses yeah Mom Mom and still to this day Mom she's just trying to get you know apparently um on my game on the weekend um actually Trent Trent was there mom mom hates how physical the game is and you know doesn't want me to get hurt um you can't get you can't get HT on the wing playing rugby K oh wellar um you know I CED a bit of a hit on the weekend um you know picking up the ball and mom went you know like oh sh and apparently Trent was next to her just cracking up so um and he told her oh there's going to be a lot more of those so no it's uh I've always you know always love love league and and um you know good to be back and um you know it feels like it's fresh um so I'm I'm excited well you you played in New South Worlds Cup on the weekend as you were just um mentioned and scored a meat pie a try which was amazing uh how did you feel back in that game like how how did you feel out on the park with the ball in your hands and how different it was uh look it was good to um good to run around again um you know I haven't been I've been training obviously the past two weeks um but it it it it feels good to just to just to you know get the feel for it um rather than just training and you just like learning and going slow so um and also the you know the boys that I have in the team you know Robert toy my Center just you know made me look good every day you know all days um you know setting me up which was good um but it was uh you know it's very different definely very different sport um but um yeah look it was enjoyable umad had to get my first you know few carries out of the way and um yeah was stoked to get a try as well so I think another difference too front running in running out in front of a full house at start fron compared to 200 at Wentworth par and you can probably hear your mom yelling from the side yeah I take it for granted how grateful not to have hear my mom scream that much but um no look it was you know like I said the other day it's I don't really care where I play it's just good to be able to do it and the physicality side so you know as you know as a wing one of our back three they're going to do those tough carries coming out like has is tupes or is Joey or any of the boys have have you been having conversations with some of our kind of senior backs about what's expected of you yeah oh mate um you know that's the one thing being here that's you know I felt so welcomed and um you know a lot of the boys and even the staff they're just so helpful um especially you know the older boys um but yeah like obviously yardage carries on you coming was going to be a big thing and um just getting some little tips off them just to help me out and um you know I've still got a long long way to go and learn a few more but um yeah it's been it's been good so far so yeah well let's get to know a little bit about Mark and and the history you just spoke about your mom which I love her already I need to meet her um but you're still in bwood are you or you grew up there yeah I'm we're not too far we're in bellfield just south a bit from it but yeah around that area I grew up in bwood um in a West um so yeah we're around there at the moment not too far to get to training which is great yeah which yeah it's a massive were you were you a Tigers fan growing up uh I was yeah just obviously dad used to play so had the ties there but eventually changed to roosters really yeah one of my my best mates um they they've been members for 30 something years his his D his family and I used to jump with them and for the members to go to the gym no game so I've been I've been the members thing and um you know just seeing all the players and I like it's crazy to think like uh last year I was like at the games and you know couple months later I'm signing with them and I'm just like wait what's happening well let's touch on that because um I believe it was in December 20123 your sign um and you just said it's crazy to think about that how did it come around yeah um well obviously um oh actually how did it come out I actually I actually met with Trent quite early on in the year um it came up I don't even know how it came up I just remember um there was a bit of interest and and you know I couldn't I could not as well because obviously Ru is you know such a great club and you know all the things they're doing here you know and the success that they have had um I couldn't turn down so you know I wanted to jump in there and uh you know I met Tren had a little conversation and and that's all it was for like six months I had I had gone back to Union done my union things and it wasn't until after the World Cup that I guess things started to heat up a little bit um because I was coming off contract um and then yeah just um met up with Tren a couple times um obviously Nick as well um and a couple other of the board members and um you know start to get some information about the game and and the club and you know start to get a bit more comfortable with it um and then yeah eventually thought it was a great idea so signed on the dot lines and here I am huge call because we know obviously GL low Cup World Cups Lions tours a lot to weigh up yeah yeah so it must you must have some pretty sleepless nights there yeah oh man it was a it was a big two months of um you know tossing turning or you know thinking of um you know what I needed to do um and you know I had to make some calls for myself um with those decisions um you know personal things going on in my life and you know and also you know where I could think I could go to um with certain decisions that I made so um you know I thought you know the r is uh now is the right time for me so um yeah I was happy and I am happy and can't wait to see how the next two years goes oh it's it's great to see in the red white and blue that's for sure what's your plans for this season I mean we only got a couple months left what would you like to be able to achieve in the in the short term we know long term it's playing first grade next year and we we want to see you running out there in in 2025 but like just shortterm goals short-term goals um I haven't really thought about oh man no I just want to play um you know I love playing whatever it is um so so look I'm I'm trying to learn as much as I can at the moment um and obviously it's been pretty easy with the help that I'm getting um but yeah if I can you know uh get to a point you know uh over the next two months before preseason where you know the coaches are pretty confident in what I can do um uh I'll be happy with that and then if I get picked or anything like that to play this year whatever um you know that's just the bonus so um yeah we'll just see how it goes I guess must be hard you've just come back from the Olympics you know Whirlwind you've switched codes I've got a funny story I think I've said it before but my dad switched codes this is back in the 60s and his father was his Union coach anyway forast he played for East Union and then switched over to rugby league his father didn't talk to him for 12 months because of the switching code so it is a big thing to do um but the plays how do you learn all new plays like it's crazy isn't it well hang on Rugby players are a lot brighter than league players right Mark I didn't want to say it I didn't want to say it suk's here to help you out oh yeah no look I it's I guess just repetition um fortunate enough to get in early and and get a lot of reps in so um and like I said there's plenty of you know plenty of talent and um oldheads and Veterans down there that you know it just makes my job easier so who who have you bonded with in the short term mate who's been the who's been who's opened up the the the out the welcome mat um probably the biggest BL any Jared Jared he's just m he just made he's made it so welcoming and um he's got such a big heart um but also his mate Dylan NAA um DJ we just saw him downstairs big boys in the middle of may they got they got the greatest energy um you know and they you know when it comes time to switch it on they just you know they're straight into it and I you know I see why the clubs does so well you know when you have players like that um you know it's pretty cool it's pretty cool you know the energy they give and um you know the time and the um you know the care they you know want to share with you it's it's pretty special well M it's special on behalf of all roosters fans having you at the club so we look forward to just watching you develop this year with an eye on 2025 mate I think you got a big future at the club you know couple of big Wingers you one of the greats in Teddy behind you you've got some great experience with guys like Daniel T will show the ropes make the future is bright for the red white and blue and you're going to be a big part of it welcome to the roosters thank you very much appreciate it thank you thank you how good