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In short:
Sydney Roosters' coach Trent Robinson says he will give Mark Nawaqanitawase time to get the feel for playing rugby league at the professional level.
Nawaqanitawase began training with the Roosters last week after returning from the Paris Olympics.
What's next?
Nawaqanitawase will play for the Roosters in NSW Cup on Sunday.
Trent Robinson says there will be "no expectation" placed on Mark Nawaqanitawase when the former Wallabies winger makes his Sydney Roosters debut only 21 days after his Paris Olympics campaign ended.
A member of the Australian rugby sevens team that placed fourth in Paris, Nawaqanitawase reported to Roosters training for the first time last Saturday and will line up on the wing in NSW Cup this Sunday.
The clash with Canterbury at Wentworth Park is to continue a remarkable career for Nawaqanitawase, who will have played for the Wallabies, represented Australia at an Olympics and pulled on a tricolours jersey in the space of 10 months.
The whirlwind arrival comes after the Roosters made a mad dash to fast-track Nawaqanitawase's code switch from 2025 to this season.
His contract was approved only hours before the mid-season transfer window closed on July 1.
Loading...But a first-grade debut was never on the cards for Nawaqanitawase this season.
Instead, Roosters' coach Robinson considers the 23-year-old recruit a long-term investment.
"He's a learner, so picking up things day on day has been really good," Robinson said.
"But there's no expectation about the performance, it's all about experience.
"Get a feel for how six tackles work, the 10 metres, the defensive decision-making and all those things.
"He knows the game. He hasn't been in it for a week. Since he signed, I can imagine he's been dreaming about this for a long period of time, which is part of the preparation as well."
The NSW Cup hit-outs will be crucial preparation for Nawaqanitawase, who is set to help replenish the Roosters' outside-back stocks after Joey Manu and Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i defect to rugby union after this season.
Nawaqanitawase has already impressed the Roosters with his mental fortitude to begin training so soon after the recent death of his stepfather.
"He was a very important man in his life and guided him a lot as his stepfather and it's been a really difficult time," Robinson said.
"As we know, when we're going through those times, I think it's doing things that you enjoy and love is going to get you back in.
"So, I feel like the focus of this has been really good as the family is still dealing with the grief of that and he is as well."
The Roosters are third on the NRL ladder with four rounds remaining in the minor premiership.
AAP