Promising Wests Tigers front-rower Mosese Fotuaika, found dead in a Sydney townhouse, has been described as a player who had the potential to make it to the top in rugby league.
A NSW police spokesperson said officers were called to a townhouse in the south western Sydney suburb of Merrylands at about 6.50pm AEDT on Thursday night.
They confirmed a 20-year-old man was found dead inside the premises.
The death was not being treated as suspicious.
A member of the Tigers' premiership-winning under-20 team last year, Fotuaika had looked on course to make his senior debut after playing in several trial matches.
NZRL high performance general manager Tony Kemp said it was a sad day for the sport and offered condolences on behalf of the national organisation to Fotuaika's family.
Kemp was sure the 20-year-old had the goods to reach the top.
"He got player of the day last year in the NYC (National Youth Competition) final, so he was on track," he said.
"Most of our national team now have been Junior Kiwis and Mosese was a Junior Kiwi last year, so he had plenty of potential."
Kemp said he had no further details about Fotuaika's death apart from what was in the media, but said mental health was one area that New Zealand sport needed to spend more time on.
The Wests Tigers' official Facebook site posted notice of the loss while players such as Tim Moltzen and Aaron Woods offered their condolences on Twitter.
Fotuaika attended Keebra Park High, the same school as Tigers playmaker Benji Marshall.
