Rookie skipper RTS ‘born to lead’
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck may have been seen by some as a surprise choice to lead the Warriors, but not to any of his former team-mates at the Roosters.
The 23-year-old fullback made his captaincy debut during last night’s pre-season trial against the Storm on the Sunshine Coast, which doubled as his first game back from a serious knee injury.
That he was forced to spend most of his first season at Mt Smart on the sidelines, his age and limited leadership experience have all been touted as reasons why TuivasaSheck should not have been the man to replace Ryan Hoffman.
Yet the same qualities head coach Stephen Kearney has seen in the Samoan-born New Zealand international were identified long ago by the Roosters.
And had he not made the decision to return home at the end of 2015, TuivasaSheck may well have been performing the same role at the Sydney club.
‘‘When he was at the Roosters he was brought into our leadership group at 20. We always knew he was going to be a captain one day,’’ said Roosters veteran Mitchell Aubusson, who led the Roosters to the Auckland Nines title at Eden Park last week.
‘‘I feel he was born to be a leader. It’s come earlier than what most people expected but I’m sure he’ll be ready for it.’’
A 10-year veteran of the NRL, Aubusson has played more than 200 first-grade games, all for the Roosters.
From a leadership perspective, few young players have impressed him more than Tuivasa-Sheck.
As one of the best fullbacks in the NRL, he naturally leads through his actions. But for Aubusson, it was his selfless nature and confidence to direct his more experienced team-mates that stood out.
‘‘At such a young age to help guys who are older than him or to point them in the right direction was something that I don’t think I’ve ever seen from a 20-year-old,’’ Aubusson added. ‘‘Watching him play under-20s coming through he was leading all those guys as well.
‘‘I think it’s going to be awesome for himself and the club, he’s such a young guy and hopefully he can grow with that role.’’
Tuivasa-Sheck’s time in the Roosters leadership group has given him the perfect grounding of what is required for a club to be successful.
In his last three years in Sydney they won three straight minor premierships, claiming the title in 2013 while bowing out in the semifinals the following two seasons.
‘‘I had some awesome guys there in that leadership group,’’ TuivasaSheck said this week.
‘‘I had Anthony Minichiello who was captain at the time and he was such a good person to lean on.
‘‘They got us to do a few courses here and there to upskill our leadership skills, and it’s good to have those skills and bring it back here.’’
Of course, the best captains come to the fore when times are tough, which Warriors fans have become all too accustomed to, and that is the big unknown with Tuivasa-Sheck.
At training this week Hoffman made it clear his successor was not in it alone and he has the ultimate safety net in vice-captain Simon Mannering.
But there will be a big element of learning on the job. As for how he copes when the pressure is on, only time will tell.
‘‘There’s a lot of great players here, I don’t have to look too far,’’ Tuivasa-Sheck said.
‘‘Issac Luke, who I work closely with, Simon Mannering and Ryan Hoffman, I tend to ask them if during a meeting did I say the right thing and I always try to learn from that.
‘‘Talking about the whole season it’s tough to tell. We’ve just got to face the heat when we get there.’’