Futures of key Warriors up in air

RETAINING the services of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck may be the Warriors’ top priority but he is not the only high-profile player at Mt Smart with a big decision to make.

The Warriors have 13 players off contract at the end of the season and of those, the main interest will centre on TuivasaSheck, Issac Luke and Simon Mannering.

While Tuivasa-Sheck’s manager rubbished reports this week that the Warriors captain had signed with New Zealand Rugby and the Blues, his background in the 15-man game means rumours of a code switch will not go away.

At the same time, Australian NRL clubs are lining up to entice him back across the Tasman.

The Rabbitohs and Titans have previously been linked with the Kiwis fullback. And not long after the rugby story surfaced this week, reports from Australia suggested the Wests Tigers were set to enter the race for his signature.

It feels like the Kieran Foran situation all over again.

The Warriors have taken a gamble keeping Tuivasa-Sheck on as captain considering he may up and leave at the end of the year.

Yet it goes to show just how important they see him to their future.

It is hard to say the same thing about Luke, who arrived at the club along with Tuivasa-Sheck in 2016.

Arguably behind only Cameron Smith as the best hooker in the game when he left the Rabbitohs, there is no doubt he has failed to live up to expectations.

In fairness, Luke has not had the luxury of playing behind the powerful forward packs he enjoyed at Souths and with the Kiwis. But the things he can control, such as fitness and attitude, have come under question.

By all accounts Luke has benefited from a full pre-season after being dropped from the Kiwis World Cup squad last year, and he still shapes as the club’s best hooking option.

But he has plenty to prove heading into the new season and it would be a surprise if the Warriors rushed into re-signing the 30-year-old.

Even if he does rediscover his best form, the chances of Luke receiving the same lucrative contract that lured him home appears unlikely, particularly if Nathaniel Roache makes a full recovery from a ruptured Achilles or Manaia Cherrington – who showed so much promise early in his career – can kick on.

Mannering, meanwhile, is in a completely different situation.

One of the Warriors’ greatest servants, he is poised to become the first player to make 300 appearances for the club this