The face of the Warriors
Since becoming captain two years ago, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has stamped his mark on the NRL club in his own under-stated way. David Long reports.
With each passing season Roger Tuivasa-Sheck increasingly becomes the figurehead of the Warriors.
As Richie McCaw was for the All Blacks, or Lionel Messi with Barcelona, Tuivasa-Sheck has become not just the face of the Warriors, but the one who sets the standards the rest of the team must reach.
The 25-year-old goes into today’s game against the Bulldogs and the season as the frontman for the Warriors, not just because he’s the captain, but because he’s the player everyone looks up to, in the way he prepares, as well as plays.
When he was made Warriors captain in 2017 by incoming coach Stephen Kearney it was a surprising move. There was no doubt about his talent, but he was a quiet and humble guy and to those on the outside he didn’t seem to be the type of person with leadership qualities.
But two years on and now in his mid-20s, it all makes perfect sense. The Warriors have become Tuivasa-Sheck’s club, just like the the Storm are Cameron Smith’s.
‘‘The first time I was appointed as the captain, I asked about 20 people if it was the right thing for me to do and the majority of them said I should do it,’’ Tuivasa-Sheck told Stuff about how he initially accepted the role.
‘‘A lot of people backed me to do it, so I needed to back myself,’’ he said.
‘‘That first year was scary, because Simon Mannering was still in the team. Ryan Hoffman who was the captain before me, was also still here.
‘‘But when we got that first year out of the way and we recruited Blake Green, Adam Blair, Tohu Harris and the other boys, they helped me develop into the captain I am today.’’
Tuivasa-Sheck has set a high benchmark for what he expects from the players, saying he and the other leaders meet regularly to ensure the required standards are being met.
‘‘We try to catch up often, to let the crew know what we’re expecting and where we’re trying to head,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s important to give the boys reminders about how we want to play this year, how we want to look and especially with the off-field dramas – we’re not only good football players, we want to be good men as well.’’
Tuivasa-Sheck is always approachable; he’s a pleasant guy without a big ego. However, his status inside the Warriors does mean he’s no longer one of the boys, so one of the young players wouldn’t dare make a joke at his expense. He tries to relate to them on a one-on-one level.
‘‘One thing I’ve tried to bring to the club is to have real conversations with the players,’’ he said.
‘‘When the boys are together, boys are boys and they’ll joke around.
‘‘But I try to make sure that when we have a conversation, it’s real, it’s about how your family is, how the kids are, what your footy life is like.
‘‘I find it’s real important to get to know each other at that level.’’
It feels like Tuivasa-Sheck has been an NRL player for a long time, such was the impact he made at an early age. Yet he’s coming into what should be his peak years and he could remain rugby league’s best player for another five or six years.
‘‘I still feel like I’m young and have a lot to learn,’’ he said. ‘‘There are a lot of things I continue to strive for.’’
Tuivasa-Sheck was 18 when he left New Zealand to kick-start his league career at the Sydney Roosters. He enjoyed the Sydney lifestyle and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he’d chosen to spend the rest of his life living there.
But he decided to come back to New Zealand in 2016, partly to stand on his own two feet, away from the comfort zone of having his close knit family around him.
‘‘I’m here, my partner is here and we’ve had a baby together. This is where I call home,’’ he said of Auckland.
‘‘I’ve moved back closer to my friends and family in South Auckland. My sisters are moving back, my brother has moved back to Auckland, so it’s good to have family around me.’’
However, his parents, who moved to Sydney to support Roger when he was coming through, remain over there.
‘‘I told them to stay and enjoy it there a bit more,’’ he said.
‘‘They do want to eventually come back, especially with their granddaughter [Amara] here.
‘‘Mum and dad are keen for the season to start so they can travel back and forth to catch the games and I’ll take baby with me.
‘‘To be honest, they just want to see baby, they don’t care about me anymore!’’
‘‘We’re not only good football players, we want to be good men as well.’’
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck