Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's time at the New Zealand Warriors has been a turbulent one. Photo / Photosport
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's time at the New Zealand Warriors has been a turbulent one. Photo / Photosport
When Roger Tuivasa-Sheck signed for the Warriors almost six years ago, it should have been the start of a golden era for the Mt Smart club. But it never quite happened.
A carousel of coaches and assistant coaches, the ownership saga and shareholder disputes, a constantly rotating roster, poor recruitmentdecisions and some injury misfortune have seen the Warriors mostly struggle since his arrival.
While Tuivasa-Sheck has delivered, he's been part of an organisation that hasn't been able to match his standards of dedication and professionalism.
Michael Burgess examines how it could have all been so different.
A fresh-faced and newly-signed Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in 2015. Photo / Photosport
The 21-year-old was an emerging superstar. His switch to fullback at the Roosters had been a revelation and landing his signature, confirmed in April 2015, was a massive coup.
Tuivasa-Sheck saw the club's potential, as they had finished ninth in 2014, missing the finals on points differential. Alongside a desire to live in Auckland, Tuivasa-Sheck was sold on chief executive Jim Doyle's legacy pitch.
Doyle told him that while winning a grand final with the Roosters was special, being part of the first Warriors team to land the NRL premiership would still be talked about in "50 years".
The slide
Shaun Johnson's infamous ankle injury in 2015. Photo / Photosport
The Warriors were flying high in mid-July 2015, fourth on the NRL ladder after a memorable win over the Storm.
But they lost Shaun Johnson with a season-ending ankle injury in the following game and never recovered, dropping their last eight matches in an awful run.
Instead of arriving at Mt Smart with something to build on and the club on a high, Tuivasa-Sheck walked into an environment with more questions than answers and coach Andrew McFadden under intense pressure.
Capital punishment
Tuivasa-Sheck had a short pre-season, coming off the 2015 Kiwis tour of England. He had carried a heavy load on that trip, with an added playmaking role in the absence of Johnson, Kieran Foran and Thomas Leuluai.
The Warriors lost their first three games, including a shock defeat to the Tigers, but then started to turn the corner, with Tuivasa-Sheck scoring the winning try to defeat his old club in Gosford.
That optimism turned sour in round seven, when the fullback tore his anterior cruciate ligament playing against the Bulldogs in Wellington.
A cruel injury blow struck Tuivasa-Sheck in the 2016 NRL season. Photo / Photosport
"It's the cruel side of football – we've certainly had more than our share of bad luck," noted McFadden.
Tuivasa-Sheck was desperately missed. The Warriors were still seventh equal in mid-August, despite three golden point defeats, but lost their last four matches to miss the playoffs by three points. McFadden was axed, replaced by Stephen Kearney.
Recruitment regrets
The club's dogged pursuit of Foran ahead of the 2017 season – like Sam Tomkins a few years before – illustrated a misplaced obsession with the spine. It was also a major gamble, as the club hierarchy poured massive amounts of time, energy and resources into Foran, who was rehabilitating mentally and physically after his exit from Parramatta.
(From L-R) Steve Kearney, Kieran Foran and Stacey Jones in 2017. Photo / Photosport
But more importantly, the most pressing need was a dominant leader in the pack.
It was symptomatic of decisions made between 2015 and 2019, when the Warriors were either unable – or unwilling - to land the big fish they needed, to provide the platform for Tuivasa-Sheck's talents.
Instead, there were puzzling decisions; signing Kiwi international Gerard Beale, when they already had Peta Hiku and other centres and throwing big money at Adam Blair when, for all his qualities, he wasn't the yardage forward they required.
Coaches and management would talk tough, but it was the likes of Tuivasa-Sheck that had to battle behind a pack that rarely dominated.
"We don't have the biggest forward pack, but can still do damage with the forwards we have," said the diplomatic captain ahead of the 2020 season.
The load increases
Tuivasa-Sheck was a surprise choice as skipper before the 2017 season.
Kearney correctly saw his potential, though it added to the burden for a marquee man who had barely played for the club.
While Tuivasa-Sheck embraced the role, it was a brutal season. Seven defeats in their first 11 games ended any playoff ambitions and they didn't win a game after the 23rd of June, with a club-record nine consecutive losses.
2017 World Cup woe
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck reacts after his Kiwis side lost to Fiji at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Photo / Photosport
Playing on home soil, the tournament was meant to be a career highlight for Tuivasa-Sheck but it turned into a nightmare.
Coach David Kidwell was out of his depth and defections, injuries and withdrawals severely weakened the Kiwis squad, who were beaten by Tonga then stunned by Fiji.
After witnessing the fervour, hype and packed stadiums that had greeted the British Lions tour earlier that year, Tuivasa-Sheck noted the contrast playing in front of a half-empty Wellington stadium for the miserable quarter-final loss.
Playoff pain in 2018
The Warriors had high hopes playing in their first finals match since 2011, but they evaporated when Tuivasa-Sheck limped off in the 28th minute against Penrith.
The team was already struggling – the forward pack couldn't assert themselves and halves Johnson and Blake Green were poor – but were only trailing 14-12, before the loss of their talismanic captain.
Tuivasa-Sheck, who had become the first Warrior to claim the Dally M medal, had a wonderful season, setting the tone in the first game with an incredible defensive stop against the Rabbitohs.
Tuivasa-Sheck played in nine playoff matches at the Roosters but has only one finals appearance for the Warriors.
The Shaun Johnson exit
Shaun Johnson's departure from the Warriors proved to be costly. Photo / Photosport
Johnson's departure had massive ramifications.
It remains one of the biggest strategic blunders in the club's history; even if it was decided Johnson wasn't the long-term option, to engineer a situation where the halfback demanded an early release was a lose-lose situation.
Instead of building on 2018 – where the club finished two points behind the minor premiers – the Warriors floundered.
Their attack lost creativity and punch without Johnson – the right edge had been near unstoppable in 2018 – and Tuivasa-Sheck had to carry an increased burden, as the major source of offensive inspiration.
It was meant to be a consolidation year, with another finals appearance, but they were out of the picture in 13th place.
Covid-19
The 2019 failure meant Kearney, the football staff and the team were under more pressure, especially with ambitious new owner Mark Robinson.
But Tuivasa-Sheck didn't shirk; instead he wrote a three-page plan, which he presented to chief executive Cameron George and other management staff.
"I wrote my own report about how I see the club going, and how I was going," he said in January 2020.
"I took the way we went [in 2019] really personally and really want us to do better."
The Covid-19 pandemic, then the abrupt sacking of Kearney, caused major upheaval for the Warriors but also exhibited the qualities of Tuivasa-Sheck.
His leadership was outstanding, and his playing standards never dropped, as they transformed into a more consistent outfit under Todd Payten.
But it was probably the final straw for Tuivasa-Sheck.
As well as being marooned away from his family, he carried a captaincy load unmatched in the NRL.
Tuivasa-Sheck enjoys that challenge, but the thought of several more years of upheaval was maybe too much to contemplate.
