Ruben Wiki: It's so tough to say goodbye when in the public eye

As a team-mate, it has been hard watching the intense speculation and interest surrounding Stacey Jones.

Making a decision to leave a club after so long is one of the hardest a player can make and it was certainly a tough one for me after 11 years at the Raiders.

It's always sad leaving behind so many friends but my move to the Warriors has given me a new lease of life.

I think it will be the same for Stacey, who needs something new and, this week at training, he's been walking around like a huge weight has been taken off his shoulders.

I hope people can now support him and also enjoy him for the rest of the year because, before we know it, he'll be gone.

I think we will continue to see the best of Stacey because his commitment is to the Warriors and he will do all he can to get us to our goal - the grand final.

We haven't even spoken about it as a team because we know that Stacey just wants to get on with playing footy but it is good to see him looking happy again.

It's often hard being in the media and public spotlight but, as players, we realise that it comes with the territory. Of course, being the best player in New Zealand, Stacey gets more attention than anyone and he struggles with that being such a private guy.

The way I deal with it is to spend as much time with my family, because they're the people who treat me as a normal person.

I also avoid reading the papers or watching the news because I would rather not know what people are saying about me.

One of the toughest times for me was in 1995 when I was supposed to come to the Warriors but stayed at the Raiders and the dispute ended up in court.

I was young then, 22, but I think that I made the right move.

The media hounded me and I really just wanted it all to go away but I had some great support from my family and I found the best way for me to deal with it was to take out my frustrations on the field.

When I came over with the Raiders to play at Ericsson Stadium that year it wasn't a particularly happy one for me, even though we ended up winning, as I was booed the whole game.

But the following year, everything was forgotten. That's the thing about league - people move on and life goes on so I hope people can let Stacey get on with his.


- HERALD ON SUNDAY