Marc Peard talks about Roger Tuivasa-Sheck signing on for four more years, Kirk Penney retires and new ownership jumps on-board over at the NZ Breakers and D'Arcy Waldegrave catches up with Nico Porteous and Zoi Sadowski-Synott.
The All Blacks are not accustomed to being runners-up — but that's how they finished in the "close" race to sign Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
The 24-year-old Kiwi international admits he came close to jumping ship, with the lure of an All Blacks jersey and the possibility of playing in next year's Rugby World Cup in Japan tempting for the former New Zealand Secondary Schools star.
But ultimately it wasn't enough for him to turn his back on the club he joined in 2016 and his future at the Warriors is now secured through until at least the end of the 2022 season.
Tuivasa-Sheck agreed to terms with the Warriors last week before signing a four-year contract extension after training on Tuesday afternoon. Photo / Jason Oxenham NZ Herald.
"It was close," Tuivasa-Sheck told the Herald. "I really did enjoy the game and being in New Zealand it's rugby 24/7 here, so there was a lot of noise about going over.
"I didn't [dismiss the idea]. I really enjoyed the Lions tour. That looked amazing, to play on that stage.
"Definitely we had a few discussions about it but at the end of the day I had to weigh it all up and I chose rugby league."
Speculation linking Tuivasa-Sheck to rugby first emerged while he was filling the No1 jersey with the Kiwis throughout their failed Rugby League World Cup campaign last October.
Tuivasa-Sheck and his manager Bruce Sharrock were reluctant to confirm the details around their discussions with NZR, but made it clear that rugby was seen as a genuine career option — as it was when he first signed with the Warriors three years ago.
"We won't go into what that detail is but we explored it thoroughly," Sharrock said.
"The previous contract was put together with a 2018 exit with the view that maybe this could happen because there's a Rugby World Cup in 2019.
"Without going into the micro detail the reality is he's arrived at a decision that is really who he is."
Given that Tuivasa-Sheck will be 29 at the end of his new deal, he concedes any dream of playing for the All Blacks is now fading.
The length of his new contract will surprise critics who believed he needed to leave the Warriors and return to a Sydney club to put his career back on track after the last two seasons were ruined by injury and the side's poor run of results.
Tuivasa-Sheck is well aware of the challenges ahead but feels compelled to help the Warriors improve and achieve success together with coach Stephen Kearney and CEO Cameron George.
Turned down . . . All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. Photo / Photosport
"It's a thin goal now," he said of the All Blacks. "I'm here playing league and I don't think I'm looking at that black jersey.
"I'm here in my Warriors jersey thinking about how we can go the next level and about how we can go to the next level with the Kiwis.
"I'm pleased with where I am and I enjoy working with Mooks [Kearney] and his style and the way he operates with the players.
