Roger Tuivasa-Sheck: I've been trying too hard

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors. Photo / Getty

Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck says he needs to learn to take a back seat on attack after over-playing his hand in recent games while desperately trying to lift his struggling side.

The 24-year-old fullback has been among the Warriors best performers throughout the season and was ranked third behind only Melbourne captain Cameron Smith and Sydney Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce when the Dally M voting went behind closed doors in June.

But as the Warriors finals hopes slowly slipped away, so did Tuivasa-Sheck's accuracy, with uncharacteristic mistakes and penalties blighting his recent performances during their run of five-straight losses.

With halfback Shaun Johnson sidelined over the past month with a knee injury, Tuivasa-Sheck has looked to take on more responsibility on attack, but his combinations with young No7 Mason Lino, five-eighth Kieran Foran and hooker Issac Luke have failed to properly click.

Ahead of Sunday's clash against Canberra at Mt Smart Stadium, the Kiwis international admits he needs to stop trying to force matters and worry more about linking better with his fellow playmakers.

"My errors in the last couple of games have come through trying too hard," said Tuivasa-Sheck.

"That's been my focus this week, making sure I get the small things right and not calling for the ball every run because I'm trying too hard, and start to connect a lot more. Those are my work-ons.

"At times I over-do it and that's the kind of player I am. I like to play a lot and get involved, but the last two weeks I've been doing it too much and trying to win the game in every second.

"That's where it's been going wrong for me so trying to connect with the whole team is the work-on."

Coach Stephen Kearney was frustrated and disappointed with the effort of some of his players in last week's defeat to Newcastle, but realises some of his under-performing stars are only guilty of trying too hard.

Similar to Tuivasa-Sheck, former captain Simon Mannering has also been below his best in recent weeks, while doing his best to create some attacking spark.

"There's a couple of individuals, I think Simon is probably making uncharacteristic mistakes," said Kearney.

"And that's what you have with guys that are trying to win or lift the team by trying to make something happen.

"So what that often does, is it forces them to push a little bit harder or do something they wouldn't normally do, and I've seen that from a couple of individuals. And that's why they are the players that they are because that's the character they have."

Tuivasa-Sheck admits his first year as skipper has been more challenging than expected and says his leadership skills are developing on the fly.

Along with the close support of the club's senior leadership group and coaching staff, he also looks for guidance from his church pastor and has recently taken to reading the books of self-help guru Tony Robbins.

And after being a part of a winning culture during four years at the Sydney Roosters (2012-2015), he regularly seeks the advice of former premiership winning captain and mentor, Anthony Minichiello, about how to create a similar environment at the Warriors.

"It's definitely been a challenge each week but it's a journey I'm really excited about," he said.

"It's tough and I'm still trying to work it out. There was a feeling in camp in 2013 that I thought I could feel, that there was something good going on here, and that's what I'm trying to find.

"I'm still speaking to guys like Anthony Minichiello and players over there about 'how do I create that feeling here' and each time their answer is 'just make sure that you get yourself right and hopefully players will soon follow'."