Rugby: New dawn rises over Mt Smart

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was recruited from the Roosters. Photo / Getty Images

Signing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck hopefully signals a new dawn for the Warriors regarding recruitment.

It's been a while since the Auckland club prised a big name away from a major Sydney side, not perhaps since a 30-year-old Steve Price left the Bulldogs in 2004.

The Warriors have rarely landed anyone coveted by many other clubs. In recent years, that list might include Price, Brent Tate, Ruben Wiki, Wade McKinnon and Feleti Mateo.

"I was pretty surprised in a way — it was a bit of a shock," said Warriors hooker Thomas Leuluai. "It probably doesn't happen too often where you can get one of those key guys from a top Sydney club. But it was great to see a Kiwi boy coming back and good for the club. He has a lot of football ahead of him."

For a few years, it seemed the Warriors took their eye off the recruitment ball. There wasn't always a sense of long-term strategy in their targets — it seemed random, and so were the results.

Dane Nielsen didn't make an impact on the field and had problems off it, while Todd Lowrie kept better players out of the team. Harry Siejka never really worked and Jayson Bukuya delivered little last season.

They put time and resources into the English experiment, bringing Leeds juniors Jordan Baldwinson and Mason Tonks to Mt Smart and paying a world record transfer fee for Sam Tomkins, while the likes of Peta Hiku and Tuivasa-Sheck escaped their clutches.

Now the Warriors seem more focused. Instead of seemingly signing players and then wondering where they might fit, the club now looks to be identifying the best available player in a position and going after him with gusto.

They pursued Kieran Foran and Trent Merrin. They almost landed Jason Taumalolo and have now secured Tuivasa-Sheck whose potential seems unlimited.

The punt on Ryan Hoffman's longevity looks to have paid off, with the former Storm player a major contributor on and off the field.

Bodene Thompson has settled well and is a great fit for the club culture and a good example of solid scouting and talent appraisal.

"We have made a commitment to be a bit more aggressive in the transfer market," said Warriors football manager Dean Bell. "We have always tried to get the best players but maybe we were more conservative in the past. Now we are trying to look at how we can make things happen."

It has helped that the development work of recent years is paying off. The strong form of Albert Vete, Sam Lisone, Solomone Kata, Tui Lolohea and others has taken some of the pressure off recruitment. There is still some polish to be added, for sure, but there is not the same need to add names to the roster.

Budgets have also been freed up. The Warriors previously did not always reach their salary cap but there is now more of a willingness to hit the limit, which will be around $8 million in 2016.

There's also confidence in the scouting network, so that future Tuivasa-Shecks don't slip through their fingers.

"There can be a whole number of reasons why some players choose to move to Australia but we are better equipped now to give ourselves the best possible chance," said Bell.

"We have scouts covering the whole country. There will always be exceptions but I'm confident we don't miss out on many we want to keep."