Source: Radio New Zealand
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and family celebrate his 150th Warriors outing against Canberra Raiders. Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Erin Clark heard NZ Warriors teammate Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was leaving from his distraught wife.
The news surely didn’t come as a shock to Clark, who had watched from across the locker room, as the veteran wing fended off questions about his future at the club and his links with the rebel R360 rugby competition.
Last week, Tuivasa-Sheck finally ended the speculation with an announcement that he had signed a two-year contract with English Super League outfit Wakefield Trinity, starting next season.
The consequences of his decision hadn’t fully dawned on Clark, until he was greeted by tearful partner Elizabeth.
“She was crying, because her best mate – Roger’s wife – was leaving,” the Warriors lock admitted.
Few things can undermine team chemistry like one of its stars making plans beyond the current campaign. The Warriors saw that two years ago, when Addin Fonua-Blake was granted an early release during a listless 2023 campaign.
While the powerhouse front-rower was named Dally M Prop of the Year for his onfield form, he was also suspended for breaching club standards, when he skipped the team song and post-game address, after their Magic Round win over Penrith Panthers.
The Warriors now have at least two more imminent departures, with Tuivasa-Sheck and co-captain Mitch Barnett already signalling their intentions to leave, and others also off contract this year.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck understands he still has work to do with the Warriors. Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Both have been at pains to avoid the appearance they have one foot out the door, but the timing of Tuivasa-Sheck’s social media reveal could not have been worse. Hours later, his team tumbled from atop the NRL table with a loss to unfancied Wests Tigers at home.
RTS himself made two costly errors that gifted the Tigers tries and momentum before halftime.
“It wasn’t a distraction,” he insisted. “I tried to sneak it in there – the biggest news was Luke Metcalf’s return.
“I’m just glad it’s out now and we can move on with the season.”
At the Warriors’ weekly media opportunity, Tuivasa-Sheck deflected any further discussion, as his team prepared to visit Cronulla Sharks this weekend.
“I don’t really have time for the details right now,” he said. “There will be a time and place to sit down and chat over my decision to go to Wakefield, but right now, there’s a lot on our plate, with a Sharks team that are flying at the moment and we’re bouncing back from a loss.”
He admitted to a sense of relief that the matter was settled.
“Not just for myself and my family, but for the club as well – I just didn’t want it hanging around.
“The announcement’s been made, the future is secured for me and my family, and now I can play my footy – and hopefully my best footy – for this club that I have a lot of love and respect for.”
After the Tigers loss, coach Andrew Webster was unaware RTS had gone public and had to be re-assured the media weren’t trying to trick him with their questions.
“We’re so proud of Roger and so happy for him,” Webster said, who spent a couple of seasons as an assistant coach at Hull Kingston Rovers earlier in his career.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Apii Nicholls accept their 2025 Warriors Player of the Year trophies. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025
“He gets an opportunity to experience something different. To go to the north of England and play in the Super League is a great experience, something he’ll remember forever.
“We are more celebrating what we get to do this year together. Obviously, Barney’s moving on and Roger the same, so this team wants to do something special.
“We’ll focus on the now and celebrate that we’ve still got him, but really happy for him.”
Others – including Erin Clark’s better half – have slightly different emotions.
“Real sad, especially what he’s done with the club, and he’s still in his best years,” young forward Tanner Stowers-Smith lamented. “The last two years… well, he was our Player of the Year last year and, this year, he’s been killing it too.
“It’s not like the game is pushing him out – he’s still playing amazing footy.
“It’s pretty sad to see him go, but I know he’s doing it for the right reasons, and for his future and his family too.”
Clark was able to take a more pragmatic view, knowing Tuivasa-Sheck’s replacement was already secured, with the signing of former All Blacks Sevens star and now-Melbourne Storm performer Will Warbrick, fresh off a four-try showing last week.
“Someone like him will be missed around the club,” he said of RTS. “The legacy he’s left here, the type of person he is… he’s real humble and a good person to be around the club, so I think that’s the main one that’s going to be missed.
“Obviously, the player he is… he’ll probably go over to England and win Man of Steel five times by the time he finishes, so all the best to him.”
The four-time Simon Mannering Medal winner, former club captain and only Warrior to win a Dally M Medal is obviously beloved, and his departure is perhaps the motivation needed to finally deliver an NRL championship to Mt Smart.
“Him and Barney – the captain of our club – it would be awesome to send those two off with a ring,” Stowers-Smith insisted. “That’s definitely what we’re aiming for and, the way we’re going, we’ve just got to keep building each week.”
Clark wasn’t so sure that should be the driving motivation.
“Him telling us, we embraced him and his decision, but at the end of the day, it’s back to us to win footy games and, at the end of the year, our goal is to win a grand final,” he said.
“That’s where the spark comes from.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand