Rugby league: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck may miss Kiwis test against Kangaroos due to birth of his second child

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck may not feature in some, or all, of the Kiwis' upcoming international programme due to the impending birth of his second child.

Tuivasa-Sheck, who was honoured as the Warriors' player of the season for the third successive year on Tuesday night, is one of the key players for Michael Maguire's team and would relish a change in environment after a challenging NRL season.

But his partner Ashley is due to give birth in mid-October, which may complicate his availability for the Kiwis.

Tuivasa-Sheck has ruled himself out of the League Nines World Cup in Sydney (October 18-19) and will be a question mark for the October 25 test against the Kangaroos in Wollongong.

"If baby comes in time I'll be able to jump into the Kiwis camp," Tuivasa-Sheck told the Herald. "If not then I won't which means I start back in pre season earlier.

"In a perfect world, I would love to play the last two test matches, if the baby comes on the date he should. If it comes early I might be able to jump in and play all three tests and miss out on the Nines."

The Kiwis will assemble for the Wollongong test on October 21, followed by matches against Great Britain in Auckland (November 2) and Christchurch (November 9).

If Tuivasa-Sheck is unavailable, Melbourne Storm utility Jahrome Hughes or Raiders custodian Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad would come into the equation, as Peta Hiku is out due to shoulder surgery.

Tuivasa-Sheck swept the field as the Warriors formally wrapped up their 2019 season, also winning the player's player of the season and the people's choice award.

He was especially proud to retain the Simon Mannering medal, after claiming it's first incarnation last year.

"You mention Simon Mannering to anyone in this room and see how much they light up, in the respect that people have for him," said Tuivasa-Sheck. "To be close to the type of man that he is, and the type of player that he is, just means so much."

In a rollercoaster season, the skipper derived most satisfaction from the team's perseverance through the dark days.

"I get a lot of joy from watching everyone turn up the next week," said Tuivasa-Sheck.

"With the frustration and the losses this year we [can] get so mad at each other, we want to be better and we get frustrated, then we see everyone turn up and say 'bring it, let's go again'. Unfortunately we haven't been getting many wins but hopefully we can fix that."

Tuivasa-Sheck was a human highlights reel in 2019. As well as the moments of brilliance –with seven tries, 10 try assists and 14 line breaks, he also maintained an immense work ethic, with more carries and running metres than any other player in the competition.

But which performance was he most proud of?

"The last game against Canberra," said Tuivasa-Sheck. "Being able to step up, with everything against us. I really wanted to do it for the boys. I was glad that I could get that win and had an input into that win."

Despite his sustained excellence, Tuivasa-Sheck wants a lot more from himself.

"I'm glad that I could play the way I played [this year], but for me [the challenge] is through my leadership, learning about all that stuff and the mental skills for next year and that where I challenge myself for next year," said Tuivasa-Sheck. "I'm pretty happy with the way that I am going [individually], though always plenty to improve on."

"[But] most of the frustration has been on myself. Not being able to deliver the messages that I thought I was delivering. Not being able to deliver as a leader, because I put all the results down to the guys that are steering the bus, that's me and 'Mooks' (Stephen Kearney) and Cameron [George] and all our leadership boys, we all need to be a lot better."