Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors scores a try. Photo / Photosport
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has reaffirmed his commitment to the New Zealand Warriors in the wake of the R360 interest last year.
The Warriors open their NRL season against the Sydney Roosters at Mt Smart on Friday, with Tuivasa-Sheck expected to run out on the wing after recovering from a hamstring issue in preseason.
The Saudi Arabian-backed Rugby360 competition was announced last year, and immediately began approaching league stars as headline talent, such as Ryan Papenhuyzen, Zac Lomax and Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
Tuivasa-Sheck confirmed last year he was also a target of the breakaway competition, having represented the All Blacks during his rugby union stint between 2021 and 2023.
Tuivasa-Sheck told The Big League Podcast there’s been no update since the initial interest last year.
“I’m focusing here, and my rugby league continues now. My body wasn’t right for the first few trials, but my focus is trying to get ready for round one and focus all on that.“
The Australian Rugby League Commission reacted strongly to R360’s poaching efforts. In October, it announced any player who joins the competition would be banned from the NRL for 10 years, which in most cases would end the player’s career.
In November, R360 chiefs delayed the competition’s launch to 2028.
Tuivasa-Sheck has not featured for the Warriors in the pre-season due to a hamstring issue, but is confident he will be fit for round one.
“It was a short turnaround for our second trial, and I didn’t get enough team runs for my hamstring. But I’m good to go and hopefully I tick a few more boxes over the coming days and be ready to go round one.”
However, the Warriors have other injury concerns, particularly in the halves. Halfback Te Maire Martin broke his leg in the NRL All Stars game while representing the Māori. He is out for 12 weeks, meaning he is not expected to return until round 10.
First-choice halfback Luke Metcalf is still working back to full fitness from an ACL injury suffered last year, and is due back in round seven.
Five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita missed the pre-season games due to a calf injury, but is expected to be fit for the Warriors’ opening NRL fixture against the Sydney Roosters at Mt Smart on Friday.
Tanah Boyd is tipped to don the No 7 jersey for the Warriors until Metcalf’s return, alongside Harris-Tavita.
Despite the lengthy injury list, Tuivasa-Sheck has faith in their depth, especially with the likes of Jett Cleary and Luke Hansen waiting in the wings.
“You’ve got young Jettie there, you’ve got Luke Hansen, Chanel and Tanah Boyd there. There’s a good group of halves there that, they’re next man up, everyone’s got to know their role, and they’re all different players too, so it’s exciting.”
The Warriors are also digesting co-captain Mitch Barnett’s announcement that 2026 will be his final year with the club.
The prop – who is expected to be back from an ACL injury in round two – is returning to Australia on compassionate grounds for family reasons.
Tuivasa-Sheck said Barnett’s leadership is awesome for the team.
“We were all devastated and gutted about the news, but when he broke it down for us, for him and his family, all we could do was support him. We’ve got a lot of love for him, Clare and the boys, and I just want to wish him all the best at the end of the year. But for this year, extra motivation to go out with a bang.”
It’s been almost 14 years since Tuivasa-Sheck debuted for the Roosters in 2012, but he said the energy of his new teammates challenges him.
“The game is changing. The game is getting a lot faster, and you see all these young athletes coming through. We’ve got Haze [Haizyn Mellars], young Ieremia [Eddie Ieremia-Toeava], who’s growing, we’ve got Kahn [Alofiana Khan-Pereira], who’s coming through and Motu [Pasikala].
“They’re getting faster, they’re getting bigger, they’re more athletic, and it makes us want to challenge each other. Especially us older boys, we see this crop coming through, and wow, the game is heading in the right direction. You just want to make sure you’re part of it.”
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.