Roger Tuivasa-Sheck doesn’t have any immediate answers as to how the Warriors can reset – but agrees it needs to happen quickly.
The New Zealand team have endured a flat period in recent weeks, after their smashing start to the season.
There were back-to-back losses against the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos, a satisfactory win over an underwhelming Wests Tigers team then the narrow victory at Newcastle, where Leka Halasima’s miraculous last-second try masked an indifference performance against the Knights.
The nadir came on Saturday with the 24-16 loss to the Gold Coast Titans, as the Queensland team recovered from an early 10-0 deficit to post 24 unanswered points, which proved a match-winning advantage.
Unlike many other performances this season, the Warriors were unable to wrest the momentum back, as the Titans limited mistakes and played for territory.
The home side – who were hampered by the early exit of hooker Wayde Egan – had few answers, on a night when not much went right.
It’s a worrying pattern and Tuivasa-Sheck knows they have to turn things round, as the Warriors look ahead to the Redcliffe Dolphins match this Friday (8pm).
“We’ve just got to get together, sit back down and go over what went wrong out there and just fix it,” Tuivasa-Sheck told The Big League Podcast.
“I’m still gutted about what just happened. We are definitely gutted about the result and how we played.”
NRL players never take defeats well but this one was particularly savage, off the back of the Titans’ sweep over the Warriors last year.
Tuivasa-Sheck’s body language told a clear story as he walked through the Warriors gym after the match. Other squad members were similarly downcast as they chatted with family and friends, trying to digest yet another reverse to the Titans.
“They turned up and played,” said Tuivasa-Sheck of the opposition. “We spoke about [that] – we’re definitely a better side, but on the day they were better than us. Close to 100% completions, they’re parked on our line, not giving us opportunities. That’s why they were better.”
Tuivasa-Sheck was adamant that the crazy manner of their victory in Newcastle – with Halasima’s stunning try after the hooter – hadn’t caused them to lose focus ahead of the Titans match.
“I thought we handled the week really well,” Tuivasa-Sheck said. “Leka, after that try, he still had a really good training session. We all did, we all came back and we trained really well. We knew it was a short turnaround, but we ticked the right boxes at training. Just on the day, [we] didn’t turn up.”
While there has been a lot of focus on the right-edge defence, the other flank also had their struggles on Saturday, shipping two of the Titans’s four tries, something Tuivasa-Sheck admits he takes “personally”.
Still the Warriors threatened a late comeback, with a flowing move down the left, before Tuivasa-Sheck stepped the cover defence to dot down.
“We got the shape right and Te Maire [Martin] got the ball out to me and managed to get as close as I can to the posts, get the [conversion],” said Tuivasa-Sheck. ”I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty confident after that – okay, we’re going to come away with it. We’re starting to click. And we just didn’t.”
Still, Tuivasa-Sheck remains comfortable with his own form, after a few weeks of impressive individual displays where he has averaged 270 running metres over the last three matches, in a definite step up from last season.
“I feel good, I feel like I’m starting to start to get into a groove,” he said. “I’m starting to work out the level of today’s NRL and I’m feeling good. I’m happy just to be doing my role the best I can and just keep turning up.”
Despite the sour loss, the team had an ideal antidote on Sunday, as the squad were invited along to the first birthday of Demetric Vaimauga’s son.
Tuivasa-Sheck admitted it would be a special occasion, while generally he likes to forgot about football problems when he is around his wife Ashley and their three children.
“They’re the best distraction,” he said. ”I love going home and trying to leave work at the door. [When I] walk in they put a smile back on my face."
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of The Big League Podcast.