'It took a toll on me': Tuivasa-Sheck on cruel end to Warriors NRL career
Departing Warriors winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck admits suffering a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury took a massive toll on him knowing he couldn’t end his time at the NRL club on his own terms.
The 33-year-old will depart the Warriors at the end of the season as one of their most decorated players, after agreeing to join Wakefield Trinity in the English Super League.
Tuivasa-Sheck announced the move in April on his brother’s YouTube channel, deliberately revealing the decision hours before a match so it wouldn’t become a distraction for the club.
Six weeks later, disaster struck when he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee for the second time in his career, in the opening minutes of a 30-12 win.
Tuivasa-Sheck ends his club tenurehaving played 158 games across two stints, with four Player of the Year awards and in 2018, the Dally M award for the best player in the NRL.
Speaking on Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast, Tuivasa-Sheck said he is now in high spirits despite a less-than-optimal finish.
“It definitely took a toll on me,” Tuivasa-Sheck said. “I was sad and gutted that [it] was my last innings for the club.
“I’ve invested a lot into the club with the Warriors and I love that place but devastated that I’m leaving that way.
“I had big plans for this season, being my final season with the club, but that was taken away and you just have to move on. I’m in a better place now and I’m just all about pumping up the club and trying to do good things for it.”
Having also suffered the same injury in the same knee in 2016, Tuivasa-Sheck is more confident this time around of bouncing back.
“Having kids this time round and my wife, there’s a lot of support there and they take my mind off of um the injury,” Tuivasa-Sheck said.
“I think I’m more excited because I’ve come back from that. I went from 2016 tore my ACL, 2017 I was Warriors player of the year.
“That really um give me confidence that I can come back from this injury and I’m going to a club that I’ve got some expectations that I want to fulfil.”
Along with focusing on getting fit for his new venture, Tuivasa-Sheck will also be working with Sky as an analyst for the remainder of the season.
He says he’s excited to watch the Warriors’ run home and believes they have the pieces to contend for a title.
“Our young boys have grown another year from last year,” Tuivasa-Sheck said. “They all got a taste of um what success looks like.
“They all believe in our system and it’s a real simple system and I think that’s why all the boys are loving [Warriors coach] Andrew Webster and how we work and it shows on the field.
“I think with that experience we were in the same position similar to last year and we had the mindset last year of I hope we stay the eight, I hope we stay the four.
“This year just the mindset change of us is like we’ve done we’ve had our byes, our three byes are gone, we’ve got eight games leading into finals, let’s go after it, and that’s what’s bringing the confidence in the boys around let’s not hope and see if we can stay in this fight.”
The Warriors are second in the standings and host the St George Illawarra Dragons on Saturday.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
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