It must be nice playing in a team that includes RTS, SJ, AFB and Tohu. Not a bad place to hang out. Back up FB still means if CNK breaks down, you're 'it'. He's just an Injury or retirement away from first pick FB. We know CNK gets injured, he plays hard. Not that I want to wish that on him. Just law of averages. Respect for perseverance. Hope he gets a chance to show his evasive skills.Webster's show of faith priceless for Tuaupiki
Corey Rosser
With Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad out injured to start the season, it would have been easy for Andrew Webster to hand the fullback job to the guy in his squad who has previously won a Dally M Medal and Golden Boot award in that position.
But instead of delaying Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's move to centre temporarily, he's put his faith in Taine Tuaupiki, the 24-year-old with five games to his name, who will begin his second season as an NRL player by fielding kicks from Nicho Hynes after being selected in the No.1 jersey to face the Sharks.
It's a selection call that tells you plenty about Tuaupiki as a player and perhaps even more about Webster as a coach.
"That faith in me was massive and to be honest Webby has probably given that confidence to everyone in the top 30 squad here," Tuaupiki told NRL.com ahead of Friday night's clash at Go Media Stadium.
"He showed it last year in Round 3 we had Charnze go down. We had someone like Te Maire (Martin) who has played fullback in the NRL, but he took the punt and gave me my debut because he had confidence in me.
"Not just Webby either – the players like Tohu (Harris) and Shaun (Johnson) – they are backing me as well, listening to me when I make calls and trusting me.
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Tuaupiki started at fullback in both of the club's Pre-Season Challenge matches, but suffered a minor cork to his thigh in the win over the Dolphins and was taken from the field at half-time.
That presented Tuivasa-Sheck with an opportunity to run again in his old position and he impressed with some big defensive plays and high attacking involvement.
But rather than finding the presence of RTS intimidating, Tuaupiki says it motivates him.
"When I know Roger can pull things out like he did [against the Dolphins] at fullback it keeps on my toes, I know I have to play well," Tuaupiki said.
"Having someone like 'Rog' in there has been very good for me. I ask him a lot of questions, like I do with Charnze as well.
"I try not to tell them because you don't want to fan boy, but I have these moments with him and probably Shaun as well, it is pretty humbling seeing those guys all the time.
"I know 14-year-old Taine would be pretty happy right now."
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After earning a one-year deal via a train-and-trial contract at the start of last season, Tuaupiki has now signed on for the next two seasons with the Warriors.
While he accepts his path to being a full-time starting fullback at the Warriors will be blocked while Nicoll-Klokstad is on the roster, he's confident Auckland is the best place for him at this stage of his career.
"My parents are in Australia but all the rest of my whānau (family) are in New Zealand, so my football is good, my life outside of football is good, everything is just happy at the moment," he said.
"I have still got a lot of work to do, I don't know if too many clubs would have wanted me as a first choice at the moment anyway, but that's what I want to try and get out of this year.
"Keep working hard and when I get my opportunities take them with both hands, while learning from having Rog and Charnze here."
Webster's show of faith priceless for Tuaupiki
Getting the nod to be the Warriors' backup fullback ahead of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has done wonders for Taine Tuaupiki's confidence leading up to Round 1.www.nrl.com
TeamList Warriors vs Sharks [Round 1, 2024]
- Thread starter 1995warriorsfan
- Start date
Warriors vs Sharks
Warriors
Kickoff In:
Go Media Stadium
Friday
Night
20:00
Sharks
Team Lists
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One sleep away team. Nerves kicking in...
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#Goosebumps
I already love CapWah
View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4MTqTVPIrh/?igsh=N3QxMWhjNzJ0MmNq
I already love CapWah
View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4MTqTVPIrh/?igsh=N3QxMWhjNzJ0MmNq
Christchurch_Warrior
Contributor
Yep well said by Capwah looking forward to him being part of our maiden premiership.
Beastmode
Contributor
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Beastmode
Contributor
If we are travelling well there is absolutely a chance that every home game this season is a sell out.Game is officially sold out.
View attachment 5610View attachment 5611View attachment 5612
It's setting in now.. In about 30 hours this year will officially be our year
Even if it isn't can gaurantee it will be a record breaking attendance season.
Time to bring back the fortress, lesssgo.
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Fuccckkkkk I had completely forgotten about the floodlights being turned off for the runout
Getting me fired up lol
That’s the sort of thing you want said about you. That and your willingness to die for the bloke next to you. That’s how you build team culture.
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RTS is the player Billy slater is looking forward to watching most this year.
Not his son Walsh
RTS is the player Billy slater is looking forward to watching most this year.
Love what he says about being impressed with how hard the juniors work here. Coming from the Broncos who have good juniors it’s a good sign.
www.newshub.co.nz
'Kia ora, whānau': Warriors recruit Capewell settles into role as New Zealand's favourite Aussie
But the veteran second-rower still hasn't grasped the team's victory song.
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Worried2Death
Contributor
I'm not crying... that was beautiful... not all heroes wear capewahs... its really our year... so much love in the room... I'm crying now
The oldest rookie in the NRL: How Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is approaching his second Warriors chapter
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck might be the oldest rookie in the NRL.
He’s not new - of course - after a decorated league career but that was the approach taken at the start of his second Warriors chapter. Tuivasa-Sheck started preparing physically well before pre-season started, then reported for training a couple of weeks earlier than required.
That sounds like the enthusiasm of a teenager, though he felt there was no other way. He might be a club legend, a long-time former captain and a Dally M medallist, but there was a lot to prove.
“That was playing on my mind, I’ve got to come in and prove something,” Tuivasa-Sheck told the Big-League podcast. “I’m a rookie, trying to get on the team, at 30 years of age - that was my mindset”
That was also the underlying message from coach Andrew Webster, when they got together during the off-season break.
“He said ‘I want you to be that kid again, I want you to come in and learn and make this team again’ and that’s how I saw it,” said Tuivasa-Sheck.
The first step was physical preparation, with an aerobic and anaerobic base that would enable him to get the most out of pre-season.
“I had to come in fit and ready to go,” explained Tuivasa-Sheck. “I had to show the players and the coaches that I am ready to go. I had to come in and be fitter, be a lot more skillful, so I can catch up a lot quicker and not worry about ‘okay I can’t learn edge defence because I’m not fit enough’, or ‘I can’t learn to beat people if I can’t catch and pass’.”
It’s meticulous but typical of Tuivasa-Sheck. He also reshaped his body. Tuivasa-Sheck was around 95 kilos during his previous Warriors stint but got up to 100 kilos as a rugby midfield back. The sweet spot for centre in the NRL, he thinks, will be 97 kilos.
His main personal goal for the 2024 was simple; to secure a starting spot.
“I was nervous about getting a position here because you look at the boys and how they went last year,” said Tuivasa-Sheck. “I was like, these guys are outstanding, I have to work my butt off to get in the picture.”
His position was never really in doubt but Tuivasa-Sheck has earned it , with his progress demonstrated in the pre-season trials. The real thing - starting with Cronulla on Friday night (8pm) - will be a much bigger challenge, especially as centre is probably the hardest defensive position.
But he should thrive, even if there might be some hiccups along the way. The adjustment has been tough, especially as the game has got faster since 2021, with the various rule changes while defending in the line offering different demands, with the constant need to get back 10 metres after each play.
Tuivasa-Sheck is aware of the talk about his potential as a fullback, especially after his 40-minute cameo there against the Dolphins, but is fixated with succeeding further out in the backline.
“Our coach has created this system and he sees me playing centre,” said Tuivasa-Sheck. “I have bought in and I believe and across two trials it has worked... I’ve got to keep backing that. I believe in what he is trying to put out on the field, if I want to make that starting team and it is at centre, then I have to go for it.”
Tuivasa-Sheck is in a good place. The process of learning a new position has been stimulating, as someone who likes to “recreate” himself as an athlete each year. And he is enjoying being a senior player, without the burden of captaincy.
“It’s good,” he laughs. “I’m glad, real glad. More because Tohu [Harris] is doing a great job. He’s unreal. I am so happy for him. But the best thing is Tohu is not alone, there is so many of us around, Tohu doesn’t have to speak 24/7.”
At times during his previous stint it felt like Tuivasa-Sheck was carrying the team on his back, such was his capacity for work and determination to succeed. That’s still there but could manifest in a different way.
“This time round, I want to be able to help us win,” said Tuivasa-Sheck. “The last few years I was here I can put my hand up and say I wasn’t doing it the right way maybe, me coming in and just putting it all out there wasn’t maybe the right way about it. I need to help this team and play my role.”
He has noticed a significant difference in the environment, noting the “buy-in and belief” within the squad, compared to previous eras he was involved in.
“The coaches have designed a system that they believe will work,” said Tuivasa-Sheck. “During the whole pre-season, we stuck to it, we believed it and it showed, our seniors have bought in so as a junior, what do you do? You follow, you buy in. There is a huge buy-in and belief about what the coaches are putting on the table.”
Friday is the first litmus test. The return of Tuivasa-Sheck has already created headlines but there could be a lot to come, as he is expected to elevate the Warriors to a new level throughout 2024, allowing the “rookie” to add more lustre to the legend.
Oldest rookie in NRL: How RTS is approaching second Warriors chapter
Tuivasa-Sheck might be a club legend and a Dally M medallist but there is a lot to prove.www.nzherald.co.nz
Mods, I’ve posted this here because it talks about RTS preparing for Round 1. If you feel it should be in the RTS, please move and sorry for the extra work.
When Rogers return was announced, I said he would play left center, because (admittedly that is where I wanted him to play) but more importantly it is so obvious that the Warriors are and have always been attack one side-one trick Pony's.
Our right side with SJ, to Dallin in the corner off a rapid shift is unstoppable, why would you waste Roger by putting his contribution on top of an edge that is already setting up the best finishes in the NRL while our left side of Pompey to Montoya were an after thought?
Putting Roger at left center was a no brainer.
Daniel Anderson understood this principle. He had the GOAT Stacey Jones setting up his right edge attack, a genuine organizer and little genius, so Anderson puts tradesmen Carlaw and Justin Murphy outside Jones because he knows Stacey will set up the try and he just needs workhorse finishers.
The genius of having a power left edge is that it opposes the oppositions right side, where most NRL clubs stack their best attackers, which lends itself to some chinks in their defensive skills, this is a truism of most sports, the best attackers are rarely the best defenders (otherwise we are talking a Michael Jordan athlete) and lazy NRL coach strategists treat their left edge as a stop gap, they put tradesmen excellent bot type defenders out there so they only have to worry about Marshaling their armies to defend the their right side.
At present the threats to RTS reaching his potential as a left edge center are mostly centered around Metcalfs inexperience.
If Metcalf is smart he will simply draw and pass, thereby making room for RTS and Montoya to strike in the same way elaborate moves off SJ give Berry, CNK, options to put Dallin in an out and out race for the corner, which he wins nine times out of ten.
So yeah, if Metcalf wants to be the man he needs to take on the line with a focus on setting up Roger, it really is that easy, if he cannot do that, then drop his Ass to NSW cup and play Metcalf at left Center so he understands what a stand offs role is.
The thing is, the Warriors will give crap service to the left in the up coming games, like last year, they will only service the left when they end up shoveling on ball from SJ after he has run out of options on the right.
At first at least, Metcalf will run and die with the ball, or get a clean break for a one man try, or Metcalf will just shovel it onto Roger who will shimmy and skip, then get caught in the tackle.
But as the rounds progress, with Websters system, they will start to run set plays on the left and Roger will start scoring or get a Try assist to Montoya.
Over time, under our coaches, this will become a norm, and we will see games won entirely off left edge set ups for the first time since Manu Vatuvei, Toopi, and Meli.
That will be the day the Warriors become a team that can beat Penrith.
It all starts with RTS left Center and giving Metcalf a player of Rogers class to force him and Montoya to up their game and work together.
A Center is a link player. And therefore a lethal center like Roger means his partners will be of a mind to play as a group, rather than what we saw with poor Pompey, which was going through the motions play for plays sake...limited options, tackle four pressure to do something with shitty ball.
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Wrighty
Contributor
Updated Team Lists: Warriors vs Sharks
The Warriors and Sharks have cut their squads to 19 ahead of tomorrow's match at Go Media Stadium.
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Pompey and TMM the 18th and 19th positions 24 hours out from the game.
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