Misplaced Pages

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
New Zealand Rugby League player

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Personal information
Born (1993-06-05) 5 June 1993 (age 31)
Apia, Samoa
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight99 kg (15 st 8 lb)
Playing information
Rugby league
PositionFullback, Wing, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012–15 Sydney Roosters 84 28 0 0 112
2016–21 New Zealand Warriors 111 30 1 0 122
2024– New Zealand Warriors 18 5 0 0 20
Total 213 63 1 0 254
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2013–19 New Zealand 20 14 0 0 56
2024 Samoa 2 0 0 0 0
Rugby union
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022–23 Blues 18 2 0 0 10
2022–23 Auckland 15 2 0 0 10
Total 33 4 0 0 20
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022–23 New Zealand 3 0 0 0 0
2022 All Blacks XV 1 0 0 0 0
Source: As of 27 October 2024

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (born 5 June 1993) is a New Zealand dual-code rugby international footballer who currently plays as a centre for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League, and as a Fullback for Samoa.

He previously played as a fullback for the Warriors, becoming their first player to win the Dally M Medal in 2018. He also played on the wing for the Sydney Roosters, with whom he won a premiership in 2013, and at centre for the Blues in the Super Rugby.

Background

Tuivasa-Sheck was born in Apia, Samoa. He attended Otahuhu College in Auckland, where he played both rugby union and rugby league. Tuivasa-Sheck represented the New Zealand rugby union schoolboy team and captained Otahuhu College at the New Zealand Rugby League's Secondary Schools tournament in 2011 before being signed by the Sydney Roosters in October of that year.

Tuivasa-Sheck is the older brother of Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck who played for the Roosters premiership-winning Under 20s & reserve grade sides before joining Roger at the Warriors & turning out for the NZ club's reserve grade side.

Playing career

Sydney Roosters (2012-2015)

Toyota Cup Winger of the Year, First-grade and Junior Kiwis debut (2012)

Tuivasa-Sheck played for the Roosters' NYC team in 2012 and scored 9 tries in 12 games before moving on to their New South Wales Cup reserve-grade team.

Tuivasa-Sheck playing for the Newtown Jets in 2012

In round 21 of the 2012 NRL season, Tuivasa-Sheck made his NRL debut on the wing in the Roosters' 36-16 loss against the Gold Coast Titans at the SFS. Tuivasa-Sheck finished his debut year with 6 matches. He was named at wing in the 2012 Toyota Cup Team of the Year. In September, Tuivasa-Sheck was featured in an article listing the top ten upcoming talents of the NRL.

On 2 October, Tuivasa-Sheck was named in the Junior Kiwis team to face the Junior Kangaroos. He was named the New Zealand Rugby League's 2012 Junior of the Year. On 21 December, Tuivasa-Sheck extended his contract for a further three years, keeping him at the Roosters till the end of the 2015 season.

Dally M Winger of the Year en route to the premiership, and representative Kiwis debut (2013)

In round 4, against Parramatta Eels at the SFS, Tuivasa-Sheck scored his first tries in first grade completing a hat-trick in the Roosters' 50-0 win. On 1 October, he was named Winger of the Year at the Dally M Awards. On 6 October 2013, Tuivasa-Sheck was part of the team that beat the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 26-18 for the 2013 NRL Premiership. Tuivasa-Sheck played in 25 matches and scored 9 tries for the Roosters in the 2013.

RTS playing for the Kiwis at the RLWC in 2013

Playing for the Kiwis in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, Tuivasa-Sheck made his international debut against Samoa in the 42-24 win at Halliwell Jones Stadium. In the final, against Australia, he injured his leg early in the match and the Kiwis lost 2-34 at Old Trafford. Tuivasa-Sheck played 6 matches and scored 8 tries in the tournament.

Becoming one of rugby league’s young superstars (2014)

Tuivasa-Sheck played on the wing for New Zealand in the 2014 Anzac Test, with the Kiwis losing 30-18. He finished the 2014 NRL season with 7 tries from 26 matches.

Dally M Fullback of the Year (2015)

In the pre-season, Tuivasa-Sheck played for the Roosters in the Auckland Nines. Tuivasa-Sheck was named the fullback for the Roosters going forward, replacing Anthony Minichiello due to his retirement. On 8 April, he signed a 3-year contract with the New Zealand Warriors starting in 2016, replacing the departing Sam Tomkins. On 3 May, he played for the Kiwis at fullback in their historic 2015 Anzac Test victory over Australia. It was only the Kiwis' second win in the 15 editions of the annual test-match since its introduction in 1997.

During the season, Tuivasa-Sheck ran a combined 5767 metres. On 29 September, he was named the 2015 Dally M Fullback of the Year, finishing his last year with the Roosters having played in all of their 27 matches and scoring 12 tries. He returned to the Kiwis side at the end of the year to play in their tour of Great Britain. He played in all 3 matches and scored 1 try against England in the Kiwis' 2-1 Baskerville Shield series loss.

New Zealand Warriors (2016-2021)

Homecoming riddled by season-ending injury (2016)

In February, Tuivasa-Sheck played for the Warriors in the Auckland Nines. In Round 1 of the season, he made his club debut for the Warriors against the Wests Tigers, playing at fullback in the Warriors' 26-34 loss at Campbelltown Stadium. In round five, in his first game against his old club the Roosters, he combined with Tuimoala Lolohea to score the match-winning try that gave the Warriors a 32-28 victory in golden point. In Round 7 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, he suffered a season ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury. This meant he finished the 2016 season having played in 7 matches and scoring 1 try for the Warriors.

Appointment as captain of the Warriors (2017)

On 1 February, new coach Stephen Kearney named Tuivasa-Sheck as the Warriors new captain.

Dally M Player of the Year and Warriors’ return to the finals (2018)

On 26 September, Tuivasa-Sheck was named "Fullback of The Year" and the "Dally M" Medalist of the Year at the 2018 Dally M Awards. He became the first New Zealand Warriors player to receive this honour. Tuivasa-Sheck finished the season scoring just 3 tries and playing in 23 games for the Warriors, but suffered a season-ending injury early in the Week 1 Finals loss to the Penrith Panthers.

Another consistent and strong season, Golden Boot winner (2019)

Tuivasa-Sheck made 23 appearances scoring 7 tries in the 2019 NRL season as New Zealand finished a disappointing 13th and missed out on the finals. Tuivasa-Sheck finished 5th in the Dally M Medal voting. Later that year Tuivasa-Sheck was awarded the Rugby League World Golden Boot Award for the best international player of the year.

Permanent move to Australia; Dally M Captain of the Year (2020)

In round 16 of the 2020 NRL season, he scored two tries in a 36-6 victory over Newcastle at Scully Park in Tamworth.

He made a total of 18 appearances for New Zealand in the 2020 NRL season as the club missed out on the finals.

Final season and subsequent return to New Zealand (2021)

On 30 January, it was announced that he would be leaving the New Zealand Warriors and the National Rugby League itself, at the end of the 2021 season, to sign a contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union in a bid to play for the All Blacks (New Zealand National Rugby Team). On 6 February, Tuivasa-Sheck signed a two-year contract with the Blues from the 2022 season, and will also play for Auckland in the Mitre 10 Cup.

On 26 July, it was announced that Tuivasa-Sheck would leave the club immediately to go home to New Zealand before the Trans-Tasman travel bubble was closed. He played in 17 games for the Warriors in the 2021 NRL season.

Switch to rugby union; Auckland Blues (2022-23)

Transition to rugby union, Super Rugby and All Blacks test debut (2022)

Tuivasa-Sheck made his first-grade rugby union debut for the Blues in February, against the Hurricanes. Tuivasa-Sheck finished the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season playing in 11 games for the Blues including the Blues’ final loss to the Crusaders. He was named in the All Blacks squad for their test series against Ireland and debuted on 16 July 2022 at Wellington. He made his debut for Auckland in the 2022 Bunnings NPC competition later in the year.

Final season in rugby union (2023)

On 20 April 2023, Tuivasa-Sheck confirmed he will be returning to the New Zealand Warriors on a three-year deal beginning in 2024. Later that year Tuivasa-Sheck revealed on The Morning Shift Podcast that in his return to the club that he will go in as a centre, rather than his traditional position of fullback.

Tuivasa-Sheck finished the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season playing in seven games, as he missed out on selection for the All Blacks’ squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He started at fullback for Auckland in the 2023 Bunnings NPC.

Return to rugby league; New Zealand Warriors (2024-)

Tuivasa-Sheck made 18 appearances for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2024 NRL season and scored five tries which saw the club finish 13th on the table.

Statistics

Year Team Games Tries Goals Pts
2012 Sydney Roosters 6
2013 25 9 36
2014 26 7 28
2015 27 12 48
2016 New Zealand Warriors 7 1 4
2017 23 10 40
2018 23 3 12
2019 23 7 28
2020 18 5 1 22
2021 17 4 16
2024 18 5 20
Totals 213 63 1 254

Personal life

In May 2015, Tuivasa-Sheck was first to the scene where a car crashed into a house near his home in the Sydney suburb of Botany. He rescued a man from the car, and stayed with the occupants of the house in question until medical services were able to arrive.

Tuivasa-Sheck was convicted of drink-driving in October 2023 after he was caught with excess breath alcohol at a routine police checkpoint in the early hours of 10 September. He had been drinking with teammates at Sky City the night before and thought he was sober enough to drive. He was fined $600 and disqualified from driving for six months.

References

  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. "Kiwi coup: Roosters snap up star junior". Smh.com.au. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  3. "Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck". Roosters. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  4. Ricketts, Steve (28 July 2012). "Gold Coast Titans move into the top eight with a 36-16 win against Sydney Roosters". News.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. Toyota Cup Team of the Year. NRL.com (21 August 2012). Retrieved on 2014-08-17.
  6. The Top 10 Youngsters From The NRL You'd Like To See In Super League by Chris Taylor of Lifestyle Uncut Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Lifestyleuncut.com (23 September 2012). Retrieved on 2014-08-17.
  7. Junior Kiwis squad announced Archived 30 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Rleague.com. Retrieved on 17 August 2014.
  8. Jeremy Smith named Kiwis' player of the year. stuff.co.nz. 8 November 2012
  9. "Roosters Sign Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Till 2016". The Australian. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  10. "Roosters Hammer Pathetic Parramatta Eels 50-0". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  11. "Storm Halfback Cooper Cronk Wins Dally M Medal for Rugby League Player of the Year". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  12. "Roosters v Sea Eagles". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  13. "NZRL". www.nzrl.co.nz. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  14. "Manu 'The Beast' Vatuvei Scores Three Tries as Kiwis Beat Samoa at Rugby League World Cup". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  15. "New Zealand 2-34 Australia". BBC Sport.
  16. "Kiwis Took It to Kangaroos in Friday's Test Match and We All Cared". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  17. "ROOSTERS NAME 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 24 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  18. "Roosters Star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Signs With Warriors". The Australian. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  19. "New Zealand Kiwis claim third straight win over Australian Kangaroos for first time since 1953". Smh.com.au. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  20. "All Run Metres - Stats Leaders". M.nrl.com. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  21. "2015 Dally M Awards". Zero Tackle. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  22. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  23. "New Zealand 19-man squad named for first game". Englandrl.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  24. "Kiwis name squad for England tour". NRL.com. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  25. "Warriors name 2016 Nines squad". Rugby League Week. 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  26. "Tigers pip Warriors in incredible contest". NRL.com. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  27. "NRL: Warriors win golden point stunner". New Zealand Herald. 3 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  28. "Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to miss rest of NRL season with knee injury". Dailytelegraph.com.au. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  29. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  30. "Warriors name Roger Tuivasa-Sheck captain". 31 January 2017.
  31. "Warriors roll Knights to keep finals hopes alive". www.nrl.com. 29 August 2020.
  32. "2020 NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS TEAM REVIEW". nothingbutleague.com. 13 November 2020.
  33. "Winners and losers from the Roger Tuivasa-Sheck code switch". Stuff. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  34. "Roger Tuivasa-Sheck signs with Auckland and the Blues". The New Zealand Herald. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  35. Walsh, Dan (26 July 2021). "Tuivasa-Sheck shock: RTS ending Warriors career early". nrl.com. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  36. Skippers, David (16 August 2022). "Roger Tuivasa-Sheck: All Blacks centre to make Auckland debut in NPC". PlanetRugby. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  37. Powell, Alex (1 September 2022). "All Blacks v Argentina: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck urged to be patient in the wait for next test appearance, says Ian Foster". Newshub. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  38. "'There's something here': The coffee meet-up that lured RTS back to the Warriors". www.foxsports.com.au. 14 December 2023.
  39. "The Mole's end-of-season review: The 'harsh' Shaun Johnson truth that plagued highly-fancied Warriors". www.nine.com.au. 9 September 2024.
  40. Long, David (13 May 2015). "Kiwi NRL star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck pulls man out of car after it ploughs into house". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  41. Williams, Caroline (4 October 2023). "Rugby and league star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck pleads guilty to drink-driving". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 October 2023.

External links

New Zealand Warriors – current squad
Sydney Roosters squad – 2013 NRL Premiers (13th title)
New Zealand squad – 2013 Rugby League World Cup finalists
New Zealand – 2017 Rugby League World Cup
2012 NRL Under-20s Team of the Year
Golden Boot Award winners
Men
Women
Wheelchair
Dally M Medallists
NSWRL / ARL
NRL
Categories: