The Warriors will take a brick-by-brick approach with returning star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, wary of putting any extra pressure on the former captain.

On Sunday, Tuivasa-Sheck will play his first league match since July 2021 – after his time away with rugby union – at left centre for the trial against the West Tigers in Christchurch. While it is only a pre-season game, there will be massive interest in the 30-year-old.

Not only in adapting to the 13-a-side code again but doing it in a new position, after years as one of the best fullbacks in the sport. Tuivasa-Sheck reported early for pre-season training back in November and has impressed everyone since, but Sunday is the first real test.

“I don’t think I will ever have a bad comment to say around his professionalism and how he trains, his effort - he is just a pro,” coach Andrew Webster said. “Now he gets to see how the transition back has been. I think it has been easier than going there because it is a game he is comfortable with. [There are] certain habits and things he has picked up that he has had to correct and get back to rugby league and he has done a really good job.”

Tuivasa-Sheck is seen as a player who can transform the Warriors backline, bringing X factor to their outside backs. But Webster is wary of the hype around him.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck New Zealand Warriors NRL squad training. 14 December 2023. New Zealand Herald photograph by Jason Oxenham.

“We can’t control what everyone is going to say,” Webster said. “Expectations come from other people. We are not putting expectations on ourselves, so I am not putting any on Roger. If Roger wants to make sure he does what his goal for the game is and what we want from him there is no expectation externally. The only expectation that matters is within our four walls.”

The club has taken a deliberate, steady approach in the re-invention of Tuivasa-Sheck. He has trained on both flanks and worked particularly hard on understanding the defensive patterns out wide. As with all players, there is daily and weekly feedback, seeking incremental gains and building a base for the season.

“We need to be consistent on it,” Webster said. “ ‘Roger how did you go, you need to work on this. I thought you did that really well, you can improve on this, let’s go after it this week. [Then] remind him every day, how are you going to achieve that at training?”

Webster is looking forward to seeing Tuivasa-Sheck back in game action, especially his offensive threat.

“[His] strength is making people miss and you don’t really get to see that as often in training. When you go at opposition 100 miles an hour, you get to see that.”

Fellow returnee Chanel Harris-Tavita, who will be alongside Luke Metcalf in the halves, has also impressed in pre-season. Both are duelling for a first-grade spot alongside Shaun Johnson, who could make an earlier-than-expected return from an ankle injury, with Webster indicating he is a strong possibility for the second trial match against the Dolphins on February 24.

“He trained really well [on Wednesday], did almost everything,” Webster said. “We pulled him in and out of stuff but he is almost back fully with the group. The expectation is he will play next week.”

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck New Zealand Warriors NRL squad training. 14 December 2023. New Zealand Herald photograph by Jason Oxenham.

Overall, the Warriors feel they are building nicely, despite a compressed pre-season compared with last year.

“We are fitter, faster, stronger - that’s the truth,” Webster said. “We’ve got to ask ourselves are we executing things better? That is what we are about to find out.”

It’s often difficult to judge the opening hit out of the year – with most of the 27 players named likely to be used at some point - but Webster has a simple goal.

“I want us to look like we are practising in the game what we did all pre-season. Everyone can get lost in that. I want it to look like the way we trained,” Webster said.

Warriors trial squad v Tigers - kickoff 4pm, NZT

1 Taine Tuaupiki

2 Setu Tu

3 Ali Leiataua

4 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

5 Marcelo Montoya (c)

6 Chanel Harris-Tavita

7 Luke Metcalf

8 Bunty Afoa

9 Freddy Lussick

10 Tom Ale

11 Jackson Ford

12 Jacob Laban

13 Kalani Going

Extended bench:

14 Eddie Ieremia

15 Zyon Maiu’u

16 Tanner Stowers-Smith

17 Leka Halasima

18 Patrick Moimoi

20 Etuate Fukofuka

21 Toni Tupouniua

22 Ben Farr

23 Luke Hanson

24 Moala Graham-Taufa

25 Geronimo Doyle

26 Quinlan Tupou

27 Paulie Roache

Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has also reported on the Warriors and NRL for more than a decade.