Slater's bold call after watching Tuivasa-Sheck return

It was with the Roosters he announced himself, but it was with the Warriors he cemented his name as one of the best in the game. Now after two years in the 15-man code, prodigal son Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is back in the NRL. The 2018 Dally M winner has been picked as a starting centre for his official league return against the Sharks in front of a home crowd in Auckland on Friday. Tuivasa-Sheck has made 112 of his 196 NRL appearances to date for the Warriors, and was skipper from the start of 2017 until he departed league late in the 2021 season. But despite being on the wrong side of 30, Billy Slater says Tuivasa-Sheck is the man he's looking forward to watching the most this season. Speaking on Wide World of Sports' The Billy Slater Podcast, he said the pre-season challenge showed he's still got it, despite moving from fullback into the centres. "I watched him closely and he's the number one player that I'm looking forward to watching this year," Slater said. Earlier in his career, Tuivasa-Sheck had a reputation as having some of the fastest feet in the game. Slater reckons they're still there. "He's still got those … he makes people look silly and he's not very young anymore," he said. "I think he's going to be a wonderful addition."

Concern Over Returning Star

Can Roger Tuivasa-Sheck rediscover the magic after two wasted years in rugby union? RTS is now 30 and will have lost some of his speed and edge playing a slower, inferior game. Warriors fans will be expecting the inspirational fullback/centre to take right up where he left off in 2021 - but it may not be that simple. Returning to the most competitive league in the world after such a long time is no easy thing. It may take him a while to get back to his best - if indeed he is capable of doing it at all. With Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad playing such brilliant football at fullback in 2023, RTS is likely to begin the long road back in the centres - but that may actually help him. Less running and less pressure should enable him to ease his way back - and hopefully rekindle the class that made him one o the game's most exciting players throughout the 2010s.

'Prodigal son' who could turn title race on its head

Last season's surprise packets definitely dodged a bullet when they managed to convince Addin Fonua-Blake to stay for 2024 - he led the NRL in post-contact metres with 1,670 - and can be expected to again be dominant up front.The bad news is he is certain to leave in 2025 - but at least the club has time to find a replacement.If anything, the Warriors will be stronger next season with the return of prodigal son Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (rugby union) and the talented playmaker Chanel Harris-Tavita after a 'gap year'.Five players have moved on, but none will hurt the club with the possible exception of livewire Josh Curran, who has been great off the bench for the past two seasons.If Shaun Johnson can re-produce his heroics of last season - he led the league in try assists with 32 - then the Warriors could be on course for another top four finish.Coach Andrew Webster will be more comfortable having learned what his players can do in a fine rookie season and he has the cattle to make a real impact in the title race.

Awkward problem caused by prodigal son's return

The Warriors were one of the big success stories of 2023, rising from second-last to within a game of the grand final.Along the way, they captured the hearts and minds of Kiwi-land, leaving the once-mighty All Blacks in their wake.The team that sacrificed so much during COVID-19 was rewarded with capacity home crowds and responded by playing brilliant attacking football.Rookie Andrew Webster was a deserved winner of the Coach of the Year title while critics on both sides of the Tasman are scratching their heads over how Shaun Johnson missed out on the Dally M Medal.Regarded as "soft" and unable to go the full 80 minutes by Aussie teams in previous seasons, the Warriors exhibited a new hard edge in 2023.They proved formidable opponents every time they went around and their ability to score spectacular tries made them one of the best teams in the game to watch.Their reward for a wonderful season - and fourth spot on the ladder - was an emotional game in the second round of the finals at home.The "house full" sign went up early in the week - and the Warriors produced one of their best-ever performances by thumping 10-game straight winners Newcastle 40-10.That game appeared to be their grand final, however, and the following week they crashed out of the competition with a 42-12 defeat to the Broncos.But 2023 will still go down as one of the Warriors' finest seasons and the start of what looks a promising era under Webster.The club recruited smartly, with new buys Marata Niukore, Luke Metcalf, Dylan Walker, Mitchell Barnett, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Te Maire Martin and Jackson Ford all playing significant roles in the new-look Warriors.While Johnson missed the Dally M Medal by the slenderest of margins, he made the Team of the Year at halfback, alongside Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (wing) and Addin Fonua-Blake (prop).Hooker Wayde Egan was also superb and could easily have made the Dally M team, just losing out to Storm dynamo Harry Grant.Tohu Harris was a tower of strength at lock, leading the side well and often topping the tackle count and/or running metres.Like the Storm, the Warriors made the top four but then suffered heavy defeats to the "big two" - Brisbane and Penrith - in the finals and their job over the summer will be to bridge that gap.

RTS A 'Victim' Of Code War

The petty jealousy between rugby league and union in New Zealand is the real reason Roger Tuivasa-Sheck won't be returning to the NRL for the run-in to the finals.The former Warriors and Roosters star had been linked to both his ex-league clubs after missing out on All Black selection.He hasn't even been named for his Super Rugby team Auckland Blues in recent weeks.The 30-year-old star would have been a great pick-up for the Warriors or Roosters in their charge to the finals but a Kiwi insider had told Wide World of Sports the move is now highly unlikely.

'Adored' Dally M winner's bombshell NRL return

Wide World of Sports told you it was on two months ago - and now it's happened.Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is coming back to the NRL with the Warriors.The club is expected to make a formal announcement on Thursday night that their former inspirational skipper is returning to league after two mixed seasons in Kiwi rugby union.The development is the latest skirmish in the cross-code war that has seen rugby union poach Roosters star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii for 2025 and chase several other league stars.It's a major coup for the Warriors - Tuivasa-Sheck is regarded as one of the most respected sportsmen in New Zealand and is adored by fans of both codes.His two-year contract with the Auckland Blues expires at the end of this season.The Dally M Medallist in 2018, he is set to sign a one-year deal with the Warriors but is likely to extend that down the track.