Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s predicament shows money doesn’t buy NRL happiness | Crawley Files
Trading in a spot at a successful club for a megabucks shift to a struggling team may not always be the right move for a player’s career, writes PAUL CRAWLEY.
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Everyone likes to bag the Sydney Roosters for buying their way to NRL glory, but it’s really just a cheap excuse.
What people conveniently forget is that every club has the same salary cap.
And Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s predicament since leaving Bondi is more proof that big chequebooks don’t always equate to success, or happiness, in the NRL.
In no way is this a column about bagging one of the world’s great rugby league players.
Not Tuivasa-Sheck’s amazing talent, or the undeniable effort he puts in every time he runs out wearing a Warriors jumper. On the contrary, it’s about him not getting the credit he does deserve.
It’s also why tracking his career since he left the Roosters five years ago should be a cautionary tale. The story goes that Tuivasa-Sheck was in tears when he told coach Trent Robinson in 2015 he was leaving the Roosters.
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He said at the time his return to New Zealand was as much about family as it was money.
While this may have been the case, the Warriors’ offer — initially reported to be $800,000 a season — was said to be well above what the Roosters had put forward. Regardless, the question to be asked is: at what cost?
Because fast forward to last Friday and the word coming out of the Gold Coast was that Tuivasa-Sheck went off his head in the dressing sheds after another embarrassing defeat. And it doesn’t seem to matter how hard he tries in any given game, more often than not he walks off the field on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
Meanwhile, James Tedesco’s career just goes from strength to strength at the Roosters after he claimed Tuivasa-Sheck’s crown as the game’s best player.
Then last week another youngster, Matt Ikuvalu, stepped up to become the latest sensation to make his mark as part of this all-conquering Roosters juggernaut.
What’s most incredible is that Ikuvalu didn’t even know he would be playing against the Cowboys until minutes before kick-off when Brett Morris injured his groin during the warm-up. But from nowhere the little-known winger scored five tries to equal a club record.
It again showed that it doesn’t seem to matter who the Roosters send out wearing which jumper, they all know their roles so perfectly that the machine just rolls on without a hiccup. It’s obvious their success is as much about systems and structures as the quality of the roster.
Yet despite all his talent and desire, Tuivasa-Sheck has not been able to turn around the NRL’s greatest under-achievers. The Warriors have only made the finals once, in 2018, since RTS arrived.
It highlights a conundrum for every young NRL player who is lucky enough to have a choice in front of them: at what point do they forgo potential dollars at the wrong club for the opportunity of on-field success at the right club?
Right now, the Bulldogs are spruiking that they have $3 million to splash on players next year. Yet any player willing to take them up should go into it with their eyes wide open.
This week the Bulldogs sent Dean Pay out as the scapegoat and then tried to make out they gave the coach every opportunity to succeed. Do they expect anyone to believe Pay’s departure, or the likely arrival of Trent Barrett, will really fix the deep-rooted issues that keep bringing the Bulldogs crashing down unless more changes are made?
While Barrett is a very good attacking coach — judging by Penrith’s dramatic improvement this year since his arrival — the question that remains unanswered is whether he has the necessary man-management skills or salary cap expertise to make the changes necessary as a head coach to put Canterbury back on the right track.
If he doesn’t have that experience, who else at the club does?
Because as great a coach as Robinson has developed into at the Roosters, I would suggest he would have had nowhere near the same success so soon without the huge influence of Nick Politis, who has been the godfather-like figure guiding Robinson and the Roosters towards this path to greatness.
Then you look at David Fifita’s future and the fact Brisbane and Gold Coast are fighting over the young superstar. It was surprising to hear Benji Marshall and Damien Cook say that Fifita should take the $1.25 million on offer to join the Titans when asked about the subject on NRL 360 this week.
Benji said it could “set his family up for life”. No doubt, you only have to look back at the injury-ruined careers of Jharal Yow Yeh and Simon Dwyer to understand why you wouldn’t deny any of them making hay while they can.
But that doesn’t necessarily make it right to take the biggest offer ahead of the best opportunity. Let’s not forget Gold Coast made Ash Taylor another of the NRL’s million-dollar men not so long ago.
Go through the list of players on mega deals and many end up paying the ultimate price. We’ll never know whether Tuivasa-Sheck would choose the Warriors again if he had his time over.
It was seen as one of the great signing coups; how the Warriors got under the Roosters’ guard. But who really came up short?
Because the Roosters have won back-to-back premierships with Tedesco, who has also travelled the world with his teammates. From experiencing World Club Championships to magical memories in Barcelona and the US.
Meanwhile, Tuivasa-Sheck plays his heart out every week and is paid extremely well to do it.
Still, you would excuse him for occasionally looking at Tedesco’s soaring career and think what might have been.
BLUE RINSE NOT OUT OF QUESTION FOR API
It’s been more than three years since Trent Barrett first touted Api Koroisau as State of Origin ready.
Finally it appears as though the now Penrith hooker has suddenly been brought to everyone’s attention.
With his bleached hair hard to ignore, Koroisau’s outstanding start to his return year to the foot of the mountains has also had just about every NRL fan marvelling at his exceptional dummy-half skills.
This week Fox Sports Stats even rated him as the Panthers’ most important player ahead of Nathan Cleary.
Koroisau is leading the NRL in dummy-half runs and dummy-half metres (483m) this year, as well as the most tackles (434). But what those closest to him always talk about first and foremost is his toughness.
In 2017, Barrett didn’t hesitate when asked if Koroisau was ready for Origin while playing at the Sea Eagles: “He’d handle it on his head.”
Most impressively, Barrett rated Koroisau the toughest player at Manly at the time. Since then, Damien Cook has jumped ahead of him, not only claiming the Blues’ No.9 jumper but also the Australian hooking spot in recent years.
But such has been Koroisau’s form this year that most believe if the NSW team was picked today, Brad Fittler would have a huge dilemma given Cook’s impressive performances for NSW previously.
Given Origin will be played after the grand final this year, it could get more interesting if Penrith go deep into the finals and Souths don’t. By no means has Cook been playing poorly but there is no denying that he hasn’t had the impact many thought he would under the faster ruck rules.
While he won’t say it out of respect to his forwards, there is no doubt his form is reflective of the fact Souths’ pack is nowhere near as dominant as when Sam and George Burgess were at their blockbusting best.
Meanwhile, Koroisau is playing in a pack that is dominating and he is sure making the most of it.
GREEN WILL BE IN DEMAND
With Dean Pay following Steve Kearney out of the NRL’s head coaching ranks, Paul Green would probably now be the coach under most pressure.
That should also put him in high demand in the coming months.
There is no denying the Cowboys’ performance against the Roosters was embarrassing and their defence especially was pitiful, which is usually a reflection of a team’s overall attitude.
But even if the Cowboys were to decide it was time for a change, what can’t be disputed is that Green is a top coach who won a premiership in 2015 and took the Cowboys to another grand final in 2017.
While Canterbury is most likely too far advanced in negotiations with Trent Barrett, I would see Green as a standout candidate.
DOGS PLAYERS STAND UP
At least Canterbury’s senior players Aiden Tolman and Josh Jackson have shown some leadership that appears to be missing at other levels within the club.
Tolman took aim at the board when he spoke to the media on Wednesday, saying: “I don’t think the players need to get involved in board goings on. But I will say that leadership starts at the top of places and we need that to filter down.”
Tolman also took ownership that the team had “underperformed”.
Jackson summed it up by saying Pay’s decision was “selfless”.
Credit to Pay, I say, because I haven’t heard anyone use the word “selfless” to describe anyone in charge at the Bulldogs for some years.
KNIGHTS FAIL TO FIRE
The Newcastle Knights have now scored three tries in their past two games, two coming from Andrew McCullough barging over from dummy-half.
They get Connor Watson back for the game against Souths but Mitchell Pearce’s knee injury would be a huge concern given how he struggled to run against Parramatta.
Pearce is as important as any player to any team.
Originally published as Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s predicament shows money doesn’t buy NRL happiness | Crawley Files