NRL: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s Warriors career over after confirmation of ACL rupture
Former New Zealand Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has played his last game for the NRL club, following confirmation he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
The 32-year-old suffered the injury in the opening minutes of Saturday’s 30-12 away win over the St George Illawarra Dragons.
While attempting to tackle Dragons centre Hayden Buchanan, Tuivasa-Sheck’s knee appeared to buckle and while he attempted to play on, he was taken from the field.
While there was hope the injury wasn’t serious, scans have confirmed the worst.
“That’s my footy done this year,” Tuivasa-Sheck said in an Instagram post.
“ACL confirmed. Tough to accept, but the season goes on. We got something special going. Big love for all the messages.”
It is the second time in his career Tuivasa-Sheck has picked up an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his left knee, having also ruptured it in 2016.
The injury means Tuivasa-Sheck has played his last game for the club, having signed with English Super League club Wakefield Trinity for next season.
Speaking to the Herald after announcing his departure, Tuivasa-Sheck said he wanted to try something new before hanging the boots up.
“[It’s] just something different, new scenery for me and my family,” Tuivasa-Sheck said.
“It’s a new competition, it’s a new lifestyle, so everything’s new and I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be able to do that.”
The average ACL recovery timeline can span from nine to 12 months.
It is the second ACL injury in as many weeks for the Warriors, after halfback Tanah Boyd went down in the opening minutes of the Warriors’ Magic Round victory over the Brisbane Broncos, before scans confirmed his season was done, with surgery needed.
The blow also comes days out from the Warriors’ top-of-the-table clash with the Penrith Panthers in Sydney on Sunday.
Adam Pompey looms as the likely replacement, after a starring role for the Warriors’ New South Wales Cup side last weekend – albeit at five-eighth.
Tuivasa-Sheck captained the Auckland club from 2017-21 and has won the Simon Mannering Medal as Warriors Player of the Year four times. He is the only player to win the award three consecutive years from 2017-19.
Tuivasa-Sheck is the only Warriors player to claim the Dally M Medal as NRL Player of the Year, in 2018, and was also named Fullback of the Year in 2015 and 2018, and Winger of the Year in 2013.
In 2021, he switched to rugby union and played two tests for the All Blacks, before returning to league in 2024.
Last season, he won the Simon Mannering Medal for a fourth time.
In total, Tuivasa-Sheck has played 158 out of his 242 NRL appearances at the Warriors, with the remaining coming at the Sydney Roosters.
He has played internationally for the New Zealand Kiwis and Samoa.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.