South Sydney have expressed interest in signing Warriors’ captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck from next season, despite declaring Alex Johnston as the club’s new custodian.
Returning captain Greg Inglis is set to be shunted to the centres in 2018, reducing the impact on his recovering knee, handing Alex Johnston his long-awaited number one jersey.
But that hasn’t stopped the Rabbitohs from showing interest in Kiwi fullback, a signing that would certainly create one of the game’s best backlines.
A fit and firing Greg Inglis alongside Dane Gagai in the centres, ‘RTS’ at the back, Alex Johnston on the wing and Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds in the halves would be incredibly dynamic.
It’s no secret that Tuivasa-Sheck has failed to live up to the hype since departing the Sydney Roosters at the end of the 2015 season. While we saw glimpses of the old RTS last year, it’s hard to imagine him recapturing his best while at a club known for its consistent inconsistency.
And he knows it.
Roger is never going to win a premiership in New Zealand, it’s a sad truth. The team had the entire Kiwi spine at their disposal in 2017, yet they failed to make it out of the bottom four last season.
While Inglis offered strength and size in the fullback role, Tuivasa-Sheck offers pace and footwork, invaluable traits when returning the football up the field or chasing Reynold’s chip.
The All Blacks also remain a more than legitimate option for the fullback’s signature, Sheck stating playing for the international Rugby Union outfit was a dream of his growing up.
The looming retirement of Robbie Farah and John Sutton along with the departure of Angus Crichton frees up the cash for the move, the only question is – what if Alex Johnston performs?
Chasing RTS is an obvious signal of Anthony Seibold’s doubt in his makeshift fullback, despite the winger-turned-custodian scoring 22 tries in 22 games last season.
Whether the interest translates into anything more than that is a question for a future time, though if Seibold does pull off the marquee signing, it’ll immediately announce South Sydney as a team to watch in 2019.
But let’s see how 2018 pans out first.
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