New Zealand Warriors head coach Andrew Webster has astonishingly claimed that he had no idea Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was in talks with the new Rugby 360 competition.
"I don't know enough about it to comment, and I certainly didn't know that Roger had confirmed those things," Webster told SEN.
While speaking to SEN, Webster claimed that he and Tuivasa-Sheck have a strong dialogue, but conceded that he has been focused on what the Warriors outside back has been doing on the field, rather than off it.
The news still comes as a massive surprise, with the man they call 'RTS' publicly confirming that an approach has been made.
"I've been approached, and I've had chats with them," Tuivasa-Sheck told the AAP.
"I'm off contract after next year, so I'm keeping my options open. It is about having a job in 2027. That's probably the appealing part.
"I enjoyed my time in rugby, and I was lucky enough to represent my region and my country."
What makes this revelation even more surprising is that Tuivasa-Sheck's manager, Bruce Sharrock, confirmed that not only have there been conversations with R360, but that the Warriors are aware of them, too.
"[The Warriors] are aware that [switching codes is] an option that we're genuinely looking at," Sharrock told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"That's not to discount that we could look at an extension with the Warriors or another rugby league side, for that matter. It's part of our process."
Another cross-code switch for Tuivasa-Sheck would put him in line to earn well over $1,000,000 a season, significantly more than the $650,000 he earns annually at the Warriors.
Seeing as he is only contracted till the end of the 2026 season, Tuivasa-Sheck will be free to negotiate his future from November 1st this year.
