Faced with leading his side back to winning ways, in addition to battling his own personal form troubles, the Warriors have backed captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to return to his best against the Brisbane Broncos on Saturday night.
For arguably the first time in his six-season NRL Telstra Premiership career Tuivasa-Sheck appears to be suffering from a lack of confidence on the field, and a fortnight ago admitted he played his worst ever half of football in a 36-28 loss to the Penrith Panthers.
In his last two matches 'RTS' has missed five tackles while making just two, while fundamental errors with the ball have crept into his game as his side has slumped to 14th position on the ladder.
But fellow Kiwi international Kieran Foran said the playing group had no concerns about their No.1, instead calling on others to do more to help Tuivasa-Sheck on the field.
"Not at all [I don't worry about his morale or form], Roger is a complete professional, he is our hardest-working player on and off the field," Foran said.
"I think his effort has been 110 per cent this year, you certainly can't knock him for that. Collectively as a group we can do more to help him, it doesn't rely just on Roger to turn things around in a game.
"We all need to play our role and I think Roger has been doing an outstanding job so far."
At just 23 years of age Tuivasa-Sheck was handed the captaincy of the Warriors at the start of 2017 by new coach Stephen Kearney, placing even more responsibility on his shoulders.
Following back-to-back defeats where his side has leaked 30 points or more, the former Sydney Rooster admitted this week he has struggled at times to impose himself as a leader.
"Pretty disappointed with my form the last two games. I felt again as a leader I didn't step up to the opportunities that were presented, and definitely this week I will be doing all I can to get back to it," Tuivasa-Sheck said.
"I think the main focus for me is just to worry about my own performance before leading, that was a big issue when we weren't going so well.
"In my head I am thinking about 'OK, what should I say? What should I do?' instead of just worrying about my own performance first and then sort of leading by actions.
"It's going to be awesome having [Simon Mannering] back, just the respect he gets from the boys, and hopefully he can lead that forward pack."
Saturday night's clash with the Broncos at Mount Smart Stadium will be the Warriors’ 2017 heritage match and see them wear their 'Pacific Warrior' jersey, as the club pays homage to its Pasifika players past and present.
