Blake Green says the form of explosive Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck compares favourably with any fullback he’s played alongside – a list that includes Billy Slater and Tom Trbojevic.
Tuivasa-Sheck has been a one-man NRL scything machine for the last month, credited with more than 200m runs in his last five games.
It’s gone to another level with his 292m tallied in Friday’s one-point win over Cronulla, which followed 299m in the draw against Brisbane.
Veteran halfback Green shook his head at the display against the Sharks on a wet night when stepping at speed was problematic and the Warriors were without yardage-gaining wingers Ken Maumalo and David Fusitu’a.
It was the sort of performance that clinched last year’s Dally M medal for Tuivasa-Sheck and has him potentially joining a group of front-runners for the gong again this year.
Blake said Slater was a different type of player when they were teammates at Melbourne in 2015-16, as was a young Trbojevic when he shifted to Manly the following season.
“Roger’s different to both of them. He’s just one of the most dynamic ball runners in the game,” Green said.
“Some of the metres he’s been getting has been tremendous for us, particularly on the weekend with Ken and David not playing.
“To carry for as many metres as he did and get us on the front foot, it was a big part of why we won the field position battle and kept them down their end the majority of the game.”
Fusitu’a (hamstring) remains out for Saturday’s trip to Parramatta but Maumalo (concussion) has been named to return.
Last week’s absence meant Maumalo conceded top spot in the NRL’s overall metre-eating race.
Tuivasa-Sheck leads with 2987m run, followed by Maumalo (2867m) and third-ranked Canberra fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (2847m) – a Warriors player last year – with daylight back to fourth.