Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's star turn for the Warriors against Newcastle Knights from fullback was unquestionably one of the highlights of the team's Easter Sunday outing at Mt Smart.
In the absence of the injured Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Taine Tuaupiki, the former Dally M medallist was shifted from his new position of centre to the custodian role where and showed no signs of rust.
The 30-year-old produced his best performance to date since his return for his rugby hiatus - secure under the high ball and carving the Knight's defence to ribbons with his trademark ankle-breakers, making seven tackle busts, recording a staggering 278 running metres and adding a couple of critical defensive interjections.
The display comes just a week after he was relocated to fullback when Tuaupiki was forced from the field against Canberra Raiders in Christchurch, showing flashes of the Warriors RTS of old and inspiring the team to their first win of the NRL season.
After the past fortnight, the chorus for Tuivasa-Sheck to be permanently handed the No. 1 jersey he made his own throughout 111 games during his first tenure with the club are now reaching fever pitch, with the suggestion Nicoll-Klokstad could instead switch into centre – a position he's proven adept in during his time with the Raiders.
But coach Andrew Webster remains steadfast in his stance, insisting Tuivasa-Sheck at fullback is strictly a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option, should Nicoll-Klokstad and Tuaupiki - as they were on Sunday - be unavailable.
That's not to say he isn't enjoying the rhetoric.
"It's my favourite question, again, the Roger to fullback question," he laughed.
"The thing about it is, it's good noise. Roger brings that because we all know what he's done in the game.
"I laugh about it, I make jokes about it. I'm not sick of them - they can keep coming. Hopefully I can be as resilient as the boys were tonight with them. I'm giving you permission to keep asking.
"But I want to be clear, because it's almost like people think I'm lying, [Nicoll-Klokstad at fullback] is how we want to go. It's how Roger wants to go.
"It's not like Roger is coming to me and saying 'boss why aren't I playing fullback?' He just wants to win and wants to play his role."
Nicoll-Klokstad is yet to feature for the Warriors this season due to a hamstring injury but will "definitely" return next week against South Sydney Rabbitohs next Saturday. The outlook is the same for Tuaupiki, who should be back from concussion protocols.
"The questions can keep coming... but Charnze was that close to the Golden Boot last year and he's coming back into the team. (Tuivasa-Sheck's) role here is to play centre.
"The day he signed he said 'I want to play in this position for this club. I don't want to disrupt Charnze or the club. I want to win a competition.'
"It's not about the individual and that's led by Roger, not by me."
While Tuivasa-Sheck finished the match against Knights over 70m clear of his closest rival in the running stakes, he was found out on a couple of occasions defensively.
Webster says some of the can be attributed to readjusting to a position which has evolved during his three-year bid in the 15-man code, which Tuivasa-Sheck conceded himself after Sunday's game.
"After talking to Rog, I feel like he learnt plenty tonight. I think he feels the NRL is a different beast to when he left it," he said.
"He hasn't done a lot of reps at fullback, we've been concentrating on centre so I was proud.
"It's such a cool thing to have a guy that's played a lot of fullback in his career, he's nailing centre and nailing his role but then when you need him and he's reliable.
"The things I knew Roger would be good at tonight he was good at - kick returns, carrying the ball in the middle of the field and we ran a little play with Rog back on the inside. I knew he was going to be good at all that stuff."
Now with two straight wins under their belt on the back of a pair of opening losses, the Warriors have advanced to ninth on the NRL ladder.
Somewhat marring the result, though, is what appears to be a long-term injury absence for half Luke Metcalf, who limped off the field with what early reports suggest is a broken leg.
Fortunately for the Warriors, the halves are a position in which they have significant depth, as proven by Chanel Harris-Tavita's seamless injection as Metcalf's replacement off the bench just five minutes into the game.
Webster credits the uber-versatile Harris-Tavita for ensuring the team didn't lose a step and managed to ek out a win in a contest he described as a "grind".
"I thought he was enormous for us," he said.
"To do it so early and then jus the concentration. He hasn't played much football. Obviously last year, 12 months, but he hasn't got to do a million reps in different positions like that.
"I was rapt with him, and proud of him."
