Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck retires from NRL, talks of pressures growing up as a sports prodigy

Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck, brother of Warriors skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, has announced his NRL retirement - admitting it was never really something he truly wanted.

Tuivasa-Sheck, or JTS as he is known to his thousands of social media followers, opened up on the pressures of growing up as a rugby league prodigy in a video titled "You were supposed to eb the greatest rugby player anyone has ever seen".

It was published on YouTube and shared across social media this week, along with a message in the description where the 23-year-old officially announced he was giving the game away.

The clip depicts JTS, in a blacked out room, reciting a personal spoken word piece.

Among other things, he touches on the pressures of Samoan boys growing up in New Zealand, his father, and about the trials and tribulations of being labelled "a rugby player" by those around him from an early age, without ever being asked if that's what he wanted to do.

"I was made to be an athlete. Despite the fact I can't read properly, see properly, count properly, hate broccoli, I'm Samoan so I'm probably good at rugby," he said in the video.

"Now those skills I thought I didn't need are catching up with me ... but I'm good at rugby so it doesn't matter. But what if I don't like rugby?"

The powerful piece has drawn attention and praise from many both inside and outside rugby league circles.

He speaks about being boxed into the rugby player role at age 14 and never truly having the courage to pursue another path.

"Why can't I be the greatest lawyer anyone has ever seen? Or the greatest director anyone has ever seen, or the greatest teacher, dancer or the greatest poet," he said.

JTS was signed by the Warriors in 2017 on a combined a second-tier playing contract with a position in the club's fan engagement department.

Despite filling in at times last year for the club's reserve grade side, fan engagement is where his true passion lies and his filmmaking skills came to the fore.

His hilarious skits have already earned him a large following on social media and now, he uses his creativity and sense of humour to give the Warriors a point of difference off the field, while his big brother carves it up.