To the Sydney Roosters, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck still represents the one that got away.

And the superstar fullback threatens to pour further misery on his former club when the Roosters host the Warriors in round five of the NRL in Gosford on Sunday.

Tuivasa-Sheck was one of the NRL’s leading players last season, setting a new record of over 5000 metres gained in a single season as the Roosters claimed their third successive minor premiership.

The Kiwi international’s off-season departure has been keenly felt at Bondi amid the Roosters’ woeful 0-4 start to the season.

“It is always tough to lose a player like Roger, especially when you have built up such a good relationship with him,” Roosters winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall told AAP.

“It was sad to see him go. But that is rugby league and that is the salary cap and that shows that it is working.

“He made a decision for himself, his family and his football career and we are really looking forward to playing him for the first time.”

The Roosters have missed Tuivasa-Sheck’s composure at the back and ability to break the line in their winless month.

Tuivasa-Sheck has struggled to adjust to his new surroundings at the Warriors, but sparked them to their first win over the season last week over Newcastle.

Roosters skipper Jake Friend knows only too well what the man they call RTS is capable of.

“He is always going to have a reasonably good game, so for us it is about putting him in positions that are uncomfortable for him and making him come out deep of his own end,” Friend said.

“It is about kicking into good spots and the kick chase giving him as little space as we can and not letting him have that open field to pick where he runs.

“He has that great footwork so we have to come up as a line.”