NZ Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck admits he thinks about "going home all the time" as he struggles to be away from his young family in Auckland.
The Warriors have been based in Australia since early May and face at least five more weeks across the Tasman before returning to New Zealand where they will serve a two-week quarantine.
By the end of it, more than 150 days would have passed since he saw his family.
Earlier this month, interim Warriors coach Todd Payten revealed that Tuivasa-Sheck is "doing it tough" as he's the only Kiwi player without his family by his side at the team's base on the NSW Central Coast.
Speaking to NRL.com, Tuivasa-Sheck said he watched his baby boy crawl for the first time during a video call last week and moments like that make the sacrifice much more difficult.
"Oh man, I think about going home all the time, especially when I'm watching a milestone like that on my phone," he said.
"Just [the idea of] being with my kids and being with my partner.
"I'm pretty lucky. My partner, she's a tough girl. She's got her parents and my siblings back home helping out. If she wasn't then it'd be a different story.
"But I'm just glad she's got her support there and I've got mine here with my teammates."
Several members of Warriors staff also haven't seen their families since the team departed for Australia with Payten's family currently in quarantine and set to join the team bubble in the coming weeks.
Before Payten revealed Tuivasa-Sheck was doing it tough, rumours were circulating that the fullback was unhappy.
That was followed by fresh reports that he was considering leaving his $1.1million contract to join the Blues' Super Rugby side, but Tuivasa-Sheck denied those rumours.
"I'm playing for the Warriors and I'm just focusing on right now because that's all we can do," he says.
"There's been no contact with me. I think it's just people putting two and two together with where we are and what can happen.
"We actually don't know what 2021 is going to hold, so you might as well enjoy what you can right now."
Due to the current circumstances, the Warriors are starting to plan for next year with the team set to be based in Australia again.
With more time to prepare, there all family members will be able to join the team in Australia should they be based there again.
"There are so many questions around it obviously, but there won't be any last-minute decisions," Warriors chief executive Cameron George told NRL.com
"Once we have the info around that, once we've done the leg work, we'll be able to present it to the players and go from there.
"One of the key learnings from this year is, if we go again, we go as one.
"Not trying to negotiate border exemptions in split groups, there's a lot of things that we have the time to work out with certainty this time around."
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