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Player Shaun Johnson

Date of Birth
Sep 9, 1990
Birth Location
Auckland, New Zealand
Nationality
  1. 🇳🇿 New Zealand
Height (cm)
179 cm
Weight (kg)
92 kg
Position/s
  1. Five-Eighth
  2. Halfback
Nickname
Princess
Forum Nickname/s
SJ
Warrior #
168
NRL Debut Date
Jun 4, 2011
NRL Debut Details
NRL 2011, Round 13, Sydney City Roosters
Warriors Debut Date
Jun 4, 2011
Warriors Debut Details
NRL 2011, Round 13, Sydney City Roosters
Warriors Years Active
  1. 2009
  2. 2010
  3. 2011
  4. 2012
  5. 2013
  6. 2014
  7. 2015
  8. 2016
  9. 2017
  10. 2018
  11. 2022
  12. 2023
  13. 2024
College/s
Orewa College
Signed To
Cronulla Sharks (2019-21)
Signed From
Hibiscus Coast Raiders
Junior Club/s
Hibiscus Coast Raiders
Previous Club/s
Cronulla Sharks (2019-21)
Current Club
NZ Warriors
Rep Honours
  1. NZ
  2. World/NRL All Stars
Awards/Honours
  1. Warriors Player of the Year
  2. Golden Boot
  3. Dally M (Positional Award)
  4. RLPA Players Champion
Status
Retired
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Johnson
Rugby League Project
https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/shaun-johnson/summary.html
NZWarriors.com
Okay.....

I want to take your attention away from bunty afoa for a minute.

Serious question! Is it better for the club to go in a other direction for next year and beyond with T M Martin?

Just hear me out.....

This season for what ever reason (injuries and the like), SJ hasn't played as good as he did last year, and the club is at an important junction.

I know three games does not make Martin the man but also if we are to go into the next few rounds before our next bye and play poorly from this point, should the club actually wait until the end if the season to make a call on SJ?

Would we be happy going into 2025 on the back of stifling attack with SJ leading the way? So far this season it's just not working for SJ.

He's not like a durable DCE, so would it be better for the warriors to hand it over to Martin for now and focus on the future rather than go into 2025 thinking will SJ play on?

Anyways I think Johnson has been fantastic for us for a number of years, I hope webby can get it going with SJ but real questions need answering for 2025 and Beyond.
 
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Okay.....

I want to take your attention away from bunty afoa for a minute.

Serious question! Is it better for the club to go in a other direction for next year and beyond with T M Martin?

Just hear me out.....

This season for what ever reason (injuries and the like), SJ hasn't played as good as he did last year, and the club is at an important junction.

I know three games does not make Martin the man but also if we are to go into the next few rounds before our next bye and play poorly from this point, should the club actually wait until the end if the season to make a call on SJ?

Would we be happy going into 2025 on the back of stifling attack with SJ leading the way? So far this season it's just not working for SJ.

He's not like a durable DCE, so would it be better for the warriors to hand it over to Martin for now and focus on the future rather than go into 2025 thinking will SJ play on?

Anyways I think Johnson has been fantastic for us for a number of years, I hope webby can get it going with SJ but real questions need answering for 2025 and Beyond.
It's a fair and reasonable question. Are you suggesting we don't extend a contract for another season for SJ? If so, we would be going with TMM and my preference would be CHT at 6. Which basically leaves us Metcalf as back up. Or we play TMM 7, Metcalf 6 and CHT at 14 which leaves us a bit bare as well for backups. We would need to sign a minimum of one but ideally two reserve grade halves in my opinion. We are a bit stuck at the moment with an aging but still serviceable SJ and no juniors coming through. A bit like the Tohu situation but we have a number of players now pushing for that spot.

The alternative is to surround SJ and TMM with youthful, energetic players so that they can just direct and control the game. Reynolds at the broncos is a great example of this. Which means some tough calls on players like Tohu, Jazz, Bunty, Etc

Either way works for me. I don't think we can do this again next year with the same sort of selections and expect to compete. We may win a majority of the game stats but will likely continue to lose the main game stat that matters.

If you could, I would go with TMM and CHT in the halves with Metcalf backup, sign an up and comer 7 to play NSW cup and cover injury, medically retire Tohu, promote the youthful forwards more and have jazz and bunty on lowest contracts we can to play and mentor in NSW cup. Look towards MGT and Ali as centres going forward. RTS on one wing, maybe Taine on the other?

It's a fine line between developing and moving forward, and stagnating.
 
Last edited:
It's a fair and reasonable question. Are you suggesting we don't extend a contract for another season for SJ? If so, we would be going with TMM and my preference would be CHT at 6. Which basically leaves us Metcalf as back up. Or we play TMM 7, Metcalf 6 and CHT at 14 which leaves us a bit bare as well for backups. We would need to sign a minimum of one but ideally two reserve grade halves in my opinion. We are a bit stuck at the moment with an aging but still serviceable SJ and no juniors coming through. A bit like the Tohu situation but we have a number of players now pushing for that spot.

The alternative is to surround SJ and TMM with youthful, energetic players so that they can just direct and control the game. Reynolds at the broncos is a great example of this. Which means some tough calls on players like Tohu, Jazz, Bunty, Etc

Either way works for me. I don't think we can do this again next year with the same sort of selections and expect to compete. We may win a majority of the game stats but will likely continue to lose the main game stat that matters.

If you could, I would go with TMM and CHT in the halves with Metcalf backup, sign an up and comer 7 to play NSW cup and cover injury, medically retire Tohu, promote the youthful forwards more and have jazz and bunty on lowest contracts we can to play and mentor in NSW cup. Look towards MGT and Ali as centres going forward. RTS on one wing, maybe Taine on the other?

It's a fine line between developing and moving forward, and stagnating.

Taine can play win? 🤣 if so play him now!
 
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Shaun was crap in the trial game last year, we know what happened after

His 2nd game back should be a lot more fluent

Tony Kemp just dumping solely on him today. Like should take him off after 14:0 start. Wow. He’s a commentator?

Probably 4 years ago now, can't be certain - I just decided to turn anything off that Kemp was on, same with any articles quoting him.

He's a shock jock, nothing more.
 
When you look at older halves I know he isn't as durable as DCE. But overall in terms of getting on the park Johnson has been pretty good since he returned from the Sharks. He was coming back from a major injury at the time.

He was bothered by the pectoral during the game against the Roosters. In typical fashion when someone is bothered by something he gets in a tackle that damages it more.

We have had more injury issues with his halves partners than we have with Johnson.

It is not just his form that was down it was the entire team.

I wouldn't be surprised if his form turns around. They may decide to leave Niukore next to him instead of the original plan of playing him in the middle.

The other thing with our style of play. The next man up mentality is good for a no excuses mantra. But in some instances it might not suit to just have the someone plug in to the exact same structures. There may need to be some adjustment. The way we were playing in terms of our halves may be a case of that. The amount of ball TMM was getting or when he was getting may have suited Metcalf more with the instruction to run first. So there may need to be some adjustment.

He is older so it is a case of weighing up not going a year too long. To be honest I thought 2022 was showing that and he turned it around.

The suggested posted earlier about getting younger players around him. I'd be in favour of that if it meant getting another year out of Johnson.
 
The main concern I have is him running it up straight and what he does when there is a half gap, can he crush like CNK drawing defenders in, or if he breaks he has to look for someone to pass to because he can’t sprint for 30m

He still has the tricks and a huge boot. Can he still step? Can he offload? lol. Otherwise the D will probably just slide across
 
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The main concern I have is him running it up straight and what he does when there is a half gap, can he crush like CNK drawing defenders in, or if he breaks he has to look for someone to pass to because he can’t sprint for 30m

He still has the tricks and a huge boot. Can he still step? Can he offload? lol. Otherwise the D will probably just slide across
Langer did alright in a pressure situation for an old has been half. I give Shaun the benefit of the doubt.
 
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You can only drop SJ once. I’d be wanting to make sure I was very certain that my other halves were the answer before I got rid of him.

We scored enough points to win the Storm game. The main problem we have is that when the other team get down our end from a mistake or a penalty they are scoring points. That is the big difference between last year and this one.

It’s not a half back issue for me.
 
I would give him the benefit of a doubt for this Titans game only. He's only won 3 games this season, I hope he and Niukore can strike up again.

I hope webby can get him firing again.
Me too. I know he's nearing his career end so that has to be considered as far as his best is now. But I'd have him in just for kicking metres and line break assists if that's all we can squeeze out of him
 
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You can only drop SJ once. I’d be wanting to make sure I was very certain that my other halves were the answer before I got rid of him.

We scored enough points to win the Storm game. The main problem we have is that when the other team get down our end from a mistake or a penalty they are scoring points. That is the big difference between last year and this one.

It’s not a half back issue for me.
Someone should tell Tony Kemp.
I dont know why i get roped into listening to this guy?!!!!!!!!!!


View: https://youtu.be/SwCop84HJe8?si=a4u0Do_wNaHnI3Ii
 
I'm a huge SJ fan

but:

Last year's tackle efficiency 91%. This year 83%. He is two missed tackles away from his season's worst since 2018. He has played 11 games this year.

Add to that a body that is troubling him.

I think he goes at the end of the season; on his terms.
 
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