Shaun Johnson was rightly awarded the Golden Boot for being a top notch international rugby league player. And rightfully so, Johnson's antics clinched the Four Nations for the Kiwis with a display that showed his growth as a halfback. We've always known of his attacking prowess with the ball in his mits and it was probably fitting that his stellar performance in the final included some stereotypical SJ7 magic.

More importantly however, throughout the Four Nations, Johnson laid the foundation with stereotypical halfback play. We saw the wide variety of kicking options that he has combined with impeccable knowledge of how to use them. We saw him perfectly serve his outside men with the right passes at the right time and we saw him control the game. That my friends is where the growth of Johnson is evident the most, the knowledge of what needs to be done at what time, when he needs to razzle and dazzle and when he needs to get others involved. It was all there to see, hence he's now the holder of the Golden Boot award.

All that came while playing alongside one of the best 6's in the game Kieran Foran. He alone makes playing halfback pretty darn simple as you don't have to worry about what he's going to do, equal parts skillful as he is reliable. It wasn't Foran who helped Johnson step, spin and fling a bounce pass out to Manu Vatuvei (still love you g) though, that was all Johnson. Johnson richly deserves this award, throughout the Four Nations he was capable of sparking up an attack from no where as well as getting a few repeat sets and flicking a short ball to Simon Mannering - he did it all.

The warning, it's a warning that doesn't mean the end of the world is coming, but we can't get carried away as Johnson is still yet to show all of the above in a Warriors jersey ... over a season. This award doesn't mean Johnson is the best halfback in the NRL, nor is he top 5 because he hasn't shown the same control and halfback wizardry consistently. If he had, the Warriors would have probably won a ship by now.

It's definitely possible that Johnson brings his Four Nations experience in to the 2015 season with the Warriors. If he does, it would be extremely impressive as the Warriors specifically look to Johnson to lead them in every sense of the word besides the captaincy aspect. That ability to lead an NRL side over the course of a season, is an ability that few halves have displayed. To do it over a few years, that's even harder.

We have a starting point, we've seen Johnson perfectly lead a team ... not just in one game but a few. All this has got me pretty excited to see what Johnson will serve up in 2015 because I want to see if Johnson can make that leap. Until then, we can celebrate one of our own winning the Golden Boot.