Anyone else way too excited to see me back in the NRL?

Lost in the greatness of the 2015 NRL season, Shaun Johnson's heroics almost carried the New Zealand Warriors to a top-8 finish and beyond. Johnson played the role of the hero - give him the ball and he'd win the game for the Warriors - which not only put the growth of Johnson as a player front and centre for all to see, it also gave Warriors fans someone to latch their NRL Premiership hopes on to.

Match-winning performances however weren't a staple of Johnson's game in the early stages of the 2015 season. Long before Johnson suffered a stinker of an injury he spent the opening weeks of the season looking confused as he appeared unsure of his role and was far from the dominant force that we soon saw. This irked many as they expected Johnson to be that guy from week one; so what can we expect from Johnson next season coming off such a setback like a gruesome leg injury?

Expectations rarely come without substance. The expectations about what Johnson should deliver are high because as we have seen, he's rather good at rugby league and while Johnson covered over many of the Warriors' flaws in 2015, next season should see the Warriors provide the most stable platform for Johnson to work his magic upon.

Part of my confusion around Johnson's role in the Warriors came as I wondered if Johnson was a classic halfback or a play-maker capable of wizardry, because it looked like he was trying to do both. Many players with the running game of a similar calibre to Johnson's, say Anthony Milford, Blake Austin and Michael Morgan for example all play alongside halfbacks who took control of their respective teams. Milford has Ben Hunt at first receiver, the Canberra Raiders looked their best with Austin playing outside Sam Williams and Morgan has the best haflback in the game inside him (heck, look at Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney, Cooper Cronk and Blake Green, Gareth Widdop and Benji Marshall). None of these players, whether they are the x-factor/ball-runner/play-maker half or the steady hand take care of everything, yet for much of 2015 we saw and expected Johnson to do all of that.

This isn't about Chad Townsend, it's just to say that the Townsend x Johnson combination never really found its feet. For much of the 2015 season Townsend hung out on the left edge while Johnson sat on the right, which works for a few teams in the NRL - Cronk/Green and Daly Cherry-Evans/Kieran Foran most notably. We did however see Johnson with more freedom to roam as the season went on and I don't think it's a coinkidink that Johnson's form also improved.

Jeff Robson has replaced Johnson, which is why my excitement for Johnson and what he might serve up in 2016 is peaking. Well, that's based on Johnson retaining his speed and ability to bounce around on those two pogo-sticks he calls feet after this injury - it's never a given that players return from such injuries with the same physical ability.

With Robson arriving at Mt Smart I expect Robson to take reins as the true halfback. Sure, Johnson will/could retain his no.7 jersey but based on my logic that Johnson is better a couple passes off the ruck, Robson will be tasked with controlling the game like a classic halfback does. This will free up Johnson to sit out wider, where he can target back-rowers and halves defending on the edge who are always going to struggle to handle Johnson's gifts.

Peep here how Johnson gets the ball two-passes wide of the ruck...

Johnson gets the ball in the wider channel, where he has time and space to get his eyes up...

Johnson already has Manu Ma'u and Corey Norman sliding #Danger. Not many edges can defend this as they can't handle Johnson's speed, footwork and passing game but getting the ball to Johnson in these sorts of positions is the key. Now allow your mind to wander; Johnson and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck running the footy in either wide channel at defenders who are shitting themselves.

Instead of Johnson taking control and getting in at first-receiver, he's better as the player getting the ball. While this happened last season, it always felt as though Johnson was eager to be the dominant half which meant shoveling the ball on to another ball-runner instead of getting someone to give him early ball. I would suggest that this was due to Townsend's less than impressive displays in the halves for the Warriors combined with Townsend being of a similar age to Johnson and in a similar stage of his career to Johnson.

Robson's a veteran with a limited set of skills; he'll barely run the ball, he can't step, he isn't quick and he doesn't have the full repertoire of kicks. He doesn't need to though as he know he's good at organising those around him, kicking accurately and giving the right people the ball at the right time. Andrew McFadden, as a former half himself should understand how important it is to have a half taking care of all the little things in a game and last year it was Johnson who had to do that and add the flair on top of it. With Robson there, Johnson could have a more simplified job where he is given the ball by Robson and has the chance to play what he sees in front of him.

Johnson can do it all, sure. Not many teams win an NRL Premiership with one half doing it all though (Thurston/Morgan is a prime example) and as Johnson returns to the NRL from his injury, a slightly lessened load could be a blessing.

I see this as the main change that Johnson will go through between the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Johnson will be afforded the luxury of getting NRL games behind him with Robson easing Johnson back into the swing of the NRL. There's no reason to think that Johnson won't enjoy the sort of season that we've all been hoping for, even though he's coming off the first major setback of his young career.