Whatever you are Shaun, I'm happy. Do you! .................... But what's you?

My journey in writing about rugby league has coincided with the career of Shaun Johnson, so has the #KiwiNRL takeover, so has the Aotearoa Kiwis grabbing a few wins over a weakened and declining Australia Kangaroos team. We have all witnessed the growth of Johnson over the years and although Johnson has many funky years ahead of him, as we slide into Rugby League World Cup knockout footy, Johnson's career thus far, is now at a climax.

Other than a few air-swings earlier this season (Johnson legit took air-swings when trying to kick a footy) for the Warriors, Johnson's career has been steady. He's had peaks in reaching an NRL Grand Final and beating Australia, without any major lows other than injuries. Johnson earns his salary as the Warriors halfback, which automatically brings with it irrational logic and perspective from anyone with an opinion on Johnson or the Warriors and many would point to Johnson's fortunes with the Warriors as the overall major low; Johnson's barely had a consistent halves partner, let alone an adequate supporting cast.

When the Kiwis were firing on all cylinders, Johnson had peak Kieran Foran helping him out, or more to the point taking on an equal share of the play-making duties. Now, as Johnson's moving into his prime years for footy (late-20s ... keep that in mind when you ponder the Warriors) he has full control of a Kiwis team sans Foran. I'm confident that the Warriors are putting an adequate supporting cast around Johnson to keep him company during these prime years, this is about the here and now though. Johnson is about to embark on a RWLC knockout footy journey that will offer great context around his career and legacy.

I don't care for what Johnson should do.

I'm merely intrigued by what direction Johnson heads towards, from this fork-in-the-road point.

Aotearoa don't need Johnson to be a nek-level dominant force to win this quarter-final and win this RLWC. If every player in the team does their job, including Johnson, Aotearoa will be formidable opponent for anyone, even Australia. We haven't seen that yet and we may not see it at this World Cup, but if every player is firing, Johnson's job becomes emphatically easier.

Rid yourselves of that burden. The only thing Johnson really needs to do for Aotearoa is kick accurately, run the footy every few sets and oragnise blokes. It could be the emergence of Te Maire Martin that is more important, or the fizz offered by Danny Levi and Kodi Nikorima, perhaps it might be the offloading from Martin Taupau, Adam Blair and Nelson Asofa-Solomona that makes Aotearoa un-defendable.

This is a fascinating juncture in Johnson's career because we are going to be given an insight into what Johnson actually is. We are going to have a far better understanding of the halfback Johnson is and what the scope of his career could be, right now we simply don't know. Johnson's dazzling performance in the 2014 Four Nations final and his 2013 World Cup semi-final moment against England came with Johnson playing alongside Foran (again peak Foran, not 2017 Foran), allowing us to witness Johnson the razzle-dazzle half who could change a game with moments of brilliance.

Now we approach a point when we will find out if Johnson is mainly a producer or magical moments, or a halfback who can dictate the flow of a game and produce magic on top - at the highest level of the game, when the pressure is the greatest (RLWC knockout footy baby!). We don't need Johnson to do either and it's not good or bad if Johnson goes down either route, it's merely a case of us understanding what Johnson actually is.

Some may be wondering about why it's of value to understand what Johnson is. I can only speak for myself and say that as someone who writes the most stuff about rugby league in Aotearoa, understanding what Johnson is allows me to offer better insight to youz. Whether it's about Johnson himself, Aotearoa or the Warriors, figuring out this Johnson puzzle enables me greater clarity when pondering those three parties.

For youz, well maybe gaining an understanding on what Johnson is, will help you with your expectations. Or your sanity, or how you watch footy.

This confusion about Johnson is most evident when I think about the Warriors. There are variables at play here such as the inconsistent halves partners and a forward pack that has rarely been dominant, yet I've never seen Johnson showcase what he really he is as a half. Sometimes he controls a game well, sometimes he doesn't do much and then goes bonkers, sometimes he runs the footy a lot, sometimes he sits in the pocket and kicks like a wizard.

We've seen it all from Johnson, just never consistently and super-duper well.

Perhaps the lack of a consistent halves partner at the Warriors is a product of this. Should Johnson play alongside a conductor, who frees Johnson to focus on the funk?

Should Johnson play alongside a half to takes on equal share of the duties - Johnson on the right, Foran on the left?

Should Johnson play alongside an x-factor half, allowing Johnson to focus on being the conductor himself and producing magic when it is required?

Who the fuck knows? No one knows who the ideal halves partner is for Johnson because no one knows what Johnson actually is. It's only logical that we start to get a better understanding of this as Johnson moves into his peak years, when he has a greater understanding of his game and how that fits into the Warriors, the NRL and leading the Kiwis. If Johnson is able to fully embrace whatever he is during these peak years, he could cause the ground to shift beneath him as this will ultimately lead to his teams playing better; individuals will be able to better execute their role and teams will have structures etc designed from Johnson's clarity.

To expect Johnson to have found such clarity earlier is rough as it requires experience (footy + life), self-awareness and maturity.

Greatness is there staring Johnson in the face, saying 'haere mai bro' and we can all sense that there's a slither of greatness in Johnson. A slither is a lot different than knowing that a play will be great, or is great and in learning about the player that Johnson truly is, we will learn whether rugby league greatness is attainable for Johnson.

And there's nothing wrong with Johnson not dripping with greatness. We may learn in these knockout games (hopefully plural) that Johnson is limited, but within those limitations he's really good. This can definitely coincide with Aotearoa winning the World Cup and Johnson doesn't need to welcome greatness for Aotearoa to taste glory. Johnson could embrace greatness and Aotearoa could lose a semi-final or final.

What is Shaun Johnson?

I've got no idea. All I know is that there's no Foran in this Kiwis team and RLWC knockout footy presents an opportunity for whatever Johnson really is, to emerge. I also know that I'm willing to accept whatever the answer is to that question and from there, I'll be able to make better judgements about his future, his legacy, his style of play, his strengths. From there I'll be able to emerge myself, from this murky world of having more questions than answers about SJ7.

Peace and love 27.

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