In a rare moment of Niche Cache harmony, I watched Friday night's game against Penrith Panthers with El Wildcardo. I watched Shaun Johnson take on Nathan Cleary and without Matt Moylan in the halves alongside Cleary, the kid who grew up in Auckland was tasked with guiding Penrith towards some much needed points at a stadium Cleary once used as his backyard.

I watched Johnson get out-played by Cleary, partly thanks to Cleary's excellence and partly thanks to Johnson being mediocre. As Johnson once again kicked the footy out-on-the-full, after dribbling kicks that could have very easily have earned the Warriors repeat-sets out over the goal-line, I posed a question El Wildcardo's way; what would it take for Johnson to get dropped?

Obviously merely a fictitious pondering. It would take a lot, regardless of Johnson's mediocrity this season, to give Johnson the flick for a few games or longer. 

Later on in the game, Johnson pulled up as he burst forward in support and left the field with a bung knee. 

My unrealistic pondering became somewhat of a reality. Johnson hasn't been dropped but we are now graced with a very funky situation where Johnson won't be there as the Warriors chase a glimmer of hope, that they can somehow wiggle into the top-eight. 

This is only funky because Johnson hasn't been very good this season and I'm seeing the silver lining of what many are viewing as a dark cloud. Regular readers will know my view on Johnson, I'll repeat it as it's an important starting point: Johnson hasn't shown that he can control, dominate and bring success as the main play-maker.  Very few play-makers can, but somehow expectations around Johnson quickly became inflated based on moments of brilliance. This isn't overly negative, it's just a matter of style and you'd be foolish not to note how good Johnson looks when playing alongside an equal presence who is at the peak of his powers - Kieran Foran prior to his dramas and a really solid forward pack.

Johnson's been as inconsistent as any other Warriors player this season; he sprayed kicks and took an air-swing in one game, looked sublime with his boot in the next game and then had another air-swing in the next game. 

Y'all have your own opinions on Johnson, although it's hard to find any difference of opinion about who was the better halfback at Manu Vatuvei Stadium on Friday night. Cleary won the game for Penrith, he organised his troops better, kicked better, ran better and generally grabbed the game by the neck, demanding his team leave with a couple points. Which is kinda crazy given how we all love Johnson's running game, how I've highlighted numerous times that Johnson's kicking game can be fantastic (variety, accuracy, decision making). 

Running the footy is Johnson's greatest asset, closely followed by that kicking game - when he's not up to his neck in this weird kicking slump. Yet it was Cleary who was the running threat and pinned the Warriors down their own end. Funnily enough it was Cleary who scored pushing up in support, bustin' his gut to follow up a line break, while Johnson got shot by the knee hunting sniper.

Now we face an immediate future without Johnson.

And I'm excited; this will now be Fozza's team.

Foran hasn't been very good either though, hence Johnson has struggled and that needs to be stated and understood first. Foran had a few moments earlier in the season but hasn't really done as much as the Warriors need - whether it's a case of Foran not taking equal responsibility or not being given equality, I'm not sure. The dynamic Foran who combines pure footy class with an intensity and effort that very few can match, hasn't been sighted with the Warriors.

A Foran who does a basic job, shovels the footy along the backline and has a run every so often has definitely been sighted. In the three games prior to this Panthers game (which had Johnson/Foran), Foran had 119 touches to Johnson's 152 and Foran kicked 18 times to Johnson's 39 kicks. Such a difference between the two doesn't seem ideal, especially when a strong Warriors win over Brisbane a few weeks ago came with greater equality; 8 vs 11 runs and 8 vs 13 kicks. Greater equality via Foran just doing more.

We haven't watched a bad version of Foran, just not peak Foran. And the Warriors needed peak Foran, complimenting Johnson to really live up to the hype as Foran would be a lethal threat and he'd bring out the best in Johnson. We've had neither and now it's all Fozza, well Fozza and Ata Hingano.

This is Foran's team moving forward and with such responsibility, Foran has to do more. Ever the optimist, I'm excited to see Foran take control of this team and play as a first-receiver more often than not. 

Hingano is likely to slot in on Foran's left edge as Hingano is better suited to the left and it'll make his transition into consistent footy much easier, this should allow Foran to call the shots on either side of the ruck, sliding from one side to the other when something catches his eye. We could even see Hingano posted on the left edge and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck out on the right edge, allowing Foran to swing to either side but sticking to the middle third of the field. 

Foran looks his most threatening when he gets the ball early, carries it with both hands and runs. That doesn't mean just taking on the defence, nah, Foran looks great when he's running with options. When people say how 'direct' Foran plays, that means that he engages defenders early and blatantly. He runs towards defenders, not sideways and defenders have to make a decision simply because Foran's moving in their direction with a comrade either side of him.

Maybe having Aotearoa's spine in a club team wasn't as amazing as many thought it would be and with clarity, could come slicker attacking performances. Now I'm left to enjoy ponderings about Foran and Tuivasa-Sheck's combination or how Foran's dominant presence at first-receiver could open things up for Issac Luke around the ruck, among many more Foran-related notes.

To some extent, it felt as though Foran was muzzled or at least that the play-making combination was cluttered. We've got one season with Kieran Foran (!!) in the halves and it just felt a bit downbuzz, almost as if Foran was ticking through the days until he headed back to Australia. As this is now Foran's team, I expect to see Foran enjoy a far more prominent role and now it feels like we will get genuine value out of Foran. 

The reporting around Johnson's injury simply doesn't reflect Johnson's performances this season. Johnson wasn't playing his best footy, nor was he executing skills at the level the team requires if they are to flourish. This smacked us all in the face on Friday night as Cleary looked like the best player on the field. 

Perhaps the Warriors season isn't over. Perhaps the fun has just begun.

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