Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Empathy With Shaun Johnson
Unfortunately for Shaun Johnson, his Kiwi-NRL mahi reflects the predicament Aotearoa Warriors find themselves in as they battle through the last stanza of almighty pandemic niggle. Aotearoa and Australian media are quick to whip up negative headlines about Warriors footy without much empathy to their situation; no other team faces the same disadvantages as Aotearoa Warriors.
Perhaps this applies now more than it did over the past two seasons - yup Warriors are approaching three seasons of starting 20m behind the pack in a 100m sprint. No judgements should be made about Aotearoa Warriors footy until they enjoy a level playing field and while it is highly unlikely that Johnson commands Aotearoa Kiwis selection to face Tonga, no judgements should be made about his mahi.
Some Warriors have whanau with them, others like Johnson don't. Johnson is living with Warriors in Australia and his young whanau are back in Aotearoa. Just like the whole club being split across two countries, this can be worked through for a few months with high spirits. The Warriors and Johnson are clearly struggling through this final stanza, with a few years of built up niggle taking its toll.
This is Johnson's worst season of his career. Johnson is 3-9 when playing this season which amounts to 25 percent wins - the first time below 36 percent wins for Johnson. Johnson is averaging 53 running metres per game and that's also the lowest of his career, while Johnson's try-scoring has fallen off a cliff as well. Warriors aren't scoring many tries and that means less try assists, although Johnson has 7 try assists and could crack 10+ try assists for the 11th season (12 total seasons) of his career.
Johnson is tied with Reece Walsh for the most missed tackles of Warriors players. Both have 32 missed tackles and while it's not a good sign for a leader like Johnson to be struggling in this fashion, Walsh is almost missing half as many tackles as he makes. Walsh is also 5th for total errors in the NRL and leads all fullbacks for errors.
The Australian perspective is that Walsh is a superstar, easily the Warriors best player and thus there are constant headlines about Walsh's future. Walsh is just as poor as every other Warriors player right now though and his errors, along with minimal defence is not conducive to winning; Walsh and Johnsons share 32 missed tackles, Walsh has made 61 and Johnson's made 193.
Look beyond Johnson and you will find many Warriors from a wide variety of backgrounds playing below their best. Not only is this a horrible time given the club's circumstance to assess Johnson's mahi, very few Warriors are actually playing well and pushing the team forward. Johnson is merely aligned with the team's performance and how the club sits, two and a half years into immense niggle.
That Johnson empathy won't help him earn Aotearoa Kiwis selection. Jahrome Hughes, Dylan Brown and Kieran Foran are in the mix for two starting halves roles, while Te Maire Martin has won every game he has played for Broncos this season. Martin's winning at fullback and could slot in there, or Martin could provide cover as a squad member. These four provide better vibes than Johnson and Johnson will be better served raising his mana in Aotearoa, before pushing for a World Cup gig later in the year.
The Kiwi-NRL takeover means far more Aotearoa Kiwis depth. The days of Tohu Harris and Isaac John playing as international halves are long gone, just as Johnson's automatic selection has been swept aside by fabulous depth. Blokes need to be playing well to earn selection, not just playing.
That's the reality for Johnson. While I'm curious to see how the back end of his season looks after feeling Aotearoa energy and with a World Cup on the horizon, assessing Johnson as a veteran half needs to wait until next season. Apart from owners/boss-men who are stressed and over the pandemic niggle, Johnson seems to be weighed down the most by the circumstance. Warriors have low key snared decent young halves from Australia (but Aussies don't wanna move to NZ!?) and this may provide Johnson with extra juice to compete for his spot.
Search within for empathy, even for that pesky geezer who pisses you off. Deploy that empathy for Johnson and elevate your mana.
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Peace and love.