Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Aotearoa's Warrior Shaun Johnson
No player encapsulates everything about NZ Warriors more than Shaun Johnson and as the Mt Smart faithful prepare for NRL finals, Johnson may be the truest example of an Aotearoa Warrior. Throughout the course of the Aotearoa Warriors Diary, the storyline around Johnson and the Warriors has been baffling which was amplified in recent years by the pandemic.
Why is Johnson playing really good footy? Because he is happy. Johnson is settled in his home region where he lives with his whanau and has easy access to his support system. Many folks, mainly Australians, have pondered where this form was for Johnson last year especially as well as the last few years, in the same way they wonder why Warriors stunk for the last three years.
Early in the pandemic everyone celebrated the Warriors for moving to Australia. As the pandemic rolled along and Aussie teams returned home, the Warriors kept battling in Australia. This had an obvious impact on results and performance, although many observers overlooked how Warriors were operating at a disadvantage to every other team.
This is how it felt during 2021 and throughout 2022. Having fully returned to their local community for the 2023 season, we are now able to reflect on that era and being in Auckland offers a clear advantage for Warriors. Mana, turangawaewae and whanau help Warriors win games. Tohu Harris has spoken about this and Johnson serves as a lovely example of how judging the Warriors during the pandemic era is silly. Put Warriors and Johnson on the same starting line as the rest of the NRL and they are a competitive.
Johnson is also a beacon of attention. When Warriors win or lose, it's because of Johnson. This doesn't stem from emotional fans or niggle within the organisation, this is usually the basic analysis from rugby league media. Even those who folks look to as the 'smartest rugby league pundits' have a fetish for Johnson, swinging from praise to criticsim as if Johnson is the only bloke playing for Warriors.
Such analysis is borderline lazy. Warriors have so much funky footy stuff going on around Johnson. Johnson often receives the footy from Harris or Dylan Walker, perhaps a no-looker from Addin Fonua-Blake as Warriors provide a top-tier passing skillset in their forwards. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad swings either side of Johnson offering his class and Warriors have no shortage of oomph to put Johnson in beneficial areas.
Warriors are second in NSW Cup and have quickly set up one of the best development pipelines in the NRL. Keep in mind that Warriors lost all their teams below NRL during the pandemic and their return to Auckland has already reaped rewards in their abundance of young talent.
Most of the Warriors NRL squad is playing career-best footy. The two Andys (Webster and McFadden) have already built a glorious system in less than a year and Warriors are one of the few NRL teams consistently drawing 20,000+ fans to . This Kiwi-NRL Spotlight is here to assess Johnson's footy this season and it starts with highlighting how Aotearoa Warriors are shining in all facets.
Nothing about Johnson's career has been smooth. His breakout season delivered a Grand Final appearance under Ivan Cleary and that was followed by four different coaches in the next five seasons. What if Johnson and Cleary stayed together for a few more years?
As Warriors churned through coaches, Johnson was treated as the saviour and reason for failure. This sets up Johnson's departure prior to the 2019 season, after Johnson had a 12-7 record in 2018 and a 63% win rate. Johnson has two seasons winning over 60% of his games with 65% this season and the 2018 season which led to his departure. None of that suggests that Warriors should have made Johnson their scapegoat, but they did.
Johnson was pretty good for Cronulla Sharks before suffering a major injury in 2021. Johnson built into his best year for try assists with 23 in 2020 and Nicho Hynes had 21 try assists in his 2022 Dally M campaign for Sharks. That was Johnson's first season with 20+ try assists and apart from improvement in his missed tackles, Johnson's stats for his three years with Sharks are aligned with the rest of his career, even last season.
Is this the best season of Johnson's career? Probably, it may also be the best team he has played in and the best cultural environment he has experienced. Here are how some of Johnson's key stats stack up to his previous best mahi in those stats...
Try Assists
2020: 23
2023: 22
2016: 18
2011: 18
2012: 17
2013: 17
2017: 17
Tries
2012: 12
2013: 10
2016: 10
2014: 9
2023: 8
Forced Drop Outs
2022: 23
2016: 22
2023: 21
2014: 19
2020: 18
Kicking Metres per Game
2023: 528.19
2017: 423.7
2021: 368.97
2022: 344.02
2013: 316.05
Tackles Made / Tackles Missed (Seasons with 300+ tackles)
2013: 319 tackles / 69 missed
2016: 348 tackles / 63 missed
2018: 334 tackles / 68 missed
2022: 334 tackles / 46 missed
2023: 391 tackles / 33 missed
Johnson's tackling at 92.2% this season and this is a smidge lower than Dylan Brown's 93.3%. Brown is one of, if not the best tackling half in the NRL and was one of the best running/tackling halves as soon as he entered the league. Johnson's tackling like Brown this season and while he has 33 missed tackles so far in 2023, here are the halves who have 60+ missed tackles: Ezra Mam (90), Chad Townsend (77), Tanah Boyd (68), Luke Brooks (67), Matt Burton (66), Isaiya Katoa (66), Tyson Gamble (65), Cody Walker (63), Cameron Munster (60), Matt Moylan (60).
Johnson's 22 try assists this season have him ranked third in the NRL. Walker is second with the same number of try assists and just under twice as many missed tackles. Johnson is the only player with 10,000+ kicking metres this season (10,564) and next best is Townsend, who has well over twice as many missed tackles as Johnson.
The win over Gold Coast Titans last round was among Johnson's best games many Warriors fans have seen. Despite being as pale as a ghost and looking crook, Johnson dictated the flow with his leadership and kicking, especially when Titans were defending with Jayden Campbell or Keano Kini in the line. Johnson also fended David Fifita and pounced on a scattered defensive line for his tries.
Two forced drop-outs against Titans give Johnson five consecutive games with at least one forced droppie. Johnson has three consecutive games with at least a try assist, how about six in his last three games. Against Titans and throughout this season, Johnson has played in slow-mo with the ball in hand and this follows the theme of veteran play-makers developing their craft as they mature. Add a wide variety of kicks, top-notch defence and eager runners who are equally as willing to be decoys as they are receivers for the comprehensive Johnson experience.
Johnson loves Auckland and Aotearoa. As a local junior, Johnson represents how important NZ Warriors are to the community and how re-establishing their turangawaewae has laid foundations for them to flourish. Very few represent hearty Aotearoa Warriors mana like Johnson and regardless of how this season finishes, there is nothing but gratitude for seeing Johnson happy playing footy at Mt Smart.
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Peace and love.