Opinion
With the Olympics in full swing, Warriors playmaker Shaun Johnson’s decision to retire this week slipped a little under sporting radar.
The 33-year-old will hang up his boots at season end after over a decade’s service at the Auckland club interspersed with a two-year stint at Cronulla.
At his best a mercurial talent, the Hibiscus Coast-raised Johnson in his debut season played a hand in getting the Warriors to the 2011 Grand Final and suited up 32 times for his country.
In a season filled with close losses, the Warriors sadly let another game they should have won go against Parramatta and now have two chances of making the NRL playoffs- Buckley’s and none.
It is unknown whether missing out on finals football accelerated Johnson’s retirement decision, however, without knowing it, the crowd at Go Media Stadium on a chilly Friday night warmed to the fading embers of the career of the (arguably) finest halfback in New Zealand rugby league history.
Johnson told reporters that deciding to retire had brought him relief:
“It feels good knowing that I’ve made the decision, a little bit like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders. To be able to come out and say it, announce it the way I wanted to.”
Despite an offer to stay on at the club in 2025, Johnson said he stuck to his guns;
“Departures can be forced sometimes. So for me to have control over this, knowing that there was something there for me next year- I’ve made the decision not to.”
Returning to halfback after Te Maire Martin had done a job in his absence, Johnson was solid enough in the 20-30 loss sparking a late rally despite earlier failing to ignite a Warriors backline loaded with finishing potential.
The team’s woes cannot be all blamed on Johnson. He was simply implementing a trite game plan that employs a monotonous sixth tackle option of a kick to the corner for Dallin Watene Zelezniak to grapple with his opposite for air supremacy.
To the casual observer in the East stand, the Warriors looked bereft of ideas, not just on Saturday, but all season and Andrew Webster and his specialist attack coaches have plenty of work to do over the summer.
The focus will now shift to building their 2025 roster which will feature the highly-anticipated arrival in the halves of Jett Cleary, son of Ivan, who has signed on a three-year deal.
Whether he will follow in the footsteps of Johnson and become the side’s talisman remains to be seen and is asking a lot of a 19-year-old.
The Warriors will of course be hoping he can emulate his gifted brother Nathan Cleary and steer the Warriors to a premiership that has evaded them throughout their entire 30-year existence.
We wait in hope.
