Shaun Johnson

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For other people named Shaun Johnson, see Shaun Johnson (disambiguation).

Shaun Johnson
Personal information
Born (1990-09-09) 9 September 1990 (age 33)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight91 kg (14 st 5 lb)
Playing information
PositionHalfback, Five-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–18 New Zealand Warriors 162 63 326 13 917
2019–21
Cronulla Sharks
 44 6 119 1 263
2022– New Zealand Warriors 56 15 107 4 278
Total 262 84 552 18 1458
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012–2019 New Zealand 32 14 83 1 223
2013
NRL All Stars
 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1][2]
As of 12 May 2024

Shaun Johnson (born 9 September 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL).

He previously played for the

Golden Boot Award
for the world's best player.

He is widely considered to be one of the greatest New Zealand rugby league footballers of all time, often compared to Benji Marshall and Stacey Jones.[citation needed]

Background

Johnson was born in

Auckland, New Zealand, his mother is Laotian and his father is a New Zealander.[3]

From the

Rugby League. He represented New Zealand in both touch and Rugby League and played rugby union in his school's First XV.[6]

Playing career

Early years

Johnson played for the Hibiscus Coast Raiders in the Auckland Rugby League competition before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors in 2009.[7]

Johnson playing for the Junior Warriors in 2009

Johnson started his professional career playing for the Junior Warriors in the

Toyota Cup. In March 2009, league great Andrew Johns commented: "I haven't been this excited about a player in a long time." Johns was referring to the first time he saw Stacey Jones play, which was in 1995, when Stacey was a junior.[8] Johnson spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Junior Warriors and played 45 matches, scoring 25 tries, 159 goals and 4 field goals to finish his Toyota Cup career with 422 points.[9] Johnson made his NSW Cup debut for the Auckland Vulcans in 2010 and also represented the Junior Kiwis that year.[10] His final Toyota Cup match was being part of the Junior Warriors winning the 2010
Grand Final.

2011

After suffering an injury in the pre-season, Johnson spent the start of the 2011 season with the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.[14] The Warriors lost to the Sea Eagles 24–10 in the 2011 NRL Grand Final however Johnson played a tremendous game and almost sparked a surprise comeback with a role in both tries and a few outstanding runs.[15] Johnson finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing 16 matches and scoring 6 tries for the Warriors in the 2011 NRL season
.

Johnson playing for the Auckland Vulcans in 2011

Johnson was named in the New Zealand national rugby league team squad for the 2011 Four Nations but withdrew with an injury.[16] On 27 November 2011, Johnson re-signed with the Warriors until the end of the 2014 season.[17]

2012

Due to

Rugby League International Federation's Rookie of the Year award for 2012.[19][20]

2013

On 13 February 2013, Johnson was chosen to play in the

Suncorp Stadium.[21]

Johnson playing for the Warriors in 2013

For the 2013 Anzac Test, Johnson was selected to play halfback for New Zealand, kicking two goals from two attempts in their 32–12 loss against Australia at Canberra Stadium.[22] In Round 14 against the Sydney Roosters, Johnson chased down Michael Jennings after the latter picked up a loose ball and sprinted toward an undefended try line, Warriors later won the match 23–12 at SFS.[23] Johnson played in all the Warriors' 24 matches and scored 10 tries in the 2013 NRL season.

Johnson lining up for the Kiwis at 2013 RLWC

Following the end of the season, Johnson was selected in New Zealand 2013 Rugby League World Cup squad.[24] In the Rugby League World Cup Semi Finals on 24 November against England at Wembley Stadium, after the game was locked-up at 8-all at halftime and England lead 18–14, with seconds to go in the game, Johnson scored the final try of the game in the 80th minute, stepping and sliding through a hole to level the score at 18-all and then converting his own try to seal the win and to cement the Kiwis' place in the World Cup final.[25] Following the Kiwis 34–2 World Cup Final loss to Australia at Old Trafford,[citation needed] Johnson finished the tournament as the top points-scorer with 76 points (4 tries and 30 goals).

2014

In February 2014, Johnson played in the Warriors inaugural

Rugby League World Golden Boot Award for best player in the world, beating the likes of Sam Burgess, Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis.[33]

2015

On 16 January 2015, Johnson was named captain of the Warriors

Mt Smart Stadium.[37] Johnson finished the 2015 NRL season
with him playing in 18 matches, scoring 8 tries, kicking 48 goals and 2 field goals for the Warriors.

2016

On 29 January, Johnson was named as the captain of the Warriors 2016 Auckland Nines squad,

Hunter Stadium.[39]
Shaun Johnson was part of the Four Nations 2016 New Zealand Kiwis side that made it to the Final of the tournament, losing to the Australian Kangaroos 34–8.

2017

Shaun Johnson became New Zealand rugby league's greatest test points scorer as the Kiwis beat Scotland 74–6. Johnson's second-half try broke Matthew Ridge's record of 168 points. His 22-points total from the Rugby League World Cup match took him to 175 points.[citation needed]

2018

After helping to guide the Warriors back to the finals the Warriors were bundled out by the Penrith Panthers in the first round of the NRL playoffs. On 27 November Johnson was granted an immediate release from the final year of his contract with the New Zealand Warriors. On 1 December the Cronulla Sharks announced that they had signed Johnson on a 3-year deal.

On 10 December, Johnson spoke to the media after leaving the New Zealand Warriors and took aim at his former coach Stephen Kearney saying “I’ve been at Auckland for eight years and had six coaches, The sixth coach didn't like me, so what".[40]

Johnson then went on to speak about his motivations for joining Cronulla saying "They're a club that want to do well," Johnson said of the Warriors. "They're a club that's looking to win a premiership and if they don't see me as worthy of what they were paying me that's fine. If it was all about the money I would have stayed there. I would have stayed and played my contract out. I'm here to win a premiership at Cronulla".[41]

2019

Johnson made his debut for Cronulla-Sutherland in Round 1 of the

Shark Park
which ended in a 30–16 loss. In Round 7, Johnson was taken from the field in Cronulla's 29–6 loss against Brisbane which was later revealed to be a torn hamstring and was ruled out for 4–6 weeks.

In Round 15, Johnson scored a try but missed all three attempts at goal as Cronulla suffered a shock 14–12 loss against last placed Canterbury-Bankstown at

ANZ Stadium. The following week against Brisbane, Johnson was relieved of his goal kicking duties which were taken over by Chad Townsend. Johnson was later substituted in the second half by coach John Morris as Cronulla lost 24–22. This was the third game in a row the club had lost due to poor goal kicking.[42][43][44]

Johnson made a total of 18 appearances for Cronulla in his first season at the club as they finished in 7th spot on the table and qualified for the finals. Johnson played in the club's elimination final defeat by Manly at Brookvale Oval.[45]

2020

In round 19 of the 2020 NRL season, Johnson was taken from the field during the second half in Cronulla's match against the Sydney Roosters with a serious leg injury. Before being injured, Johnson had a league-high 23 try assists. It was later revealed that Johnson had snapped his Achilles tendon and was ruled out for the remainder of the year.[46]

2021

In round 7 of the

Kogarah Oval.[47]

On 3 June, Johnson was informed by Cronulla-Sutherland that his services would not be required beyond the 2021 NRL season.[48]

In round 14 against Penrith, Johnson kicked the winning field goal as Cronulla won the match 19-18.[49]

On 25 June, it was announced that Johnson would re-join the New Zealand Warriors on a two-year deal.[50] On 27 July, it was revealed that Johnson would be ruled out from playing for at least eight weeks after suffering a hamstring injury.[51] On 2 August, it was announced that Johnson would miss the rest of the 2021 NRL season.[52]

2022

In round 5 of the 2022 NRL season, Johnson kicked the winning field goal for the New Zealand Warriors in their 25-24 golden point victory over North Queensland.[53] In round 8, Johnson kicked a field goal in golden point extra time to win the game for New Zealand 21-20 over Canberra.[54] Johnson made a total of 21 appearances for the New Zealand club as they finished 15th on the table.[55]

2023

After a few mediocre seasons, with the playing quality he started his career with far behind him, Johnson silenced all critics who said he needed to be playing in reserve grade, by starting the season strong with a 4-1 record. Johnson made major improvements to his all-around game, particularly his kicking game and playmaking ability.

In round 5 of the

Shark Park. The club at half-time trailed the match 26-6.[56]
In his post-game interview, Johnson ended the interview by saying “Up The Wahs, baby”. From that point on, the phrase Up The Wahs would end up taking New Zealand by storm.

In round 14, Johnson scored two tries and kicked five goals as New Zealand defeated the Dolphins 30-8.[57] In round 19, in a game against the Parramatta Eels, Johnson became just the fifth player to appear 200 times as a New Zealand Warriors player. Johnson would end up winning that game 46-10 against an understrength Parramatta side. In round 21, Johnson kicked a field goal in golden point extra-time to win the game for the New Zealand Warriors 21-20 against Canberra.[58][59] In round 23, Johnson scored two tries for New Zealand in their 28-18 victory over the Gold Coast.[60]

On 4 September, Johnson was awarded the Simon Mannering Medal as the Warriors' Player Of The Year. Johnson also won the Players' Player Of The Year and the One New Zealand People’s Choice award chosen by the public.[61] He was selected in the RLPA’s Team Of The Year, voted by NRL players as the best halfback in 2023. [62]

Johnson finished the season leading the league in try assists, total kicks and kick metres. Johnson’s career resurgence resulted in the Warriors’ first top 4 finish since 2008, qualifying for their first finals since 2018. Johnson missed the Week 1 Finals loss to Penrith due to a calf injury. He returned the following week with two line break assists and two try assists in the New Zealand Warriors victory against Newcastle. The New Zealand Warriors ultimately fell short in the preliminary final, losing to the Brisbane Broncos.[63]

On 27 September, Johnson was named the 2023 Dally M Halfback of the Year and finished as the runner-up for the Dally M Medal.

2024

In round 5 of the 2024 NRL season, Johnson scored two tries for New Zealand in their 34-4 victory over South Sydney.[64]

Personal life

Johnson married

Silver Fern Kayla Johnson (netball) (nee Cullen) in Sydney 2019. [65] The couple have two daughters who were born in 2020 and 2023. [66]

Career Stats

Year Team Appearances Tries Goals Goal-kicking % Field Goals Points
2011 NRL Season New Zealand Warriors 16 6 - - - 24
2012 NRL Season 22 12 - - - 48
2013 NRL Season 24 10 67/89 75.28% 3 177
2014 NRL Season 21 9 63/83 75.90% 1 163
2015 NRL Season 18 8 48/70 68.57% 2 130
2016 NRL Season 24 10 42/57 73.68% 1 125
2017 NRL Season 18 4 45/57 78.95% 2 108
2018 NRL Season 19 4 61/80 76.25% 4 142
2019 NRL Season Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 18 3 45/59 76.27% - 102
2020 NRL Season 16 2 56/73 76.71% - 120
2021 NRL Season 10 1 18/20 90.00% 1 41
2022 NRL Season New Zealand Warriors 21 3 14/18 77.78% 2 42
2023 NRL Season 24 8 71/89 79.78% 2 176
2024 NRL Season

[67]

References

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  2. ^ "loverugbyleague". Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  3. ^ Walter, Brad (23 March 2022). "League of nations:Stars representing 40 countries". NRL.com.
  4. ^ "Stuff". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  5. ^ Warriors star Shaun Johnson was almost lost to AFL Peter Badel September 9, 2011
  6. ^ Lawton, Aaron (22 March 2009). "Shaun Johnson to be a top player". Sunday News. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  7. ^ Shaun Johnson warriors.co.nz
  8. Stuff.co.nz
    . 22 March 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  9. ^ Johnson, Shaun 2009 – 2010 nzleague.co.nz
  10. ^ Nine NYC-winning Warriors named in Jnr Kiwis Archived 30 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine NRL.com, 6 October 2010
  11. ^ "Home - Live Scores & Latest News - Fox Sports". Fox Sports. 30 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Warriors Host The Wests Tigers at MT Smart Stadium". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Warriors Halfback Shaun Johnson Puts in Freakish Performance Against Broncos". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  14. ^ "NRL semi-final - Melbourne Storm 12 NZ Warriors 20". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 September 2011.
  15. ^ "Home - Live Scores & Latest News - Fox Sports". Fox Sports. 30 March 2016.
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  19. Rugby League International Federation
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  20. ^ NZRL
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  39. ^ "Thurston fumes: 'It's not good for the game'". Retrieved 3 February 2024.
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  52. ^ "Dragons cop huge finals blow as Hunt sidelined with broken arm: Casualty Ward". www.foxsports.com.au. 2 August 2021.
  53. ^ "'Probably got a tear in her eye': Emotional Johnson's tribute to family after 'surreal' game-winner". www.foxsports.com.au. 8 April 2022.
  54. ^ "Ricky slams 'embarrassing' Raiders as Wighton charged over dangerous throw". www.foxsports.com.au. May 2022.
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  64. ^ "Rabbitohs crisis deepens with Latrell Mitchell facing four-match ban for dangerous contact". www.theguardian.com.
  65. ^ "Kayla Cullen and Shaun Johnson open up on their wedding prep". Flava. 19 August 2019.
  66. ^ "Shaun Johnson and wife Kayla announce birth of second daughter". Stuff. 15 July 2023.
  67. ^ "Shaun Johnson - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 9 January 2019.

External links

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