Next two greats to face off in final

There's not much point in asking Shaun Johnson about Manly - he's never played them.

If there was ever a fact to illustrate just how raw his sublime talent is, then that's surely it.

Johnson's heroics on Saturday against the Storm ensured Sunday's grand final will be a battle between the game's next two great players. Manly's young tyro Daly Cherry-Evans is the reigning Dally M rookie of the year. Johnson has played just 15 NRL matches, but he's already been called the next Stacey Jones, the next Andrew Johns and, most recently, the next Benji Marshall.

"It is still pretty unreal at this stage," Johnson admitted. "I have been told it is going to be a big week and I guess I just want to go with it and embrace what grand final week is all about. We are happy to be here."

That they are indeed "here" is in no small measure down to their rookie halfback. On Saturday he ran his team around like an old pro, sent a succession of sweetly timed bombs raining down on the Storm back three, and finally created Lewis Brown's clinching try with a weaving run, audacious dummy and slick pass.

"It was just kind of an instinct thing and I guess it kind of just happened with the moment," he said. "[Assistant coach] Tony Iro was keeping on at me all night that I needed to take on the line and I guess I did that and it came off."

He began the season with a debilitating back injury that he thought might prevent him playing at all this year. Just a couple of months ago, he'd all but written off 2011. "I was pretty much prepping myself for next pre-season. I guess it slowly started to turn and I worked hard to get to where I needed to be. I'm just so grateful I got the shot to play." So too, no doubt, are the club's fans.

As for the comparisons with the aforementioned trio of superstar playmakers, he does his best to take it in his stride. "I don't mind it. Benji is an awesome player so I wouldn't shrug it off any day of the week." So whose game does this 21-year-old of Laotian descent most closely resemble?

"None of theirs. They are obviously all great players in their own right. I'd like to create my own path. Hopefully I'll pick out a little bit from each of their games and add it to mine. But they are all players I admired growing up and still do."

As for the head-to-head with Cherry-Evans, it's a bit like the Manly question. Johnson doesn't believe their paths crossed in the Toyota Cup. Like so much of what lies ahead this week, it's all new. Johnson will just keep doing what he has been doing - keep his head down and rely on the backing of his teammates.

The Warriors will be joined on grand finals day by the Junior Warriors who play the Cowboys in the Toyota Cup final and the Vulcans who yesterday qualified for the NSW Cup with a 30-26 win over Cronulla.