Sam Tomkins' errant pass to Manu Vatuvei with 90 seconds left on the clock proved costly, before Bodene Thompson's dropped ball at the death spelled the end of their campaign.
Having missed all of their shots at goal, it's little wonder Johnson opted to run the ball in the dying stages, and with seconds slipping away he said there was no time to consider options and blamed himself for the final result.
"He [referee Matt Cecchin] didn't call time off so that's why we had to go, we didn't get time to think," he said.
"They crammed in on me so I passed it out wide but [me] not really looking at that is why we lost the game." After starting the day by dispatching the Tigers 22-8 in their final pool game, the Warriors began their play-off match confidently, scoring at the end of their first set when a Johnson cross-kick sat up for Vatuvei to plant down.
A converted five-pointer to Sharks forward Chris Heighington gave his side the lead, and the visitors appeared the more industrious side, before the Warriors hit back on the stroke of halftime with a long-range individual try to impressive 20-year-old rookie Solomone Kata - his fourth of the tournament.
Another try to Sharks speedster Nathan Gardner was matched by Ngani Laumape's effort out wide, but the Sharks proved tenacious in defence and did well to hold the Warriors out.
Despite the defeat, coach Andrew McFadden was optimistic.
"That's huge pressure for some of these young guys and people don't really understand that for a 20-year-old. The lessons they'll learn out of this will be huge ... The things we've focused on this weekend will help us in the 13-a-side game as well."
Marshall in top form on return
Benji Marshall will fly out of Auckland satisfied he has proved some of his doubters wrong following a five-star return to Eden Park for the NRL Auckland Nines.
An ill-fated short-lived stint with the Blues Super Rugby franchise last year saw him roundly criticised as being too old and too slow before he eventually admitted defeat and headed back to Sydney to revitalise his league legacy.
The former Kiwis captain returned to New Zealand this week as skipper of St George-Illawarra's Nines squad, and used the tournament to showcase the skills and attacking mindset that defined his 201-game, 10-year career with Wests Tigers.
After losing their opening day-one encounter against Newcastle, the 29-year-old led the Dragons to a thrilling last-minute win over Manly, before starring in their final pool match against the Eels yesterday.
The crafty playmaker set up Kiti Glymin for the first try of the day with a deftly placed chip-kick, and then cleverly created a second-half four-pointer for Shannon Crook to put the Dragons within two.
Marshall then finished the job with what was close to being the try of the tournament, when he jinked across-field on a typically bamboozling run. Just when he looked to have run out of space, a no-look pass found an unmarked Eto Nabuli, who sped down the left touchline before flicking a speculator over his right shoulder, into Marshall's safe hands as he dived in to score the match-winner.
Despite his efforts, the Dragons bowed out with a third-place finish in the Rangitoto Pool.
"Physically it's not that tough, it's probably more demanding on your lungs," Marshall said of the Nines. Back in 2004, Marshall helped the Wests Tigers win the pre-season World Sevens competition, but he rates the Nines as more challenging game.
