The sight of Shaun Johnson sprinting down the field to score a try has been rare one of late. Photo / Photosport
The sight of Shaun Johnson sprinting down the field to score a try has been rare one of late. Photo / Photosport
As winger Josh Addo-Carr sprinted away for the Bulldogs third try on Friday night, Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson had only one thought on his mind.
Make amends. And quickly.
At the time, it threatened to be a pivotal moment.
After dominating most of the match, the Warriors had seen their12-point halftime lead quickly evaporate, and there was a familiar angst around Mt Smart Stadium, with Canterbury-Bankstown levelling to 18-18 with less than 30 minutes to play.
That pain was reflected in Johnson's face, as he watched 'the Foxx' disappear into the distance, after intercepting a misjudged pass from the Warriors playmaker.
It's been a difficult campaign for the 31-year-old, in a struggling team, with some high-profile costly errors, but he was determined not to dwell on this one.
"Once I passed that ball to Addo-Carr I was actually thinking - I need to take over and do something good," Johnson told the Herald. "Otherwise, I'm going to be very pissed off. I just had conversations in my own head, what can I do to try and turn this around? Especially because I was the one that made that pass."
The sight of Shaun Johnson sprinting down the field to score a try has been rare one of late. Photo / Photosport
It was a frustrating situation – as the match was in the balance when it probably didn't need to be – but Johnson and his teammates were determined to dig in, knowing they had been dominant.
"That's what we held on to," said Johnson. "We felt like we were on top of them and they just got a couple of cheap tries against the run of play."
The Warriors quickly refocused. They made inroads into Bulldogs territory, before a neatly disguised Johnson short ball sent Eliesa Katoa across to restore their lead in the 56th minute.
That made for a tense final quarter, as both Euan Aitken and Josh Curran looked to have scored, before replays found otherwise.
Clinging to a six-point advantage, the Warrriors could finally celebrate in the 74th minute, when Johnson split the defence, running off an Addin Fonua-Blake pass, before selling a delicious dummy to dive under the posts.
It brought back memories of Johnson at his jet-heeled best, circa 2011-2015, and showed he is still capable of special moments.
"It was nice to get into some open space and actually go the distance," said Johnson. "It's been a little while since I've done that. So to do that back here, where you've got so many good memories, it's special."
The try capped a strong game from the 225-game NRL veteran, a pivotal figure in the 42-18 win.
"Shaun did some really good things," said coach Stacey Jones "He defended well, he kicked the ball in good spots and laid on a couple of tries. Probably just the intercept pass [but] the way he recovered from that was really good."
For his part, Johnson was thrilled with the overall team effort, after the dire performance six days earlier against the Rabbitohs.
"We had to be [better]," said Johnson. "We just didn't showcase ourselves at all last week, so it's nice to come home and put on a performance like that. We all played our role, everyone contributed and that was probably the most pleasing thing."
Daejarn Asi (L) celebrates a Warriors try. Photo / Photosport
Both Jones and Johnson reserved special praise for returning five eighth Daejarn Asi, who defended with purpose, attacked with energy and returned fire with some savage spiralling bombs, to counter Matt Burton's eye-catching efforts with the boot for the Bulldogs.
"He was really good," said Johnson. "He had a few areas that he needed to work on, like we all do and he certainly did that. He has been playing well in reserve grade and came in with a lot of confidence. I'm pretty proud of him."
And the Kiwis veteran was again thrilled with the vocal crowd of 16,212, with the team lifting noticeably behind the support.
"It was unreal," said Johnson. "It doesn't go unnoticed and we savour every moment. It was a really special night here again and we've got one more to go."
