NRL: We must build on Bulldogs win - Shaun Johnson

Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson says last week's impressive win over the Bulldogs will count for nothing if they can't repeat the effort with another controlled display in their Anzac Day clash against the Storm.

Back in the No7 jersey after an early season cameo at five-eighth, Johnson played his best game of the year so far in Saturday's 24-20 win over Canterbury in Wellington.

The 26-year-old had a hand in three tries and put boot to ball to set up Jonathan Wright's second-half four-pointer, and kicked superbly to keep Canterbury pinned deep in their own half as the clock wound down.

Johnson was pleased with his game management but says it is imperative the Warriors build upon that performance next Monday at AAMI Park against a Storm side renowned for their patience and clinical execution.

"It was probably the first game of my career where I felt, it wasn't my flashiest game," said Johnson.

"I didn't do anything spectacular, but my ability to dictate where I handed the ball over to the opposition and get the boys around the park was something I'm pretty proud of.

"I was very happy with the way we kicked, and the boys around me did a good job of getting in (attacking) shape and opening up those spaces for us to get the kicks through.

"(But) We've spoken about it already and it doesn't mean anything if we don't go out there and build on what we did against the Dogs.

"And we're doing it against the side that is probably the king, and probably set the benchmark of everything we did, in terms of patience and handing the ball over in the right parts of the field."

After coming in for criticism for a lack of running throughout the early rounds, Johnson found the balance between threatening with the ball in hand, creating opportunities for his outsides, and steering the side around the park.

Coach Andrew McFadden was full of praise for his playmaker's form but expects the Storm to limit his time and space more than he was allowed to enjoy at Westpac Stadium.

"He had a terrific game, one of his best directing games for the year, and that's what we want from him," said McFadden.

"What we know about Melbourne is they're going to put some pressure on. They're going to have a plan to try to counter that so we have to adapt."

Last week's result provided the Warriors with a much-needed confidence boost, which McFadden knows is vital heading into the Storm clash.

While satisfied with some much-improved work from the forwards, he is looking for a further reduction in the basic errors which again undermined them against the Bulldogs.

"It's a challenge for us, we want a big game," he said. "We're going to get a bit of confidence out of the win and what I know about these games (against Melbourne) is you want to have some confidence going into them.

"It always is a balance for us. We want to play more direct. I thought our forwards did a much better job. They were criticised after the Manly game and they responded so that was important to the overall win on the weekend.

"We can have some really good patches of play but we can undo all that good work with some basic errors, so they're still there. It's really important for us."