NZ Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson on the moment the penny dropped on his retirement decision
Had he been up for another season in the NRL, Shaun Johnson might have been back at the Warriors in 2025.
The 33-year-old was offered a contract extension by the club to return beyond the current season, after he signed a one-year extension during his immaculate 2023 campaign.
Instead, the 14-year veteran will hang up his boots when the Warriors’ 2024 season comes to an end.
Speaking about his decision, Johnson said he had known for a little while, but the penny dropped for him when he got the offer of an extension.
“They came through and gave me everything I wanted, and it probably didn’t hit home how it should have, or how previous contracts have in the past,” Johnson said.
“That was a point for me where I was like ‘man, I’m not just going to sign a contract here to pick up a pay cheque. There’s something here that I need to think about and I need to figure out.’
“If I’m being honest, that moment sucked because if you’d told the kid that walked through the doors that at 33 I was going to be turning down a contract, he would have told him ‘shut up, sign the thing and do what you love’.
“All these conversations, all these thoughts that’ve happened in the background, they’ve happened in my head time and time again, but it still led me to make this decision.”
Johnson addressed his teammates on Monday to share his decision before it was made public; a moment he said was the part of the process he was the most anxious about.
“A couple of them actually thought I was getting up to announce my extension, so that was nice to hear,” he said.
“I just love being able to do this on my own terms. In this game, when you’ve been in it this long, you can quite easily not control these situations, and your departure can be forced sometimes.
“So, for me to be able to have complete control over this, knowing that there was something there for me to play on next year but I’ve made the decision not to, I can take a lot in that.”
Johnson will retire as one of the greatest Warriors of all time, having made 221 of his 265 NRL appearances with the club.
Debuting in round 13 in the 2011 season as a fleet-footed 19-year-old, his electric, off-the-cuff brand of football and penchant for leaving defenders grasping at air quickly made him a fan favourite with the Warriors faithful. Johnson ended his rookie season starting at halfback in the grand final.
He went on to be a consistent presence in the halves for the club in the following years, and helped them back to the playoffs in 2018. At the time, it seemed as though it might be his final act in Warriors colours, as he was released from the final year of his contract to join the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on a three-year deal, starting in 2019.
But when the opportunity to rejoin the Warriors arose for the 2022 season, Johnson grabbed it. That season was a struggle for the Warriors, who were still basing themselves in Redcliffe due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but a return to Penrose in 2023 coincided with Johnson unlocking arguably the best form of his career – finishing as runner-up for the Dally M award.
While he struggled with injuries throughout his career, the 2023 season showed his growth as a footballer, as he made an impact with both his running and kicking games and led the team on their way to their first post-season berth since Johnson’s departure in 2018.
Retiring as a Warrior, Johnson said it wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Everything happens for a reason,” he said.
“Mark Robinson [Warriors owner], Cam George [CEO] giving me an opportunity to come home and just be in front of my family, play for the club that means so much to me, it’s the best way I could possibly picture this to finish.”
With the weight of the announcement now off his back, Johnson will have a minimum of four games left, if selected, to enjoy his career and try to help the Warriors get to one more finals run.
That won’t be easy, as even if the side win their final four games before their last-round bye, there’s no guarantee that will be enough for them to make the top-eight playoffs.
“Even today at training, I’m a bit torn between just enjoy it, but also there’s that competitive bug in me, I know I still want to tick every box and make to give myself the best chance and us the best chance at winning,” Johnson says.
“There’s still hard work to be done. We’re certainly not giving up, I’m not giving up. Getting this announcement off my chest allows me to just focus on that now. Obviously, there’s got to be an aspect of just enjoying it and taking it all in. If I get to play this weekend, going up to Suncorp, it’s probably going to be my last time playing there.
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