No fairytale return to Warriors for Johnson
Don’t expect Shaun Johnson to make a shock return to the Warriors if he’s forced out at the Sharks.
The Australian reported on Friday that the Sharks, who are under investigation for potential salary cap breeches, could be forced to let Johnson go before the season starts.
What would happen to Johnson’s current contract is a grey area, but he could end up needing to find another club at short notice.
At this point of the year, it’s believed only the Eels, Tigers and Warriors have enough space under the salary cap to get a player of Johnson’s quality.
It would be a dramatic return if Johnson came back to the Warriors and it would be fair to say he didn’t depart on the best of terms.
The halfback sensationally asked for a release from his contract late last year, when the Warriors confirmed they weren’t ready to offer him a new deal for beyond 2019.
Not wanting to keep a player who could have had a bad attitude, the Warriors agreed to release Johnson, who subsequently signed a three-year deal with the Sharks.
The Warriors weren’t able to find a suitable replacement for Johnson and will start the season with rookies Adam Keighran and Chanel Harris-Tavita battling it out to be Blake Green’s halves partner.
It’s believed Keighran is winning that race, with HarrisTavita’s case not being helped by a quieter persona on the field.
It’ll be a risk whichever way the decision goes, but Warriors CEO Cameron George dismissed the suggestion of chasing Johnson if he became available.
‘‘As I understand it, at this stage it’s all just media speculation around Shaun,’’ George said. ‘‘I think he’s pretty settled there and they’re very happy with him.
‘‘At the end of the day, we’ve made a decision, everyone’s made a decision and we’ve moved on.
‘‘At this point in time, there’s nothing to consider or reconsider.
‘‘But we’re happy with where we’re at and I’m sure Shaun is very happy at Cronulla.’’
Even if the Warriors aren’t chasing another halfback, there is still over $1 million freed up from not paying Johnson.
Warriors recruitment manager Peter O’Sullivan and the club’s general manager of football, Brian Smith, continue to scour the market to see if there’s anyone they can bring in for this season, who’d make a difference.
‘‘We’re certainly keeping our eyes and ears very close to the recruitment wheel and whenever it starts spinning, you never know what could come off it,’’ George said.
‘‘We’re in a very good position at the club with our salary cap space, to exploit opportunities when they come along, if they’re right for us and our future.’’
With the other NRL clubs knowing the Warriors are well under the cap, they know there’s the potential to offload players to them, but George says they’re being careful about who they’d take.
‘‘We got offered someone the other day, but it wasn’t the right fit for us, so we weren’t going there,’’ George said.
‘‘Also, once the trials start, naturally some players won’t stack up to the expectations of some clubs, so they might start trying to move a little bit.
‘‘Everyone trains well and hard at this level, then when the trials come around, they might see some value in different people that they never thought they had, so they might move on others.
‘‘All I know is that we’ve got cap space in hand and we’re ready to go when the right option comes up, if it comes up. Otherwise, if they’re not going to add value to our squad, we’re extremely happy with who we’ve got.’’