Nikorima critical of Johnson’s treatment
The treatment of Shaun Johnson by the Warriors has been harsh, according to one of his Kiwis teammates.
Johnson’s future at the Auckland club has come under the spotlight after the Herald revealed the player and his management had been told they were free to explore other options when the November 1 transfer deadline passed.
Warriors chief executive Cameron George also confirmed that while they were “open minded” about the future, the club was “not going to be scared to make big calls on any player”.
While the club might argue they were being transparent, the revelations have created a firestorm across the NRL. It was strange timing and perhaps an unnecessary distraction on the Kiwis tour.
Five-eighth Kodi Nikorima admits he was surprised by the news.
“I thought it was pretty harsh how it all came out, with him being on the other side of the world, not having control of that,” said Nikorima.
“I’ve spoken to Shaun about it. I just told him, stay focused, you’re part of this team now and the rest will just take care of itself.”
Johnson is always a focal point — no matter who he is playing for — and the recent news has only increased the spotlight on him. He had a mixed game in the first test defeat by England last weekend, and is probably feeling more pressure than ever, but Nikorima said the 28-year-old is handling the situation well.
“We haven’t really spoken too much about it,” said Nikorima. “He’s a professional and I just had a quiet word to him myself because he’s my roomie.
“He doesn’t show too much and he is still the same Shaun Johnson as he was when he first came over here, [before] all that news came out. He’s not really spoken about it. He’s a professional and I love playing with him.”
Nikorima said the recent developments were symptomatic of the NRL’s corporate side, especially around marquee players.
“I guess it just shows that this is a business that we live and play in unfortunately,” he said. “No doubt when he gets back home, he will sort it all out.”
Johnson and Nikorima’s developing partnership will be key on Monday morning (NZT) in the second test against England. They showed their potential as a combination in the win over the Kangaroos in Auckland but couldn’t replicate that performance last week in Hull.
“That’s something we spoke about,” said Nikorima. “We ran it a couple of times on the last and it didn’t come off.
“Credit to England, they did their homework on us and didn’t give us many options to kick the ball and forced us to run.”
The first 30 minutes of the match, when the Kiwis created several opportunities and were dominant by building pressure, showed the template for the team.
“We were putting it in the corners, forcing errors, giving us opportunities down in their end to put plays on,” said Nikorima.
“But then we went away from that in the back end of the first half, running it when we probably shouldn’t have and turning the ball over not on our terms. It hurts when we are not getting that right.”
Nikorima confirmed the Kiwis would aim to play a more direct game, after being overly lateral against England, and look to support their forwards in possession, after a lot of one-out running in Hull.