Johnson: Keeping calm and carrying on
Warriors star Shaun Johnson is humbled to have been compared to fellow halfback Benji Marshall many times during his career.
It’s not just in how he plays, but he also has the potential to follow the former Kiwis star by playing well into his 30s.
Marshall hung up his boots at the age of 36 in 2021; Johnson is 33. Like Marshall, he has been able to find a new lease of life in his career and feels this might not be his final season in the NRL.
“I can see myself playing beyond this year,” Johnson said.
“With how I’m feeling right now, there’s no bit of what I’m doing that makes me wonder why I’m doing this.
“There are always going to be frustrations with niggles, but the love for the sport, the love for competing and the feeling that you’re working with your teammates, is still very much there.
“Whether I do, I’m not sure, but I definitely see myself [continuing].”
Marshall’s career almost came to an abrupt end in 2017, when he was 32.
He had nowhere to go after leaving the Dragons, and if it were not for a phone call with Wayne Bennett, who invited him to come to the Broncos, that probably would have been it for him.
However, he went on to play another 91 NRL games and get an emotional recall to the Kiwis.
At the beginning of every season Marshall played after joining the Broncos, then Wests Tigers and the Rabbitohs, there was the feeling it could be his last, but because of how he adapted his game, from being a finisher to a creator, he remained a hugely valuable asset. Ditto Johnson.
“There have always been those similarities with Benji and it makes me feel honoured to be mentioned alongside his name,” Johnson said.
“But as you get older and your body slows down, so does your mind and that’s the bit you can’t teach a young half. That’s through experiences.
“That’s what I’m fortunate enough to have at the moment, there is that bit of calmness to my team-mates in the heat of things.
“What I love giving is clarity in the middle of chaos. It’s like I feel like I’m at that level where I can do that mentally.
“I may not be able to run the length [of the field] any more, or step people, but the style of footy I’m playing is one that helps my team-mates get around a lot more.”
Expectations are high for the Warriors’ prospects this season. Some players try to ignore that because they don’t want to get caught up in it. Johnson is taking a different approach.
“You enjoy it, you absorb it,” he said. “We haven’t had that here for big parts of my career and it’s important you celebrate and really absorb it when you’ve got it, because it’s special and we can use it in our favour.’’
“What I love giving is clarity in the middle of chaos.’’
Shaun Johnson