Johnson’s presence adds edge to key clash
‘‘He had a field day the last time we played them.’’ Isaiah Papali’i on Shaun Johnson
Shaun Johnson will always be the focal point whenever he comes up against his old club, but the former Warriors star is set to have an even bigger target on his back this weekend.
Johnson was at his magical best the last time Cronulla met the Warriors in July, scoring a try and setting up two more in their 46-10 blowout victory on the Central Coast.
It’s a performance the Warriors have not forgotten and the Sharks will be hoping for something similar as they head into Sunday’s crunch clash minus suspended duo Chad Townsend and skipper Wade Graham.
But with Johnson making his first start back after three weeks on the sideline with groin and hamstring issues, he can expect even more traffic than usual down his defensive channel.
‘‘There’s always an edge when you play against former teammates and mates of a lot of the boys here. We’re excited to go up against him and happy that he’s in the team playing,’’ Warriors backrower Isaiah Papali’i said.
‘‘Coming back from any injury is tough. He had a field day the last time we played them.’’
With the Warriors having to win this weekend to have any chance of making the finals, the team has plenty of motivation.
But Papali’i said there was also a redemption factor at play following the round 10 loss to the Sharks, which interim coach Todd Payten described at the time as their ‘‘worst performance of the season’’.
The disappointing result actually marked the start of the Kiwi outfit’s turnaround and they have been a different side since then.
Papali’i said that game alone was not the catalyst for their form reversal but it certainly had an effect on the playing group.
‘‘They’re very skilful as a team and we took our learnings from it,’’ Papali’i added.
‘‘We were building towards something as a team under ‘Toddy’. Any loss isn’t a good one but we started to understand the way each other defended and started to click from that game on.’’
Meanwhile, Papali’i said Tohu Harris’ preference to wear the No 12 jersey was the only reason he’s been named in the front-row.
Having played all of his 60 NRL appearances on the edge or at lock, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the 21-year-old handed the No 10 jersey on Tuesday.
But Papali’i confirmed he will be a prop in number only on Sunday, with Harris set to start in the middle.
‘‘I think Tohu just likes the number 12. I can’t deny him that number so I’ve been named at 10,’’ he said. ‘‘But I don’t think I’ll be carrying the ball off the kick-off, to be honest.’’