However, it’s not a clear-cut decision.
Johnson’s remarkable form this year has turned heads everywhere. He struggled for most of last season – not helped by being based in Australia and the general instability around the Warriors – and this year was expected to be his swansong.
That’s why the club invested in playmakers Ronald Volkman (20) and Luke Metcalf (24), along with the signing of Te Maire Martin (27). They are all on significant deals – at first-grade level – and are not earmarked as back-up players.
But Johnson’s revival has changed the equation. The 32-test Kiwi is in near-career best form and happy and confident off the field.
Heading into this season he was unsure if he wanted to go round again, but that prospect is now much more enticing and the Weekend Herald understands he wants to continue.
For the Warriors, it’s a significant retention puzzle. Who will comprise their best halves option in 2024 and beyond?
So far, Johnson has put a compelling case, as an organiser, game breaker and leader.
Volkman is promising but unproven. He has performed well for the NSW Cup side but has only three NRL appearances while Metcalf (seven NRL games in 2021 and 2022) has yet to take the field this season, after being injured following an exciting club debut in the first pre-season trial against the Tigers.
On the other hand, Johnson is in his twilight years, as he turns 33 in September.
What level of quality can he maintain, especially given the physical demands of the NRL?
It’s a fluid situation. According to one club insider, there is plenty of transparency between both parties.
“He has been open and honest with us and we have been open and honest with Shaun.”
Before the Tigers’ offer emerged, the prospect of Johnson staying on at Mt Smart next season had been discussed, though no formal negotiations had started.
The idea of being part of a Warriors team on the rise will be enticing, especially as Johnson is thriving under coach Andrew Webster and is relishing life in his hometown, after the best part of four years based across the Tasman, since he joined the Cronulla Sharks in 2019.
But money may also be a factor. The Herald understands the Tigers have a two-year offer on the table, worth around $750,000 a season.
That may be too hard to turn down, though the prospect of relocating to Sydney again would be a big call, especially given his wife Kayla is pregnant with their second child, due in July.
It would also carry an element of risk, given the Tigers’ ongoing struggles, and put Johnson back under the intense spotlight of the Sydney media.
Any possible Warriors extension will be for one year and is likely to be on similar financial terms to his current deal, believed to be in the region of $500,000.
But the Tigers’ interest may also shift the timeframe.
Previously, it felt like neither the Warriors nor Johnson were in a hurry to make a decision on his future, instead content to simply focus on week-to-week performance, before things become clearer in June or July on what next season could look like.
But now a decision could be accelerated, if the Tigers need a prompt answer.
Ultimately it will be up to Johnson. The Warriors aren’t in a position to enter a bidding war for Johnson’s services – especially with the impending arrival of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – and won’t be able to match whatever the Sydney club come up with.
It will leave Johnson with a lot to weigh up, as he contemplates his NRL curtain call.
