"I thought the game we played on the weekend [against Penrith] was a performance blueprint for us to do that. We did everything we talked about and we are going to have to be even better this weekend to get up against the Sharks.
"We are just up for a challenge and I'm sure there'll be no excuses come Saturday."
The Warriors face a challenge in the sense they've been forced to start their game with their third-choice hooker after long-term injuries to Nathan Friend (broken jaw) and Alehana Mara (leg).
Their respective ailments have thrust bench utility Lewis Brown into the No 9 jumper and the five-test Kiwi could be set for a big shift out of dummy-half considering there is no recognised back-up on the interchange pine either.
Brown has spent plenty of time at hooker in the past but following Friend's arrival this year hadn't played there until Monday night when Mara went off injured in the first half.
Brown's last start in the No 9 jersey was against the Titans in late 2009, but Johnson backed Brown, who will join Penrith next year on a three-year deal, to make a good fist of his dig at hooker this weekend.
"Lewi's played a bit there before and played a fair few minutes there last week so I'm sure we are not going to lose too much in that area. He's quite strong and loves to get out and have a run so I'm sure he will do a good job."
Another sight that would've been pleasing to any Warriors fan would've been watching Manu Vatuvei bag two tries in the victory over Penrith. Despite some up-and-down form in the past few weeks, Johnson said the giant wing had the full support of the team.
"We never thought Manu was out of form. He made a couple of mistakes but against the Storm [two weeks ago] he still made 100 metres with his carries and was getting us on the front foot.
"I think it's just something the media likes to build up but for us he would be the first player picked every time. So it was good to see him score a couple of tries."
It was two Johnson kicks that laid on Vatuvei's four-pointers against Penrith and the Warriors will hope the pair can link up again this weekend.
Kick-off is at 7.30pm on Saturday night.
Sharks: Matthew Wright, Isaac Gordon, Ben Pomeroy, Colin Best, Nathan Stapleton, Todd Carney, Jeff Robson, Bryce Gibbs, Isaac De Gois, Ben Ross, Jeremy Smith, Jayson Bukuya, Paul Gallen (c). Interchange (from): Andrew Fifita, Wade Graham, John Morris, Mark Taufua, Sam Tagataese, Chad Townsend
Warriors: Kevin Locke, Bill Tupou, Ben Henry, Konrad Hurrell, Manu Vatuvei, James Maloney, Shaun Johnson, Russell Packer, Lewis Brown, Ben Matulino, Elijah Taylor, Simon Mannering (c), Feleti Mateo. Interchange: Steve Rapira, Sione Lousi, Jacob Lillyman, Micheal Luck
