Shaun Johnson and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors celebrate after winning the round 25 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Canberra Raiders. Photo / Getty Images.
Shaun Johnson and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors celebrate after winning the round 25 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Canberra Raiders. Photo / Getty Images.
OPINION:
Another day, and another amazing Warriors signing which will propel the club to the top of the NRL, before scooting on to dominate the cosmos for the next couple of centuries.
Shaun Johnson is coming home next year - let the flood of joyous tears begin.
At the moment,most of the Warriors fans I know are camping on their prayer mats, doing their bit to ensure wonderkid Reece Walsh doesn't try to quit on the club before his three-and-a-half year contract is up.
The smart money is on Walsh coming to his senses and heading for the hills, where tempting offers await.
But hey, we can live in hope, and help is on the way Warrior Nation.
Because Shaun is back.
Look, we all know that an outfit like Melbourne does it the ridiculously hard way, by honing their well-scouted development recruits so they play like brilliant veterans from day one.
Funnily enough, this is also the method used by the Crusaders rugby team. There's a link there.
Clubs like the Storm and Crusaders come up with game plans backed by a nifty concept in which everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing, and is desperate to do it.
But the Warriors have developed this other method, a system so complex that no one knows exactly what this method is.
It could be called FunnyBall, because all you can do is laugh sometimes.
Shaun Johnson of the Warriors looks on after winning the round 25 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Canberra Raiders. Photo / Getty Images.
FunnyBall has now come up with the idea that Johnson is the answer. Okay, we'll play this silly game and even applaud it on some level. But don't try to sell it as a plan.
Warriors "planning", at times, seems to involve adrenaline rushes, followed by historic phone calls, and even the odd meeting in a living room, or maybe a cafe.
Then you find out how a club heavyweight such as Phil Gould or Peter O'Sullivan masterminded the coup, and if they had spicy or sweet chai latte. It's all very exciting until you turn up to watch them play.
And yet, under the current chaos of a club slithering down the table with its traditional gusto, Johnson is probably a better bet than most. If you are going to clutch at straws, might as well grab a few colourful and recognisable ones.
At least Johnson - a polarising figure with a pretty big fan club - will help the Warriors retain a certain identity, which is important.
The Warriors are becoming very Australian but Johnson comes from Auckland, has had amazing talent, was developed by the Warriors, and can be great one minute, hopeless the next. He is, in a nutshell, a Warrior to the core.
Shaun Johnson of the Warriors looks on during the round 25 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Canberra Raiders. Photo / Getty Images.
On his day, he's fantastic to watch, and he's got a Kiwi sports star wife.
The PR potential is obvious, although the weekend's stunning news was accompanied by definite signs of Warrior Hooplah Fatigue I thought.
It remains to be seen if a 31-year-old on the slide can become a poster boy again, but he's certainly got more X-factor appeal than Chad Townsend, another one of the Warriors recent brain waves.
As for 2022, do we mention this bit? Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is leaving.
On balance, fair to say that Shaun Johnson will make life a little more interesting. Maybe.
