NRL: Blake Green puts up hand as Warriors Mr Fixit

Shaun Johnson, Adam Blair and Blake Green listen into Warriors new fitness coach Alex Corvo. Photo / Greg Bowker

Many have tried. Plenty have failed. But Blake Green is backing himself to be the five-eighths who finally clicks with superstar Shaun Johnson after they sparked the Warriors' 20-14 NRL trial win over Gold Coast at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

In their first game together, Green proved a calming influence on livewire No 7 Johnson as the pair combined to lay on three of the Warriors' four tries in wet conditions.

The 31-year-old Green admits it is up to him to get the best out of Johnson, something easier said than done at the Warriors.

Green is the latest in a long list of halves partners for Johnson after linking with the Warriors in the off-season, replacing Bulldogs recruit Kieran Foran.

But after partnering Melbourne's Cooper Cronk and Manly's Daly Cherry-Evans in the past two seasons, Green was confident of forming another champion duo with Johnson.

"It's about me finding out everything I can about Shaun so I can get that performance out of him every week," Green said. ''My job is to just keep everyone nice and calm and play direct so we can get some space out wide.

"Shaun has had a very limited pre-season with eye surgery and World Cup leave so for him to come out with some nice touches and play 70 minutes, that is very pleasing."

The Warriors are Green's eighth club in 12 seasons in both northern and southern hemispheres and he is looking forward to finding a way to complement Johnson at the Warriors.

"Shauny plays a similar role to a fullback for us, everyone knows how good Cooper is and Daly was a real instinctive footy player," Green said when asked to compare Johnson, Cronk and Cherry-Evans. "They are all different but you just have to find the right balance and what works best for the team."

Green was part of coach Stephen Kearney's off-season recruitment drive that also included Adam Blair, Tohu Harris, Peta Hiku and Gerard Beale after finishing 13th last season.

The Warriors haven't made the play-offs since their 2011 grand final loss to Manly.

"That's what I have come here to do, to play some finals footy and get the club back to where they want to be, where they belong," Green said. "There is skill and talent in the team but it's the effort areas that get you home - if we get that right it will take us a long way."

- AAP

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