NRL: Matulino leaps to halfback's defence

Shaun Johnson came under fire for a lack of involvement in the opening three games against Newcastle, Canberra and Parramatta. Photo / Getty Images

Warriors prop Ben Matulino has defended the form of halfback Shaun Johnson and says he is playing well on a right side that has changed each week since round one.

Johnson came under fire for a lack of involvement in the opening three games against Newcastle, Canberra and Parramatta and turned in a mixed display in last week's loss to Brisbane.

Meanwhile, his halves partner Chad Townsend has benefited from consistent selections on his left edge, forming impressive combinations with Matulino, back-rower Ryan Hoffman, rookie centre Solomone Kata and veteran wing Manu Vatuvei.

Ahead of tonight's showdown against the Storm at AAMI Park, Matulino spoke out against the criticism of his No7 and insisted Johnson was playing his role within the team.

"Shaun's got a whole new edge on his side and it has been chopping and changing," Matulino said. "Obviously he hasn't really built that chemistry with his right side like Hoffy and Chad have but I think Shaun is playing well within the structure and he's doing everything that he can to get himself into the game.

"I know everyone's expecting all the steps and cut-out balls and flick passes from Shaun but he's playing well within the structure."

Although Johnson is designated right side playmaker, coach Andrew McFadden clarified that he had a roving commission to inject himself into the attack on either side of the ruck.

"There's free licence there and you would have seen him, he started to roll around on the other side of the ruck on the weekend [against Brisbane]," McFadden said.

"So you'll start to see that a little bit more. He knows he's got a role to play on that right side but certainly there's some flexibility around that."

Meanwhile, Matulino has started the season strongly with impressive showings over the past fortnight seeing him top the rankings on the Dally M leaderboard. The towering front-rower has set the platform for the Warriors with some good go forward while 11 offloads have helped engineer some dangerous second-phase attacking chances.

"My sister told me about that [Dally M rankings]," Matulino said. "That doesn't really mean anything to me. As long as we get the win for the team I'll be happy with that.

"I guess I'm just chucking them [offloads] out the back and they're sticking. It's coming off at the moment so I'll stick with it."

Last week's season-ending knee injury to Ben Henry has opened the door for Sebastine Ikahihifo to start on the bench for his 31st Warriors appearance, after biding his time in the NSW Cup over the past month.

Sione Lousi was named as 18th man but has been battling a knee complaint all week, while prop Sam Rapira (hamstring) and Konrad Hurrell (knee) could yet make surprise returns from injury.

The Warriors have won three of their past five encounters in Melbourne and are looking to claim their third win of 2015.