Our own Magic Johnson

Shaun Johnson of the Warriors celebrates with the team after Tuimoala Lolohea's try. Photo / Getty

Everyone loved the Little General. They still do. But Stacey Jones will not, in time, be regarded as the greatest half produced out of Auckland league. Shaun Johnson is well on the way to eclipsing the Kiwi legend.

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. And I'm not just talking the amazing, aerial Nathan Friend catch-and-pass which saw the Warriors to safety in a thrilling game against the Melbourne Storm at Mt Smart Stadium yesterday.

For those who haven't seen it yet, go hunting. Friend flew above a Storm defender and released the ball to a teammate while hurtling head first towards the deck. Then came a bit of Johnson magic and a great finish from Tuimoala Lolohea to give the Warriors the scoreboard break they needed to break the Storm. Friend, a lion-hearted footballer, has a place in history. That clip will be played forever.

But the wow business is for Johnson. He is doing things on a football field that have never been done before. He bounces in any direction, including backwards. His hopping, dancing, whatever you want to call it, is stunning. The try he scored yesterday was staggering. He goes through gaps that aren't there, leaves outstanding NRL defenders grasping at nothing. The reverse pass to Sam Tomkins for the Lolohea try was also exceptional. Johnson has the odd off day, but fewer of them. When he is on, he is virtually unstoppable.

There are amazing steppers in the football codes, players like new All Black Nehe Milner-Skudder and the Warriors-bound Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. But none have the bounce-in-any-direction quality of Johnson. He is absolutely flying right now, and the Warriors are about take off as well.

This year, I predicted that Auckland will be turned into a rugby league town as the Blues rugby mob disintegrates. With the basics falling into place under Andrew McFadden's coaching, Johnson starting to destroy opponents, and Tuivasa-Sheck on the way, I'm more convinced than ever.

The atmosphere emanating from Mt Smart yesterday was stirring, unlike the dead zone cumbersome Eden Park has become. Rugby, which is bogged down in unintelligible rules and stoppages, is ripe for a kicking in Auckland where a buoyant, evolving city is not bound by rugby's traditional hold.

The big advantage league has is it lets a magical player like Johnson loose, lets him do his best stuff. In rugby, he would be in chains because players can't afford to get isolated.

It's not just about the Warriors superstars, either. For outstanding under-the-radar buys, second rower Bodene Thompson is starting to rival the old Warriors' favourite Micheal Luck. Thompson is what I'd call a players' player and offers much more on attack than the revered tackle-machine Luck.