Shaun Johnson reportedly set to leave Warriors

or they could just take the salary cronk is earning and give most of it to johnson when cronk retires

Agree, who wouldn’t want him.

There was an article floating around somewhere regarding the placings on the Warriors internal club player of the year for '18..Johnson finished well down the list behind Roger,Tohu,Paasi and Maumalo..clearly they feel they arent getting million dollar value,not only across the season proper but in the semis..and still more than a tad bitter about that last game.

Stranger thinks have probably happened Baz - its back to the future at Manly with Dezzie back on board so Foran could be in his plans - you'd be pretty happy about that if it happened. Can't believe how far Foran has fallen - he was a gun at Manly. How good would it be to have Shaun Johnson in your team. He's one of those opposition players you constantly worry will create something out of nothing - bit like Benji Marshall at his peak. I'd love to see him with the Raiders but he is on very good money so someone who is pretty good would have to go to accommodate him.

Great comment. Johnson’s ceiling is so high that when he’s not winning games off his own hand, he’s poor or inconsistent. No doubt he does have off weeks but they’re far less regular than they used to be. He also has a lot of games where he plays well but the Warriors lose so the narrative becomes that he’s had a shocker. Cue the “stats aren’t everything” brigade but Johnson is regularly in the top couple of halves for line breaks, try assists, line break assists, tackle breaks, line breaks, try involvements, This year he was top five for most of those categories among halfbacks despite only playing 19 games. There’s only so much one player can do to lift a team that for most of the last ten years has had soft forwards and mistake prone, defensively awkward outside backs.

I woke up this morning having dreamed that Hasler had re-signed Foran to the Eagles on a heavily back ended deal and that Pay had signed SJ to partner Lachlan Lewis in the halves.

Johnson didn't carry the side this year... It was our captain that carried the side, along with some big pushing by our second row and forwards

Thomas leuluai was an amazing half that Johnson played along side for a few years...

Johnson’s just like Hayne at parra. Because they don’t play for top sides they’re criticised for not doing more. Slater on the other hand is lauded as an immortal because he plays his whole career alongside smith, Cronk and Thurston.

No one would be surprised. Its how they operate. They get anyone they want through their 3rd party set set up. In other words, like others in their squad, he can be paid a salary of $300k a year to keep him under the cap and another 400k a year through third party sponsorship from one of the cashed up corporate or private backers of the club.

Will be a great back up for Cronk and Keary for 800k a year.

It's all about the salary cap. He's the highest paid player on their roster. He's there for 2019. Warriors are only trying to get him to sign on for less money

So the Warriors have decided the current NZ Test half back who recently played a MOM game against Australia is not worth keeping after 2019? Do these guys remember past this season just finished, when Johnson just about carried this side? I can't see him playing for another Club, he's so much a New Zealander and I reckon his treatment by the Warriors seems pretty shabby.

Can't believe the Warriors are even considering letting Johnson go. Hope Ricky Stuart is reading this article. I'd sign him immediately. Just depends on whether the Raiders have the big bucks and whether Johnstone would be prepared to move to Canberra

I wouldn't be surprised if he gets signed up to the Roosters, if Cronk retires at the end of 2019.

Fair comment. Another thing I forgot to put in my earlier post was that Melbourne generally don't go out and but big name/big dollar players preferring to develop the likes of Munster, Hughes, Croft and Drinkwater to name a few. Even Smith, Slater, Cronk, Inglis, Folau, Addo-Carr, Big Nelson were up and comers when they went to Melbourne. I can't remember offhand who was the last big name they bought at the peak of their game.

I think Hughes is a fullback out and out and potentially a better fullback than Munster. So not sure how Johnson fits in because I am not sure if Melbourne give up on a young half back that soon to get a couple of years out of Johnson. It also doesn't solve the problem mentioned below by the Ghost about who the rock is next to him. His Semi Final against Penrith was deplorable for a player of his stature and i wonder if that is what has prompted this? All that said, it would be fascintating to see if Bellyache could get the best out of him... Otherwise if he could get a home in Townsville with Morgan and Barba or Clifford and Barba, that would be interesting as well.

Good question and here's hoping I have a good answer. Hughes is one of those players who can play multiple positions which could make him a bench player something like Tyrone Peachey. Having said that I don't think it will happen.

Great idea, but where do you fit in jahrome hughes?

Yep, he'd earn a premirrship ring for sure then