Warriors play hardball with Shaun Johnson

[¿N. ig-mah¿]

Interesting that we are now a month past the date SJ was on the open market, (and a few days inland being a free agent) and there hasnt been an official offer from anyone. Only talk of discussions with the Sharks that may or may not fall over if he only wanting a 1 year deal before getting under the sombrero. You would expect that since other clubs got warned that he was able to take offers, that they would have their deals prepared for November 1. Seems to me he isnt as widely rated by clubs and coaches as suspected, and they all felt he wasnt worth as much as he was getting.

I hope the Sharks lowball him. He has put himself in a predicament where only 1 team can afford him. Surely they offer him the lowest price that no one else can afford. And push for the longest offer they can. He has no leverage. If he doesnt go with the Sharks, he could be unemployed for a year, or on half what he walked away from.

 

[JJ]

Yep bloke cannot turn turds into gold, you should get rid of him. HE is the problem.

Being selective in your turds

I never said he's the problem, but I also have never been sold on him... Read David Skipworth's column on how things evolved, and actually watch the Warriors in big games... he consistently hasn't stepped up IMO, he's great if you want to flog Newcastle or the Gold Coast... He's an enigma, brilliant at times, not as inconsistent as some might argue, not a #7 as he would argue, and not as good as his fans, stats and highlight reel would suggest.

How he responds to home truths is telling - I suspect Messrs Gallen and Flanagan won't be backward in telling him some when needed - historically his responses have been immature and petulant tbh

I do hope he evolves and becomes a great player - time is short for him now... not like he hasn't has role models for the work ethic and maturity needed at the Warriors (e.g., Price, Wiki, Mannering, RTS)

 

[WellsNZ]

Interesting that we are now a month past the date SJ was on the open market, (and a few days inland being a free agent) and there hasnt been an official offer from anyone. Only talk of discussions with the Sharks that may or may not fall over if he only wanting a 1 year deal before getting under the sombrero. You would expect that since other clubs got warned that he was able to take offers, that they would have their deals prepared for November 1. Seems to me he isnt as widely rated by clubs and coaches as suspected, and they all felt he wasnt worth as much as he was getting.

I hope the Sharks lowball him. He has put himself in a predicament where only 1 team can afford him. Surely they offer him the lowest price that no one else can afford. And push for the longest offer they can. He has no leverage. If he doesnt go with the Sharks, he could be unemployed for a year, or on half what he walked away from.

Well there's now confirmation that he's signed for three years with the Sharks.

 

[JJ]

Good on the Sharks for getting a long-term deal - one year made no sense for them whatsoever IMO - just disrupted what they already had developing in their spine...

Some issues for Flanno to sort though... Johnson and Townsend both want #7, presumably Moylan wants #6, and Dougan wants #1 - can't help but feel some irony that Townsend (clearly the most mediocre player in the list) is the only one that'll get what he wants lol

Makes them an interesting team though, no mistake - good pack, quality in the backs...

 

[Mr Angry]

Granted about the turds, but still Shaun never had the teams of Sterlo, Thurston.

I will concede, he is not yet ready to be named in the same breath. You a premiership for that.

Now he has the chance.

Shaun will not be our 7.

You all know he is better there at 6, in fact last three games play was 6.

Works out he will play a bit of 1 and a bit 6 due to our dynamic and that will work well.

Jump on the bandwagon, you blokes have set yourselves back 5 years.

 

[Rich102]

Actually I think Johnson will have a very good 2019 season; whether it leads to a ring only time will tell.
He has a point to prove and really he now has to step up and show what he can do.
The Warriors gave him every chance and he earned his "Princess" tag. I don't think the Sharks will be so forgiving.

 

[Mr Angry]

Hey for all we know bloke copes acl and does not play a game.

But I must say.

Talk of Sterlo, Stuart, Langer, Mortimer.

Dear I forbid Stacey.

These are guys who play inside Johnson.

Brett Kenny, is the comparable bloke to me.

Not even Daley or Fittler, different types of champions.

I will simple quote RTS "do not step me"

Sorry to to tell RTS, you are no longer finals bounds, one game in (Shaun)2019, maybe.

Watch Shaun play finals, and play for the kiwis and stand out.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Good on the Sharks for getting a long-term deal - one year made no sense for them whatsoever IMO - just disrupted what they already had developing in their spine...

Some issues for Flanno to sort though... Johnson and Townsend both want #7, presumably Moylan wants #6, and Dougan wants #1 - can't help but feel some irony that Townsend (clearly the most mediocre player in the list) is the only one that'll get what he wants lol

Makes them an interesting team though, no mistake - good pack, quality in the backs...

He has his son sitting there who is very highly rated with another roadblock in front of him now too

 

[JJ]

Hey for all we know bloke copes acl and does not play a game.

But I must say.

Talk of Sterlo, Stuart, Langer, Mortimer.

Dear I forbid Stacey.

These are guys who play inside Johnson.

Brett Kenny, is the comparable bloke to me.

Not even Daley or Fittler, different types of champions.

I will simple quote RTS "do not step me"

Sorry to to tell RTS, you are no longer finals bounds, one game in (Shaun)2019, maybe.

Watch Shaun play finals, and play for the kiwis and stand out.

Johnson isn't close to comparable to Kenny, Bert is a absolute champion of the game, and the bigger the game was the better he was. Best 5/8 and best centre in the game at various stages and late on a better than useful lock for the benefit of the team...

 

[Philip_Smith007]

I hope he goes well.
It will be very interesting.

Out of the smoke blown up his ass club to what seems like a hard nosed club, except for Fafita going off at coach, Fafita and Dugan on podcast, Gallen taking swings at Holmes and financial difficulties.

Any word on contract value?

 

[Philip_Smith007]

He has his son sitting there who is very highly rated with another roadblock in front of him now too

SJ won't last 3 years we all know that.

 

[Brick Tamland]

FWIW warriors fans, Johnson told flanno (i heard this through one of flannos stable hands last Saturday) he didn't think he was a tough player, and that he'd admired how flannos teams had done it for years and wanted to learn how to do it. Tickled flanno pink to say the least. Not sure how/why he couldn't do that at the Warriors, but it was clear from the convo i had that sj didn't think it would ever happen in Auckland. Sharks we're originally negotiating for 2020 and beyond but that moved up.

The other thing he said was that apparently nz were after corey norman, i hope you don't get him because he and parra deserve each other. Do norman and sj have the same mgmt co?

 

[BLN2]

NZW are not after Norman. The word is the Eels would like to keep Norman but offload Moses next season. NZW were linked to Moses initially because the Eels were keen on a "we'll release Moses if you release Shaun" deal, but never got to that stage because SJ threw the toys and asked for a release after being told he had to earn his next contract.

Johnson can shoot his mouth off all he wants, blame the Warriors, blame anyone but himself, talk up his new club etc, it's a free world. But that's a clear sign of sulking and below the line thinking, which we all know is what club has been driving.

The widely reported facts (by those in the know at the club and Auckland league journalists) are that Johnson was not on board the culture change at the Warriors, had low work ethic and wasn't even in the leadership group of the side despite being at the club the longest. Does that sound like a 1.1 million dollar halfback? Apparently for Shaun it does, no questions required.

I really hope SJ gets a wake up call out of all this, and learns to mentally toughen up. He's brilliant on his day, he just needs to be taken down a peg or 2. I think with the Sharks being a good team already is the best chance to see him succeed, if he went to the Eels it would have been a career breaker.

I also think it will help the Warriors, for 5-8 seasons they were building the roster around a flakey half. With him gone, they can spread his 1.1 million over the squad. Ideally we can get another good prop and promising young half (not Moses) with the cash.

And yes he is a 6, not a 7. He just liked to wear the 7. I think it was Matt Elliott who changed him to 6 at the start of a season, lasted about 3 games before changing his jersey back to 6 after a terrible start.

 

[Iafeta]

Good post @BLN2

Certainly a lot more leaking out by the day isn’t there.

I get the feeling listening to even Elijah Taylor somehow having his say despite being a completely irrelevant and past it ex player and nothing more, is perhaps the NYC glamour boys may have felt that because they just regularly beat teams up that they just needed to rock up to be rock stars. Aside from Fus, Kenny Maumalo, and a couple of others who slipped my mind, they’ve not really become consistent stand out players.

That SJ at this stage of his career was not considered leadership material to the point he wasn’t in the leadership group is fairly damning in fairness to the club. If what BL is saying that he wasn’t digging the culture and wasn’t keen on work ethic, and I read an article on game day it was generally accepted he was last to arrive, first to leave, that this meant he could never achieve his full potential at the club. Cameron George did say earlier that they wanted Shaun to test the market prior to contract negotiations, but an article I read suggests Shaun told the Warriors earlier on that that was his plan.

 

[Iafeta]

Hey for all we know bloke copes acl and does not play a game.

But I must say.

Talk of Sterlo, Stuart, Langer, Mortimer.

Dear I forbid Stacey.

These are guys who play inside Johnson.

Brett Kenny, is the comparable bloke to me.

Not even Daley or Fittler, different types of champions.

I will simple quote RTS "do not step me"

Sorry to to tell RTS, you are no longer finals bounds, one game in (Shaun)2019, maybe.

Watch Shaun play finals, and play for the kiwis and stand out.

No mate. He’s not Brett Kenny. One is a multi time premiership winner who was absolutely pivotal for the Eels, and was a weapon in multiple positions and was widely considered in the top 3 or 4 players of his era. Shaun’s never ever been that.

In all honesty, I don’t see this as being a big win for the Sharks. The net value for them has still gone backwards. Valentine Holmes was in a short space of time more consistent and achieved far more. Given Shaun’s age, Holmes has a significantly bigger upside as well.

 

[¿N. ig-mah¿]

Good post @BLN2

Certainly a lot more leaking out by the day isn’t there.

I get the feeling listening to even Elijah Taylor somehow having his say despite being a completely irrelevant and past it ex player and nothing more, is perhaps the NYC glamour boys may have felt that because they just regularly beat teams up that they just needed to rock up to be rock stars. Aside from Fus, Kenny Maumalo, and a couple of others who slipped my mind, they’ve not really become consistent stand out players.

That SJ at this stage of his career was not considered leadership material to the point he wasn’t in the leadership group is fairly damning in fairness to the club. If what BL is saying that he wasn’t digging the culture and wasn’t keen on work ethic, and I read an article on game day it was generally accepted he was last to arrive, first to leave, that this meant he could never achieve his full potential at the club. Cameron George did say earlier that they wanted Shaun to test the market prior to contract negotiations, but an article I read suggests Shaun told the Warriors earlier on that that was his plan.

SJ told the Warriors he was testing the market before he signed his $1m per year deal. For the club to suggest he do it this time is nothing. Its clear the whole denial of contact, unwillingness to negotiate, and claim that the Warriors had told him there would be no contract offer made was a part of his planned script. Im starting to suspect the deal may have been done before November 1.

And now his ego has been boosted by his skewed view that he has cone out of all of this looking good, he is all set to take on the Sydney media. The guy has no idea what he is in for. I can see an emotional breakdown coming when he doesnt produce and the fans and media call him out. The self love is insane with this one.

 

[Mr Angry]

I agree it is hard to compare.

Brett was a genius and Brett played with greats.

His side had Sterling, Price, Edge, Cronin, Ella, Wynn, Grothe.

Reckon Shaun would have gone alright in that team.

Lets just say I am one happy Shark.

You guys need a halfback.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

SJ told the Warriors he was testing the market before he signed his $1m per year deal. For the club to suggest he do it this time is nothing. Its clear the whole denial of contact, unwillingness to negotiate, and claim that the Warriors had told him there would be no contract offer made was a part of his planned script. Im starting to suspect the deal may have been done before November 1.

And now his ego has been boosted by his skewed view that he has cone out of all of this looking good, he is all set to take on the Sydney media. The guy has no idea what he is in for. I can see an emotional breakdown coming when he doesnt produce and the fans and media call him out. The self love is insane with this one.

View attachment 25327

What a f**kwit.

Honestly, I'm so comfortable with him going now. The shirtless contract annulment post, that weak effort above, all the crap over the last few years...he can jog on. And I hope he has an absolute shocker whenever he plays us, just like a lot of big games in the past where he tried too hard and produced kaka.

 

[Mixmasterreece]

SJ told the Warriors he was testing the market before he signed his $1m per year deal. For the club to suggest he do it this time is nothing. Its clear the whole denial of contact, unwillingness to negotiate, and claim that the Warriors had told him there would be no contract offer made was a part of his planned script. Im starting to suspect the deal may have been done before November 1.

And now his ego has been boosted by his skewed view that he has cone out of all of this looking good, he is all set to take on the Sydney media. The guy has no idea what he is in for. I can see an emotional breakdown coming when he doesnt produce and the fans and media call him out. The self love is insane with this one.

View attachment 25327

It was a young kiwi journo at Auckland airport. Johnson and that dick Peter brown gave him one word answers and SJ acted like a little brat. Honestly I felt embarrassed for him - seemed more like something Nick Kyrgios would do. $10 says he’ll opt out of playing for the kiwis too

 

[Mr Angry]

Guys come on, no longer a warrior, but still will play for the kiwis.

Do not get to dirty on him.