Cronulla Sharks Shaun Johnson says his body had him fearing to step in debut Cronulla season

Shaun Johnson has admitted his body has been in a fragile place since pre-season and that he should have missed more games, but now says he’s finally fit as Cronulla charge towards the NRL finals.

Shaun Johnson admits his body has let him down this season.

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Shaun Johnson’s body was so fragile the Cronulla five-eighth was too scared to put on his trademark step.

Johnson came under fire for his performances in his debut season as a Shark. He was replaced by coach John Morris when the game was on the line last month.

But in recent weeks Johnson has returned to his running best. According to Johnson, his body is finally NRL ready.

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Shaun Johnson admits his body has let him down this season.

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He battled with hamstring and back issues since joining the club. It left him without his most potent weapon — his stepping brilliance.

“I had a disrupted pre-season,” Johnson said. “My body wasn’t NRL ready or NRL fit. When I tried to get through I was missing out on training. I was just trying to get to games as opposed to preparing for games which is where I’m at the moment.

“I feel like I’m finally — it’s round 21 — I feel better than I have all year. This is where players start to break down but I already did my breaking down. I’ve got on top of things.

“The last month or six weeks of footy has been really good. My understanding of my role has been a lot clearer.

Johnson was scared to use his trademark step at times. Picture: Tony Feder

“I went into games with my back not feeling right. That would impact my groin. Say I would step, I wasn’t confident to step and go. There is genuine footage of it. I would go to run and I don’t want to run.

“Mentally one thing, physically another. Now where I’m at, I’ll step and go. I’ll dummy and go. I’ll run. I’ll attack. You will see a change of speed because I’m feeling good about my body which hasn’t always been the case this year.”

Johnson reflects on his start to the year and now knows he shouldn’t have played. But arriving as a high profile off-season recruit he didn’t want to sit on the sidelines and join a growing casualty ward at the club.

Johnson says he should have missed more games through injury. Picture: Steve Christo

“I didn’t want to let anyone down,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to say ‘oh my body isn’t right’. But at the end of the day I probably did let people down because I wasn’t at my best. I wasn’t delivering.”

Now having won the battle with his body, Johnson is preparing for a different kind of fight. The one which will keep Cronulla’s semi-final hopes alive after they dropped out of the top eight heading into their clash against St George Illawarra on Sunday.

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“It’s not where we saw ourselves at the start of the year with the squad we have and the expectation we had in the group,” Johnson said. “Things have happened throughout the season which we haven’t been able to control.

“To still be standing here talking about finals is a positive.”

Johnson also praised Morris’ rookie season.

“He is doing a terrific job,” Johnson said. “He hasn’t been perfect. He has made mistakes. He has made awesome calls and made some bad calls. It’s all part of his growth as a coach.

The now fit star says he’s back to full fitness. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“With the personnel he has had out all at different stages and never once had a constant team on the field, I think he's handled stuff really well — especially his ability to get those young boys coming in and playing at a high levels.

“With everything we've gone thought if we make the finals and go a couple of weeks into them it's probably been a good year. If we don't make it, it's like, 'far out'. That's where the line gets drawn.”

Originally published as Cronulla Sharks Shaun Johnson says his body had him fearing to step in debut Cronulla season