NRL Nines 2020: Shaun Johnson focusing on round one for the Sharks
By his own account, last season was challenging both personally and physically for Cronulla’s marquee signing from the Warriors. But Shaun Johnson is now feeling settled and will use the NRL Nines to kickstart his 2020 campaign.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Shaun Johnson, the King of Nines rugby league, was made for this.
Literally.
The 29-year-old was born on the ninth of September - the ninth month of the year.
And in Perth for the NRL Nines tournament this weekend, the Cronulla star will wear jersey number nine.
Watch the 2020 NRL Nines tournament LIVE & On-Demand on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
But think again, if the fast-stepping Johnson wants his legacy to be the imprint that he leaves on the kick-and-giggle format.
What he is targeting this year is to play the most amount of games he’s ever played in a season.
“Nothing beats a game-like situation, especially Nines,’’ Johnson, the captain of last year’s Kiwi Nines, said.
“But Nines doesn’t mean anything to me; round one means something to me.
“I want to see 26 games from me – I want to see 30.
“For me, I’m thinking about round one and this (NRL Nines) is a part of that preparation.’’
The comments won’t exactly excite promoters of the tournament, which begins at HBF Park tomorrow and concludes with Saturday’s final.
However, Johnson’s acute focus on “round one” is derived from his obsession to deliver much more than what he managed to conjure in his debut season at the Sharks in 2019.
By his own account, last season was challenging both personally and physically for Cronulla’s marquee signing from the Warriors.
He managed 18 games in total for Cronulla - spending six weeks out with a hamstring injury between rounds eight to 13.
It was the equal-least amount of games Johnson has played in a single season since his debut year in 2011, when he played 16 games.
The most amount of games Johnson has played in a season is 24 in 2013 and 2016.
“If you just think where I was this time last year, I’m so far ahead,’’ Johnson, who also confirmed he would remain the club’s first-choice goal kicker, said.
“Last year I was still trying to find furniture for my house, putting in maps [to find] how to get to Shark Park.
“Now, I’m settled.
“I’ve got my wife over, I’ve got familiar with the club, the surroundings, the boys, the standards, the culture at the club - everything just feels a lot more comfortable.
“I’m able just to apply myself to my trade and really get stuck into the work.’’
Ahead of the 2020 season, Sharks coach John Morris has been open about the huge amount of NRL experience the club has lost following the retirement of and the departure of Matt Prior, Sosaia Feki, Jayden Brailey and Kurt Capewell.
What Sharks fans fear is that as a result of the exit of more than a 1000-games of experience, Cronulla’s fabric of grit, grind and resilience will fray in 2020.
Johnson disagrees.
MORE NEWS
Cronulla star Josh Dugan denies faking knee problems
KFC SuperCoach NRL: Predicted teams for Round 1 updated
“A sign of a tough or resilient club isn’t in one or two players,’’ Johnson said.
“It’s never in one person, two people, three people, it’s in the walls, it’s everywhere, it’s in the grass, it’s in the water.
“The resilience the group showed last year, with all the injuries we had, to find ourselves in the finals - I was sitting there like, ‘This is what I want to be doing’.
“If others clubs faced what we had to face last year, they’re not making finals.
“There were games where we had players that only we would know in the sheds, who went out there busted.
“I think for the (younger) boys, the Bronson Xerri’s, the Blayke Brailey’s, the Briton Nikora’s, they know what it’s about so they’re going to be firing.
“They’re helping us drive that (culture), they’re vocal with how they speak, but most importantly they show it through their actions.’’
Cronulla face St George-Illawarra in their opening pool match of the Nines.
SUPERCOACH ANALYSIS:
Shaun Johnson, HFB, 5/8, $585,500
Following a tough year with injury, Johnson starts at his lowest KFC SuperCoach ownership (17.1 per cent) since the stat started being recorded. In other words, Johnson, arguably the GOAT playmaker in KFC SuperCoach history, starts in the POD range by his standards. With his fitness seemingly on track for 2020, expect his ownership to soar if he fires at the Nines.