NRL: Shaun Johnson’s sympathy for former Warriors teammates

Shaun Johnson has spoken of his sadness for his former New Zealand Warriors teammates.

Cronulla playmaker Shaun Johnson scores his first try of the season on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

Shaun Johnson has spoken of his sadness for his former New Zealand Warriors teammates, declaring there is no way he would stay separated from his heavily pregnant wife Kayla to play rugby league.

On an afternoon where Johnson gave the Warriors a gigantic backhander for the way he was unceremoniously shown the door back in 2018, the star Cronulla playmaker also showed tremendous compassion for many of his closest friends in the wake of a humiliating 46-10 thumping.

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Ever since Cooper Cronk accused Johnson of “firing blanks” early last month, the halfback has been close to the Sharks’ best on a weekly basis.

It was no different on a glorious winter afternoon in Gosford. Johnson scored his first try of the season along with playing a significant hand in several more in the eight-tries-to-two mauling, while also landing seven goals.

The win moves the Sharks to 10 competition points and has them ninth on the NRL ladder.

While on equal standing with the seventh-placed Wests Tigers, eighth-placed South Sydney and 10th-placed Manly, a late Warriors try denied the Sharks eighth spot on points differential.

Johnson admitted it was good to get one back on the club “that didn’t necessarily want you”, but when he spoke about his former teammates it was from the heart.

Asked if he felt sorry for the Warriors, he said: “I won’t say I feel sorry for them. I don’t bloody pity them, it is not about that.

“I have very close friends in that group. I still have a lot of care for the club. I have been there and I have experienced some of that pain where you try so hard and it just doesn’t translate on the field. And I know the professionalism they have in that group and the leadership. They have got the right ingredients. That is where my pain comes.

“I don’t know if I could do what they are doing in terms of coming over here and sacrificing. I have got my pregnant wife, 33 weeks pregnant. There is no way I could leave her right now. So the fact they have got boys fielding a team here, competing hard, I know some boys are going back. But the fact they are even here I think is a tremendous sacrifice and a credit to the club as a whole.”

But judging by their performance against the Sharks, that basically fell apart as soon as their opponents turned on their ignition. Being away from home for so long is really taking its toll.

It looks to have almost reached the point where the game would have to be concerned for how much longer this can go on.

Following next Saturday’s game against the Roosters, four players will return to New Zealand including Ken Maumalo, David Fusitu’a, Agnatius Paasi and King Vuniyayawa.