Feeding The Sharks

The Warriors give every indication that they’re happy to see the back of their star half.

- Paul Thomas

Shaun Johnson’s acrimonious departure from the Warriors, where he’d spent a decade going from hot prospect to New Zealand’s rugby league poster boy, is a reminder that happy endings are the exception rather than the rule in professional team sport.

The bare facts are that the Warriors indicated to Johnson, whose million-dollar-a-year contract was to expire next year, that he should feel free to explore all options for life beyond 2020. Johnson took that to mean either he wouldn’t be offered a new contract or it would be a significantly diminished version of the current arrangement. He therefore decided that if the Warriors didn’t see him as part of their future, he didn’t want to be part of their present. He sought an immediate release from his contract, which was granted even though it leaves a gaping hole in the club’s playing roster. Johnson promptly signed a three-year deal with the Cronulla Sharks.

The tug of war over Johnson’s playing future had been resolved but the battle for the hearts and minds of the Warriors’ large and loyal fan base was just heating up.