“That moment sucked”: Johnson reveals why he decided to turn down a new deal with his beloved Warriors

Departing Warriors icon Shaun Johnson has revealed the one defining moment that helped cement his decision to step away from the game at the end of the team’s disappointing 2024 campaign.

With his contract set to expire and his playing future teetering in the balance, Johnson says he received an offer of a one-year extension to remain at Mt Smart that had “everything he’d asked for”.

But it was Johnson’s relatively muted immediate reaction to the prospect of returning for another season that told him everything he needed to know about where his heart lay, prompting him to bring an end to the tenure of one the club’s greatest players.

“The real drop penny moment was probably when I received offers from the club,” Johnson told a packed media conference at Go Media Stadium on Tuesday.

“They came through and gave me everything I wanted and it probably didn't hit home how it should have, or how previous contracts have in the past.

“That was a bit of a point for me where I was like 'I'm not just going to sign a contract here to pick up a pay cheque’. This is something here that I need to think about and I need to figure out.

“If I'm being honest, that moment sucked, because if you told the kid before I'd walk through the doors at 33, you're going to be turning down a contract. You would have told him, 'shut up, sign the thing. Do what you love’.

“All these conversations, all these thoughts that happened in the background, that's happened in my head time and time again, but it still led me to make this decision.”

Johnson entered the 2024 campaign fresh off the best season of his 13-year career, guiding the Warriors from the slums of the NRL ladder to a top-four finish, a preliminary final berth, with his efforts recognised in a razor-close second-place finish in the race to the coveted Dally M medal.

But form can swing rapidly in the hotly contested NRL. As they so often have during his career, injuries have reared their ugly head to stifle any of that momentum, and Johnson’s fledgling on-field impact has been notably compromised in his 14th season.

That’s been reflected in the team’s fortunes, with just eight wins from 20 games and their NRL Finals hopes effectively dead and buried - struggles coach Andrew Webster conceded would have had an effect on his decision.

Nevertheless, the Kid from Hibiscus Coast is completely at peace with his decision and its timing, feeling that much more buoyant with the massive weight of the announcement lifted from his shoulders.

Johnson says the outpouring of love from fans and colleagues has left him flabbergasted.

“It's been a really draining 24 hours,” Johnson admitted. “A lot went into yesterday.

“But I feel heaps better now that it's known and I've committed to the decision. You feel a little bit lighter.

“I've known for a little bit and just to be able to come out and announce that the way I wanted to, I feel a whole heaps better.

“The flood of messages of support and congratulations and people reaching out, that's been a little bit overwhelming.

“I was probably a little bit naive, but I just didn't really expect it to sort of be this this big. The response has been crazy."

The most nerve-wrecking part of the process, Johnson says, was breaking the news to his teammates – some of whom assumed he was poised to announce his re-signing with the club.

"That was the bit I was probably most anxious about,” he recalled.

"I just kept it short and sweet, didn't allow myself enough time up there to get too sidetracked from what I was actually trying to say.

“A few of them were shocked and a couple of them actually thought I was getting up to announce my extension. That was nice to hear.”

When the team – barring a minor miracle - rounds out its schedule away to the Sharks later this month, Johnson will have amassed 269 first-grade games for the side, with his place in the pantheon of Warriors and his face on Mt Wahsmore secured.

Paramount for Johnson was being able to go out on his own shield, rather than squeezing the sponge dry completely – a route that so many greats before him have been sucked into.

“I just loved being out to do this on my own terms,” he added.

"When you've been in it this long, you can quite easily not control these situations and your departure, it can be forced sometimes.

“For me to be able to have complete control over this, knowing that there was something there for me to play on next year, but I've made the decision not to - I can take a lot from that. “

Almost equally important, ensuring the last jersey he ever wears is a Warriors one, something which perhaps seemed out of reach during his stint with Cronulla Sharks.

As you’d expect, he’s at peace with his legacy. Johnson’s trademark side-step has been the benchmark on playgrounds across Aotearoa for the past 14 years, with his precocious talents inspiring a whole generation of aspiring young Kiwis – and Australians, for that matter.

“I wouldn't want it any other way,” Johnson insisted.

“It just shows you everything happens for a reason, right? And coming back to the club, you know, Mark Robinson, Cam George, given me an opportunity to come home and just play in front of my family, play for the club.

“That just means so much to me. It's the best way I could possibly, you know, picture this to finish."

Check out Shaun Johnson's full retirement press conference via the SENZ YouTube below: